Teams prepare for state tourney
No. 2 Panthers ready for title shot
MARTIN COUCH Sports editor

The Class 6A state tournament could be everything the Benton Panthers want it to be.

Coming in as the South Conference's second-seeded team, the Panthers are in a prime position in the bracket to advance to the championship if two events take place.

First, Benton must dispose of the Jacksonville-Texarkana winner, and then advance past the likes of Jonesboro or Watson Chapel in the semifi- nals.

Benton defeated Jacksonville by 20 points earlier in the season at the Conway Wampus Cat Invitational tournament and has defeated Texarkana twice by double-digit margins. The Panthers also have two hard-fought wins over Watson Chapel.

Secondly, the Panthers must continue to play their style of basketball that has gained them a victory over the Little Rock Parkview Patriots.

"Jacksonville is a very athletic team, with strong guards in LaQuinta Miles and Terell Eskridge," said Benton head coach Chris Nail. "The Devils will play a very aggressive man-to-man and fullcourt 'man' [defense]. They will have a post presence in Antwan Lockhart."

Jacksonville upset Jonesboro in the last 6A-East conference game in Jacksonville last week.

"Texarkana is playing the best basketball of the year," Nail said. "They are led by leading scorer Tony Parker. If we advance past the quarterfinals, we will play the winner of Forrest City and Watson Chapel, who plays Jonesboro. Chapel is very talented and big. Forrest City is guard heavy with young posts and Jonesboro is the defending state champions with very athletic posts and an experienced point guard.

"Our approach for the state tournament is going to be very simple - respect everyone, but fear nobody," he said. "We have stressed the need to play one game at a time and develop complete focus on each opponent. We only talk about the opponent ahead of us."

The Panthers defeated El Dorado 54-39 to clinch the second seed last Tuesday, and then played well in a loss at Little Rock Hall on Thursday. The most positive aspect of playing the top- seeded Warriors was getting used to the court that will host the tournament.

"I feel like playing Hall on there home court is a big advantage for us," Nail said. "We should feel comfortable on the court and be used to the depth perception of the goals to shoot on. We feel like if we play well, we can play with anyone in the state. The kids and the coaching staff are looking forward to the tournament.

"Personally, my approach to the state tournament is to keep the routine very similar to the regular season. Our practice sessions will be very similar to the ones we've had all year and we will approach the games the same way."

The Panthers are 20-6 overall.

"The Hall game didn't really matter as far as the seeding was concerned," Nail said. "They made some tough shots in the second quarter to break open the game, but we locked it up by winning at El Dorado."

Nail was pleasantly surprised by the success of the Panthers.

"I really didn't expect to win 20 games and finish second in the conference this year," he said. "I knew we were going to have a good group and an experienced team, but the credit goes to the kids. They have overachieved."