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Longtime Berryville boys basketball coach Brent Compton says he’s learning to keep his expectations realistic for a young but talented team this season.
Berryville has already matched last season’s total of six victories after winning two of three games in last week’s 4A Classic at Bobcat Arena.
“I’m happy where our record is,” Compton said. “Going into the season, I would definitely take that. We’re going to make some adjustments on things we’ve done to this point, I think, to give us a better chance going forward. But I’m happy with our effort.”
Berryville defeated Wynne 49-44 on Thursday, Dec. 5, then beat Southside Batesville 57-19 on Friday, Dec. 6, before losing to Mena 77-61 on Saturday, Dec. 7.
Junior Peyton Smith scored 18 points, with sophomores Carson McMellon and Hudson Norris adding 11 and 10, respectively, against Wynne.
Against Southside — which dressed only six players with several playing in the state football playoffs — the Bobcats went on a 36-3 run after falling behind early in the game. Smith led Berryville with 14 points while McMellon added 12 and sophomore CT Hicks scored 10.
Mena scored nine points in the final 55.1 seconds of the first half of Saturday’s game — including a shot from just inside the halfcourt line at the halftime buzzer — to turn a 30-29 deficit into a 38-30 lead. The Bearcats then outscored Berryville 39-31 in the second half.
McMellon made five three-pointers and led the Bobcats with 21 points. Smith scored nine of his 16 in the fourth quarter. Hicks added 15 points for Berryville.
“We’re starting four sophomores and a junior, so we’re going to have some growing pains,” Compton said. “Being patient and positive and having that competitive spirit, it’s sometimes tough for me — wanting to win and still trying to understand that we’re young and those are things that we’ve got to keep in perspective. … “I’ve got really good kids and they play really hard and I’m excited about everything moving forward. But I’ve just got to understand and hopefully our fans understand that we’re going to have some hiccups here and there and some blunders here just because of lack of experience.”
Compton said junior Noah Houghton, Berryville’s second-leading scorer as a sophomore last season, will miss the rest of the season with an ACL injury.
“That’s really, I’m afraid, going to hurt us moving forward,” Compton said, adding that Houghton should be fully recovered for his senior season.
The Bobcats played Blue Eye on Monday, Dec. 8, in a second- round game at the Anstaff Bank Green Forest Holiday Tournament.
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