Up and down ride for Hot Springs hoopers

For most teams, mid-season is the midway equivalent of a carnival.

And like any good carnival, for most people, the roller coaster is center stage.

There’s a parallel with high school basketball.

One minute the coaster car is climbing steadily up the track, anticipation building among the fans. The next minute that car is careening widely on the down side. But there are almost always more ups and downs to come.

So it was with the Hot Springs boys and girls basketball teams this past weekend on their home floor.

Friday the boys were riding the up rails of victory following a 46-35 win over Superior. Saturday the victory car was headed down the slope in the form of a narrow 55-53 loss to Seeley.

And for the Hot Springs girls, who had been riding the car uphill most of the season’s first half, this was the long down slope, a 42-31 loss to the Lady Bobcats Friday night, followed by a stunning defeat at the hands of Seeley’s Lady Blackhawks Saturday, 43-21.

After a promising start fueled by a promising group of players, the Lady Savage Heat were hoping to start climbing up the tracks with a game against Superior, which has been the definition of a roller coaster ride so far this year.

The two teams battled to a near standstill after the first quarter of play, with the hometown Lady Heat holding a 7-6 lead over the visiting Lady Bobcats.

Hot Springs, fueled by the play of sophomore guard Kara Christensen, then outscored Superior 9-4 in the second quarter to take a tenuous 16-10 halftime lead.

Car was heading in the right direction, they hoped...until the third quarter.

That’s when Superior’s Josie Crabb and Braelynn Mangold, along with forward Eddye Butts cranked it up, outscoring Hot Springs 16-6 in the third quarter en route to a 26-22 lead with one quarter to go.

The Lady Bobcats and their tenacious defense kept the pressure on the rest of the way as they coasted to victory. Crabb, a sophomore guard whose star is rising in local basketball, led all scorers with 17 points for Superior. Mangold added seven points and Butts threw in six for the victors.

After a quick start, the Lady Heat found themselves with a 2-2 record, with Seeley coming to town Saturday night.

The down slope ride continued against the Lady Blackhawks, who clawed their way to an 11-7 first quarter lead, then expanded it to 20-9 by the conclusion of the first half.

Perhaps the effects of some nagging injuries were showing as Seeley stifled the home girls 13-1 in the third quarter on their way to a 33-10 lead entering the last eight minutes of regulation play.

Regardless, Seeley’s lead proved to be insurmountable as they handed the Lady Heat a loss that dropped them to 2-3 on the season.

Christensen and fellow sophomore guard Callie Cano led the Heat with eight points each.

Earlier in the evening Friday, the Hot Springs boys, a team full of promise and a solid junior class, took on the Superior boys, who fought the home team to a near standstill at the end of the first quarter. The Cats held a 12-11 advantage as the initial stanza came to an end. And when the two teams wound up deadlocked at 25 as the first half came to a close, it looked like this would be a down to the wire thriller worthy of the full house of fans who came to cheer on both teams.

But the home boys came out in the third quarter and pointed the car up slope, outscoring Superior 13-5 and securing a 38-30 lead with one quarter to play. Hot Springs junior forward/post Nick McAllister had been a terror to that point, scoring 19 points in three quarters as he battled Superior’s 6-5 freshman Richard Landon under the basket.

“That kind of game against an opponent like that is really fun to be in,” McAllister said after the game, which the Heat won 46-35.

The 6-3 McAllister scored a game-best 22 points in leading Hot Springs to the win. He and senior teammate Quincy Styles-Depoe, who chipped in 11 points for the Heat, had their hands full with Landon and the beefy Superior front line most of the night. The Bobcats got a team high 13 points from another of Superior’s super sophs, Gannon Quinlan.

After the uphill ride Friday, the coaster car came crashing down in heart-breaking fashion for the Hot Springs boys Saturday night.

Following a promising 18-10 lead at the end of the first quarter, it looked like the coaster was continuing up and up for the Heat.

But Seeley roared back in the second quarter, outscoring the Savage Heat 19-9 to erase the first quarter Hot Springs lead and take a 29-27 halftime lead.

The Blackhawks came back from the halftime intermission and kept up the pressure, adding 11 points to their lead in the third quarter to go up 49-36 heading into the final eight minutes of regulation.

But the Heat were by no means done, and with McAllister ruling the roost under the basket once again, the home team chopped 11 points off the Seeley lead in the fourth quarter, but it was two points shy of a comeback win.

Seeley escaped with a 55-53 win, despite a 23 point outburst by McAllister, who has become a force under the basket for the Heat.

The loss dropped the Heat to 1-5 on the year, while Seeley lifted its record to 5-3.

Hot Springs returns to action this Thursday (Jan 11) when they host Two Eagle River. They then head to Alberton for a Saturday night clash with the Panthers.

The Lady Heat play at Two Eagle River Thursday, then have Friday off due to Alberton’s suspension of play this year for their injury-depleted girls team.