VAN BUREN -- When the offense isn't clicking for Siloam Springs senior forward Dalton Newman, his coach always reminds him to get to the rim.
Recalling that advice worked out well Monday night at Clair Bates Arena.
Newman, who is 6-4, scored Siloam Springs' lone fourth-quarter basket on a layup with 42 seconds left to retake the lead and hold on for a 36-34 victory against Van Buren. The bucket helped secure a bounce-back win for the Panthers, who two days ago lost a close contest to Mountain Home.
"I knew we needed that basket at the end," Newman said. "We were all struggling to shoot. I just told myself I needed to get to the rim. Every time I start messing up, coach always tells me to get to the rim. We had a bad taste in our mouth from our last game and really wanted this one."
The Panthers made just one of seven shots in the final quarter, but it was an important one with Newman scoring the go-ahead basket late in the game.
"He is the strongest kid on the team and is a great player," Siloam Springs coach Tim Stewart said. "We got some good looks at the rim and missed them. He finally hit that one. We look for him to make big plays late. I'm super proud of him hitting that shot."
Siloam Springs held just a 33-26 lead entering the final quarter after Van Buren's Trenton Cooley scored at the third-quarter buzzer. The Pointers used that momentum for a 8-0 run and a 34-33 lead with 3:37 left in the contest. Drew Brasuell drilled a 3-pointer to cap the scoring stretch.
Siloam Springs used its defense down the stretch to not allow another point after that while scoring the final three points of the game. Newman scored his for a 35-34 lead, and Nate Vachon hit a free throw for a 36-34 edge with four seconds left.
Van Buren had an open look from behind the arc to win the game, but it went off the side of the rim as time expired.
Siloam Springs (14-8, 6-2 5A-West) had a very balanced offense. Vachon led the way with nine points while Newman and Jaxson Spence each added eight. Nathan Hawbaker also chipped in seven points.
Van Buren (13-11, 4-4) was led by Cooley off the bench, as he finished with a game-high 10 points.
Siloam Springs jumped out to a 10-2 edge early, but Van Buren used a 7-0 run to make it just a 10-9 Siloam Springs advantage after a quarter of play.
The Panthers used a 7-0 run to take a 17-11 lead in the second quarter and held a 22-14 edge entering halftime. Van Buren was outscored 12-5 in the second frame.
Girls
Siloam Springs 38, Van Buren 31
Make it four consecutive 5A-West wins for the Lady Panthers.
Siloam Springs (14-9, 7-1) got the road win behind strong games from Brooke Ross and Mimo Jacklik. Ross finished with a game-high 16 points to go with six rebounds. Jacklik scored 11 points to go with her seven rebounds and six steals.
Van Buren (12-11, 4-4) was led by Camryn Schmidt, who finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
The Lady Panthers jumped out to a 12-4 edge after the initial quarter of the game. They used a 7-0 scoring stretch to start the frame then finished it with a 5-0 run.
Van Buren found itself down just 17-10 heading into halftime and just 24-22 entering the final quarter.
Turnovers became an issue for the Lady Pointers after that. They started the fourth quarter with four consecutive turnovers and finished with 22 in the game. That helped allow Siloam Springs to push its lead out to 33-25. Van Buren cut the lead to just 34-30 with 1:11 left, but Siloam Springs allowed just one point after that on defense.