Hardin upsets Tarkington 46-41

In front of a packed gym on Friday night at home, the Hardin Hornets did not disappoint and sent the Tarkington Longhorns home with a 46-41 loss. The first time these two teams met, it was all Tarkington in a blow-out win; this time, it was Hardin pulling off the upset. Carson Williams scored 15 points and hauled in 11 rebounds to lead the way for the Hornets. Hardin used the crowd’s electricity to get off to an excellent first quarter. It was Logan Parker nailing a three-pointer early on, and the Hornets led 5-2. Back came the Longhorns with Hunter Keith scoring on a three-point play and a 5-5 tie. Moments later, it was Williams scoring on a three-point play and a 12-9 advantage, and then Caden Elmore had a steal and scored while he was fouled, and Hardin had built a 16-9 lead. Early in the second quarter, Tarkington’s Braden Bostwick hit from downtown to cut the deficit to 20-16. The Hornets then got a Williams score off an assist from A.J. Scott, and the home team led 26-19 at the half. Elmore started the third period off by hitting on a three-pointer to make the lead 29-21. Later in the quarter, the Longhorns Cory Armstrong scored off an assist from Keith to cut the lead to 34-28. As they had done all night, Hardin answered with a James Barker trey to make it 37-30. The Hornets led 41-34 after another Barker three-pointer with 2:45 left. Tarkington then mounted a rally and scored the next six points highlighted by a Bostwick three-pointer with 1:15 left, and the Longhorns had closed within 41-40. That would be as close as Tarkington would get as two free-throws by Logan Chitwood made the score 45-41, and Hardin had got the win. Bostwick led the Longhorns with 14 points and Armstrong and Carlos Preciado each scored 7-points apiece. Elmore joined Williams in double figures with 10. Barker finished with 8.