The regular season ended on a rough note Friday for the Mountain Home High School basketball teams, as they were swept at West Memphis.
The Lady Bombers’ goal of winning a share of the conference championship came up short, as they fell to the Lady Blue Devils 44-30. The game was kept close throughout the first and partway through the third quarter, as the two teams had six lead changes and four ties. Mountain Home took the lead after West Memphis’ Aniaya Dean was charged with a technical foul, and Kate Gilbert hit one of two free throws, but the Lady Blue Devils later went back on top for good and pulled further away from the Lady Bombers for a 14-point victory.
Gilbert led Mountain Home with 15 points. For West Memphis, Janiyah Tucker scored 17.
The Lady Blue Devils wrap up the regular season as 5A-East co-champions with Nettleton, as they are 22-6 overall and 11-3 in the league. The Lady Bombers ended up in a tie for third with Jonesboro at 21-6 and 10-4. The Lady Hurricane won the tiebreaker, so Mountain Home will end up as a No. 4 seed. The Lady Bombers’ first game in the Class 5A State Tournament will be Tuesday at 1 p.m., as they meet Vilonia at Russellville.
Mountain Home’s boys did not fare any better, as they lost to West Memphis 46-39. There were four lead changes and two ties early on. The Bombers were up 13-10 in the second quarter, but the Blue Devils scored 14 straight to go up double digits. Mountain Home came back and cut the margin to three in the second half, but they got no closer, as West Memphis went on to win by seven.
The Bombers were led by Mat Jones with 20 points, and Wyatt Gilbert added 15. Chris Moore had 17 points for the Blue Devils.
Mountain Home finishes the year tied for fifth in the 5A-East at 15-12 on the season and 6-8 in the conference. West Memphis, already the outright 5A-East champs, improves to 23-4 and 13-1.
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