Smackover ready to take on Dumas

It took a few games for Smackover to find its basketball self once the season began. The Buckaroos seem to have hit their stride, winning four of their last five games.

Smackover, which won at Parkers Chapel last Wednesday, will put a 6-4 record to the test on Tuesday when it opens league play against Dumas.

“We’re getting a little momentum, starting to figure out how to win a little bit,” said Smackover coach Caleb Spradlin. “It’s about to get pretty tough for us with conference starting up this week. But we’re doing pretty good, right now. I’m pretty proud of them.”

Spradlin said Dumas is ranked No. 2 in Class 3A.

“They return a lot of starters, guys that have played a lot of minutes the last couple of years for them,” he said.

“They’re going to pick you up man-to-man. They’re going to three-quarter court trap out of a 3-2. They’ll play a little 2-3 in the halfcourt. They want to press you. They want to get up and down, pick up the pace. They live off of turnovers. A lot of teams struggle against their press, so we’ll need to take care of the ball and, in the halfcourt, just get good looks, be aggressive and knock down a few shots. Hopefully, that’ll keep us in the ball game.”

It’s a big week for the Bucks, who will face McGehee on Friday. Spradlin said the Owls will be another top-ranked 3A team.

“The quarterback that moved in, he can hoop, too. He’s about 6-5 so we’ll have our hands full with him,” he said. “Yeah, it’s a tough week. We’ll figure out where we’re at after this week. It’ll be a little measuring stick for us.”

For Smackover, this could be a good time to see how it measures up. The Bucks have played well with their roster mixed with both youth and some experience.

“I think we’re coming together as a team,” said Spradlin. “We’re starting to figure out how to play together. Our roles are being defined. Guys are buying into their roles. I’m really proud of that. We’re starting to knock off the rust a little bit. Our shooting is coming around. We’re knocking down some shots on the perimeter. That’s helped a whole lot. We were shooting it pretty bad to start out.

“We’re just playing well together. I’m proud of that.”

The action tips off with junior girls at 5 p.m. on Tuesday. Spradlin said tickets are presold online and the gym will be at about half capacity.

He’s hopeful for another solid homecourt crowd in what could be a very important game.

“It’s a challenge. It’s certainly going to be a measuring stick,” he said. “We’re excited about it. It’s a great opportunity. We’ll give it our best shot.”

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