Hornets Stay Undefeated
The Nashville Hornets boys basketball team continued their hot start to the season with three wins this season. The Hornets picked up road wins against Chester and Benton, as well as a conference win at home over Sparta. Nashville has a record of 10-0 this season. The Hornets have one more game before Christmas as they travel to Carterville on December 21.
Chester gave the Hornets everything they could handle on December 11, but Nashville was able to pull away late to take 51-40 win. The Hornets held just a 14-13 lead at the end of the first quarter, and led 22-21 at halftime. Nashville gained some breathing room in the third quarter as they outscored Chester 15-6 to take a 37-27 lead into the final stanza. In the fourth, the Hornets were able to close out Chester and take an 11 point win.
Bryce Bultman led Nashville with 20 points. Carson Parker finished with 12 points. Tanner Bergmann added nine points, all of which came in the first half. Kelton Harre and Tristen Hercules finished with five points apiece.
Nashville was back in Assembly Hall on December 14 as they hosted Sparta in a SIRR Mississippi Division matchup. This game was all Hornets from the get-go as Nashville cruised to a 64-23 win over the Bulldogs.
Nashville jumped out to a 16-4 lead after one quarter of play. Seven of the Hornets 16 points came from Bultman.
The three pointer was key for Nashville in the second quarter. The Hornets hit four threes in the frame accounting for all of Nashville’s points in the quarter. Bultman got the crowd up on their feet at the end of the half, as he knocked down a shot from well beyond half court to help the Hornets to a 28-10 lead at the break.
Bultman talked about the shot after the game. “I looked up at the clock and saw two seconds and I was like I guess I should just shoot it. I looked at the rim and just shot it and it went in. I was pretty excited, shocked by it.”
Nashville really put the game away in the third quarter as they outscored Sparta 23-4 and took a 51-14 lead into the fourth quarter. Most of the starters were out of the game for the majority of the fourth quarter as Nashville was in cruise control. The Hornets still outscored Sparta 13-9 in the quarter and took the win 64-23.
The top ranked Hornets rolled again, and Coach Wayne Harre talked about the high ranking after the game. “It’s nice for the kids, but it doesn’t really mean a whole lot when we play people. We all know, even when Nashville isn’t ranked high, we’re always going to get everyone’s best game. That’s the way we took it. We go that way. It’s good recognition for the kids, but at the same time we know we can get beat anytime, so we have to be ready to play. That’s the way we’ve always done it in the past. We just go play.”
Bultman led all scorers with 23 points. Both Terry Pelczynski and Parker were also in double figures with ten points apiece. Bergmann added nine points, while Matt Anderson chipped in six points. Hercules rounded out the scoring with three points.
