Miners take down Wildcats

BAUXITE – Despite missing their last seven free throws of the game, the Bauxite Miners did enough before the final minutes to come away with a 48-40 victory over the Harding Academy Wildcats on Tuesday at Fred Dawson Gym. Bauxite Coach Andy Brakebill was happy with the performance considering the team’s struggles last week with two losses.
“We really struggled last week as a team in the Harmony Grove tournament,” Brakebill said. “We just came back from the break and we didn’t play very well. Our guys came out and [Tuesday] was the first game I’ve seen them play together as a family. We’ve been preaching about that, playing as a family, holding each other accountable and just pushing each other.”
Tied 2-2 at the start, senior Zack Baxley’s layup and sophomore Jacob Stroud’s three gave Bauxite a 7-2 lead. Stroud had two more buckets in the quarter to give the Miners an 11-8 lead after one.
Sophomore Colton Robinson’s layup and 3-pointer put Bauxite up 20-12 with just under three minutes to play in the half, and the Miners led 28-17 at the half after Nick Tollison found Stroud for a last-second lay up.
“We did a lot of good things,” Brakebill said. “We emphasize paint touches, getting inside and we were able to finish. We finished better than we have been.”
The Miners shot 21 of 33 (64 percent) from the field in the game, including 9 of 13 in the second half. Bauxite held Harding to 16 of 41 (39 percent) shooting.
After Robinson hit a three to open the second half for the Miners, Derrick Strong led the way in the second half with nine points. Strong had 13 points (6 of 8 from field), eight rebounds and four assists in the win.