By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
The Searcy Lions dropped their second-straight 6A-East Conference game as Mountain Home won 54-37 at Mountain Home on Tuesday.
The Bombers (1-1 6A-East) pulled away from the Lions (11-5, 0-2) in the last five minutes. Searcy trailed by five points at halftime and by eight when the game reached the five-minute mark.
Senior forward Chris Blakely led the Lions with 12 points, while Ole Miss signee Jamal Jones was held to eight. It was one of the lowest point totals of the season for Jones.
“I think we contained ourselves more than anything,” Searcy coach Jim Summers said. “We went for two days without practicing — not making excuses — but with a bunch of teenagers, you’re rolling the dice whenever you get them out of their routine. It was a very long trip, but we know that trip is tough.
“Mountain Home always plays well at home; we just weren’t mentally prepared.”
The Lions dropped their conference opener to West Memphis 62-52 in a game that was close right up until the end.
The Blue Devils held a 25-24 lead at halftime and held a three-point lead after three quarters.
Searcy was forced to foul in the final two minutes and West Memphis padded its lead on free throws.
Summers was pleased with his team’s effort against West Memphis despite the loss.
West Memphis, ranked at the top of the conference in preseason polls, lost its ensuing conference game to Jonesboro on Tuesday.
Jacksonville lost its 6A-East conference opener to defending state champion Little Rock Hall.
Mountain Home improved to 11-11 overall by beating Searcy after it lost its 6A-East opener to Little Rock Parkview 60-52. Conference member Marion opened its conference schedule with a 54-53 victory over Jonesboro.
Searcy posted a successful non-conference run but is already at the bottom of the 6A-East standings after losing its first two games.
But Summers said the chances of any team running the table in conference play is unlikely, and that it is not yet time to panic.
“Not in this league,” Summers said. “There are a lot of people who will lose more than two games. Whoever wins this conference will most likely have three or four losses, so there’s no need to panic.
“The only thing about this conference is that there are no get-well games. Every week is tough, but you can’t feel sorry for yourself. It’s a rough road, but you’ve got to go as hard as you can go.”
As for the strength of the conference, Summers has to do nothing more than glance at the next two weeks of the Lions’ schedule.
“We’ve got Jacksonville this Friday, then we have Parkview next Tuesday and then Hall,” Summers said.
“That’s about as tough a three-game stretch as you’ll find.”
Searcy and Jacksonville played at Searcy on Friday while West Memphis hosted Marion, Little Rock Parkview played at Little Rock Hall and Jonesboro traveled to Mountain Home.
