The Paris Eagles and the Lavaca Golden Arrows stepped out of conference play last evening to renew an old rivalry in high school basketball. The games were a great way for both schools to get into the post-holiday drive when conference seasons resume for both schools next week.

The Paris Lady Eagles senior high team picked up a big road win at Lavaca by defeating the Lady Golden Arrows 43-34. In a game that was marked by intense play and effort from both teams, the Lady Eagles pulled away in the second half before surviving a late defensive flurry from Lavaca’s defense. The win is yet another indicator of the steady improvement this team has made since November. It was an important tune-up for the resumption of conference play when the Lady Eagles play a very important conference game Tuesday night versus Atkins.

Lady Eagles coach Dustin Williams was pleased with his teams’ performances and the progress they continue to show. “That game felt like the best game we have put together from start to finish in every aspect of the game. Our offensive execution, defensive intensity and rebounding were there for most of the game. We still haven’t put together a full 32 minutes but this young team is getting there. We will hit our stride at the right time.”

With the Paris sweep of the girls games on Friday, the opposite was true in the boys games. Lavaca swept Paris in both junior and senior high boys games. The senior Golden Arrows defeated Paris 54-24. Paris held the lead at the end of the first quarter 10-5 before Lavaca went on a 16-3 run in the second quarter to close out the half ahead of the Eagles 21-13. Paris was in the game at the half and continued into the third quarter where Lavaca outscored Paris by just four points. Then the dam broke. Lavaca went on a 24-6 run in the fourth quarter behind outstanding defense that produce multiple turnovers and scoring opportunities from its pressure defense and outstanding guard play.

Now, the Eagles must regroup and get ready to host a very good Atkins team at Paris Gymnasium on Tuesday. It doesn’t get any easier for the Eagles as they resume conference play.

The conference schedule will resume on Tuesday, January 7 when the Eagles host Atkins. The senior girls will play at approximately 6 p.m and the senior boys will immediately follow. The Junior Eagles and Lady Eagles will not play again until Thursday night when they travel to Fountain Lake. Girls and boys junior high games are scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. Finally, to wrap up the week, the Paris senior and junior high teams will travel to Two Rivers to play the Gators on January 10. It will be a challenging week in the schedule that will include two long road trips on consecutive nights.

The Atkins senior boys team (9-0, 3-0), according to Max Preps, is ranked 14th in Arkansas in Class 3A and 86th over all classifications. Akins has a half-game lead in the conference over Fountain Lake who is 3-1 in conference play. Akins has won nine in a row, including three in a row in conference.

The Atkins senior girls team (6-8, 1-2), is ranked 40th in Arkansas in Class 3A and 161st over all classifications in the state. Atkins is two games out of first place, behind conference leaders Perryville, Two Rivers, and Lamar, who are all undefeated in conference play. Jessieville is tied in the loss column with two loses, but has played four conference games.

With the conference standings for both the Paris boys and girls, it is easy to see that this is a critical week of conference play for Paris. Both teams have an opportunity to tighten the races in their respective conferences.

The Eagles and Lady Eagles will play in a new Class 3A basketball conference next year, and now is the time to make a statement in their current conference before schedules change in November.

The holidays are over and teams now find themselves in the most important part of their schedules where they play conference games each week leading into district tournaments that will begin in mid-February. Before we know it, the junior district tournament will be here the week of February 10, and the senior district tournaments will begin the following week. Regional tournaments will be held the week of February 26 and qualifying teams will head to the state tournament the week of March 3. Senior high rosters could be tweaked all around the conference after the district tournament concludes. Freshmen could add depth or fill gaps in senior rosters throughout the district tournament. It is always interesting to see which teams in the district will significantly improve or change their personalities with the addition of freshmen to the varsity rosters.

All of this, combined with a sport in which anyone can win on any given night, and it is no wonder why the great sport of high school basketball is so popular in Arkansas. Eagle fans need to turn out for the stretch drive to support their Eagles and Lady Eagles as the teams focus on each crucial conference game and the goal of advancing to post-season play. The Paris basketball program needs its fan base to be road warriors this week and support the teams at Fountain Lake and Two Rivers.

It should be an exciting time leading up to Valentine’s Day and the district tournaments! All teams, regardless of records, have a lot to play for in January and February. The goal is to improve with each week and to be playing your best basketball at tournament time. There are many stories and legends out there about teams of the past who got hot at the right time and made big runs in post season tournaments! The old schoolers may remember the North Carolina State team of 1983 who became the first team to win the NCAA tournament with 10 or more season losses. The Wolfpack were the epitome of a team that got hot at the right time. In fact, NC State beat outstanding teams in the tournament to win the national title: UNLV, Virginia, and Houston…all ranked in the top four nationally!

It can be done.

So, Eagles fans….why not Paris?