The annual basketball battle between the rival Bryant and Benton teams will be held tonight at the Hornets Nest. The girls game will begin at 6 p.m., to be followed by the boys at 7:30 or so. Fans will have a chance to win a new vehicle from Everett Buick GMC at halftime of the boys game and a gas card from Big Red Stores at halftime of the girls contest.
Registration for those contests will be in the entry way of the gym prior to and through the first quarter of each game.
This will be the first home game for Bryant and the only one this semester.
The young Lady Hornets team (two seniors, two juniors and the rest sophomores) comes into the game trying to snap a three-game skid. They are 3-5 on the season including going 1-2 in a pair of tournaments, most recently in Morrilton where they were knocked out by Clarksville, 58-43 after a narrow defeat to Greenbrier 43-42.
The Lady Panthers are also 3-5 on the campaign. They’ve lost two in a row, most recently to Prescott, 49-40.
Both teams have played Greenbrier. Bryant split two games against them and Benton eked out a one-point win.
Meanwhile, the Hornets started the season 5-0 before running into perennial state powerhouses Little Rock Hall and Little Rock Parkview at the Jammin’ For Jackets tournament at Hall High. Their 74-69 loss to Parkview went down to the wire.
Benton is off to a 6-1 start including two wins in a row over Prescott, 55-28, and Blytheville, 49-36.
The only common opponent for the boys teams has also been Greenbrier. On Nov. 28, the Hornets beat them 61-48 at Greenbrier. On Nov. 16, Benton defeated them 60-54 at Greenbrier.
