It is that time of year where the end to the long regular season is in sight and the start of a new season, the post-season, is just around the corner. Teams have approximately three conference games remaining starting tomorrow night, and one such game will be the Charleston Tigers and Lady Tigers playing at Paris. Both schools would like to be in better position in the conference standings than they see themselves at the moment, but both can make a run in their last three games to improve their first round district tournament match-ups and hopes to advance to regional tournament play.
On the girls side, the Charleston Lady Tigers, winners of their district last year, and state semifinalists, are 6-4 in conference play. Paris, playing with three starting sophomores, a junior, and one senior, entered the year with very little varsity experience and are hoping to also make a run to avoid possibly playing Cedarville on their home court in the first round of the district tournament.
According to Arkansas Scorebook Live, the 3A-4 girls conference standings as of Monday, February 1 are:
Danville 9-1
Cossatot River 8-2
Cedarville 8-2
Charleston 6-4
Booneville 4-6
Paris 3-7
Waldron 1-9
Hackett 1-9
Charleston has remaining games at Paris, Hackett, and Danville. They have a final home game on Friday versus Waldron.
The Paris Lady Eagles have games remaining with Charleston and at Cossatot River on Friday. The Lady Eagles will finish their regular season with a home game versus Cedarville on February 9 and a road game at Booneville on February 12.
On the boys side, the Charleston Tigers are 6-3 and tied for third place in the conference. Charleston is tied with Booneville and is two games behind conference-leading Waldron who is 9-1. Paris is 4-6 going into Tuesday’s match-up with Charleston and currently resides in fifth place in the conference. The conference boys standings as of today are:
Waldron 9-1
Booneville 6-4
Charleston 6-3
Cedarville 5-4
Paris 4-6
Hackett 3-7
Danville 2-6
Cossatot River 2-7
Charleston has remaining games at Paris and Hackett. The Tigers final home game will be this Friday when Charleston welcomes Waldron to Tiger Center.
Just as in the case of the girls teams, both Charleston and Paris boys are focused on having a big week this week, and closing out the season on high notes next week to make a move in the conference standings.
This year’s senior district tournament will be held at Cedarville, and the Pirates will have a significant home court advantage for the tournament. This makes it that much more important to finish high in the standings to avoid playing the Lady Pirates or the Pirates on their home floor early in the tournament.
Injuries, fatigue, and disappointment in the way the season has gone are all factors that can affect teenagers playing high school basketball this time of year. But senior leadership, coaching, and fan support can inspire teams to get on a roll at post-season time. Many times, a team that has had a mediocre season can get hot a post-season time and win a few games in a row and all of the sudden find themselves playing for something very important. That is the beauty of the post-season tournament, and the name of the game now is just to get there and start out with the best possible path to the finals.
And I haven’t mentioned it, but it is always out there…anytime Paris and Charleston get together, you can throw out the records. Both schools, separated by just a few miles, always come to play when they see each other on the schedule. It should be a good night for basketball. Charleston fans travel well and always support their Tigers, and the same can be said for the Eagles fan base.
So, Tuesday’s night’s games at Paris Gymnasium are important for many reasons, and at 5 p.m., the fun and the action will begin. Resident Press will be there to bring you all of the action in Wednesday evening’s online edition of the Resident Press. We thank all of our loyal readers in both communities for following Resident Press!
See you tomorrow night at Paris Gymnasium!
