Panthers routed on road

The Benton Panthers were hanging tough with a very talented Texarkana Razorbacks team in the second round of the 6A West Conference Tournament Tuesday in Texarkana. But, the Panthers could muster just nine points in the second half as the Razorbacks ran away with it in a 66-40 victory. Benton’s loss will have the Panthers hosting the Lake Hamilton Wolves for the 6A State Tournament No. 3 seed Saturday at Benton Arena. Tipoff is 2 p.m.
“We had the ball to start the second half and missed a couple of easy ones around the basket, and the tempo really got back in their favor,” Benton Coach Dexter Hendrix said. “They really got out in transition and ran the floor. That was definitely their game plan, to get us running up and down. We just missed some shots we normally make. We never could recover from that.
“You have to give Texarkana credit, how much improved they are from last year. They’re playing really, really well right now. We’ll try to forget about this one, learn from it and move on to Lake Hamilton on Saturday.”