A Sheridan sophomore took over Thursday night as the Yellowjackets wrapped up the boys basketball regular season against a fellow playoff team.
Jace Gatlin scored just over half of his team’s points as he led Sheridan to a 67-59 win against Hot Springs at Yellowjacket Arena. Gatlin scored 34 points to send Sheridan (24-7, 13-3 in 5A-South) into next week’s Class 5A state tournament on a two-game winning streak. He scored 10 points in the first quarter and 10 in the fourth while making seven three-pointers.
After the game, Gatlin credited Jesus and his teammates for his performance.
“Trusting my teammates, let the ball come to me,” Gatlin said. “Let it all come to me at once, get a rhythm, play the right way still, and it’ll come back to you. The basketball gods, that’s just the way it is sometimes.”
Some of his most important shots came with the game on the line. The Yellowjackets led by as much as 51-35 before Hot Springs (15-13, 9-7) fought back. The Trojans cut the lead to 52-41 by the end of the third quarter, then got as close as 58-56 after a shot by junior Ladrell Williams with under 3 minutes to play.
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Gatlin, who had been quiet offensively since early in the third, fired back with a crucial three-pointer just before Sheridan called a timeout with 2:29 remaining. Hot Springs sophomore Da’ron Hicks scored to cut the lead to 61-58 before Gatlin hit another three-pointer. He then stole the ball and scored in transition to put the game away.
Sheridan Coach Joe Scott said Gatlin thrives in big moments.
“Jace was incredible tonight,” Scott said. “Caught fire, was hard to stop. He was getting to the rim. He was getting threes. He was drawing contact, getting to the free throw line. Jace was incredible tonight. I think he also had seven rebounds, so that was big time.”
Seven other Yellowjackets scored, led by freshman Wilson Reid with seven points. Sophomore Judah Johnson and freshman Vann Hayes scored 20 apiece for Hot Springs.
There wasn’t much on the line Thursday night. Sheridan had already clinched the No. 2 seed from the 5A-South Conference in the state tournament, and Hot Springs entered the night locked into the No. 3 position.
Despite this, both teams battled until the end, looking to go into the postseason on a win. Scott said his team is a brotherhood and was going to do its best regardless of the stakes.
“They want to come out here and fight and play for the Yellowjackets and for our school and for our community,” Scott said. “So, these guys got a bunch of heart, a bunch of character. They’re not going to give in. One game left, even though the seeds were already clinched, they were going to come out and do the job.”
Sheridan and Hot Springs will join Benton and Texarkana as the 5A-South representatives in the state tournament.
GIRLS: Sheridan 53, Hot Springs 33
The Sheridan girls had little trouble dispatching Hot Springs to clinch the No. 3 seed from the 5A-South.
Sheridan (16-13, 11-5) started the game on a 12-0 run, leading to a Hot Springs timeout. Freshman Ainsley Stevens started the run with a three-pointer, and senior Lilly Reid finished it with another. The Lady Jackets later had another 12-0 run in the second quarter.
Hot Springs (7-20, 2-14) finally scored with a shot by Trinity Stiff with 3:23 remaining in the first quarter. Sheridan went on to lead 19-6 after the first and 33-11 at halftime.
The Lady Jackets’ largest lead was a 43-13 edge in the third quarter. Hot Springs closed the gap to 47-21 by the end of the third, but the fourth was nonetheless played with a running clock. The Lady Trojans finished the game on a 7-0 run.
Reid led all scorers with 17 points. Eight other Lady Jackets scored, led by senior Mason Wilson with nine points and Stevens with eight. Freshman Aaliyah Finks led the Lady Trojans with 15 points, while Stiff followed with 10.