By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Back on January 5, the Forrest City Junior Mustangs dealt Jonesboro MacArthur it's first conference loss of the year, winning 58-37 at Mustang Arena.
The Cyclones did not forget.
Monday night, in the rematch at Jonesboro, MacArthur avenged that loss, their only one in 10 conference games, defeating Forrest City 52-44 and building a 1-1/2-game lead in the AAAAA-East conference.
MacArthur improves to 13-2 overall and 9-1 in the conference while the Junior Mustangs fall to 11-3 and 7-2 and into second placein the standings.
"It was a game that they (MacArthur) knew they needed to win," said Forrest City Coach Jimmy Williams. "They have improved tremendously since we played them earlier. They will be the favorite in the upcoming conference tournament."
Forrest City will host the AAAAA-East Junior High Conference tournament beginning Monday, Feb. 16, at Mustang Arena.
The Cyclones trailed 9-8 after the first quarter, before storming out to a 21-15 lead at the halftime break.
The Junior Mustangs fell behind by 10 in the third period and never got closer than six in the fourth period.
"We didn't play very well from our zone defense," Williams said. "MacArthur hurt us inside more than they did outside. When we switched to a man defense, we played better."
Marcus Britt led Forrest City with 23 points while Stephon Weaver scored 15.
Roosevelt Griffin led MacArthur with 16 points, while Grant Cook and Logan Nutt each scored 10.
The Junior Mustangs will host West Memphis West Thursday night before hitting the road next week for games at Blutheville and Annie Camp.
"We have to take care of the upcoming road games, but first we have to focus on Thursday night," Williams said in reference to West Memphis West.
MacArthur's junior girls boosted their conference record above the .500 mark Monday night, taking a 25-16 victory over Forrest City's Junior Lady Mustangs.
The Lady Cyclones did not allow more than six points from Forrest City in any quarter, outscoring the junior Lady Mustangs 11-2 in the third frame.
Forrest City slips to 6-8 on the year and 2-7 in the conference.
It was the second time this season that the Forrest City junior girls have lost to MacArthur.
MacArthur moves to 9-7 overall and 5-4 in the girls' side of the AAAAA-East.
D'Atra Anderson had eight points, while Dominique Anderson finished with seven points.
The Junior Lady Mustangs will host West Memphis West Thursday.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The Forrest City Mustangs and Lady Mustangs will host West Memphis tonight at Mustang Arena.
The Mustangs will be trying to end a two-game conference losing streak in the AAAAA-East.
West Memphis, the second-ranked team in the state, behind Pulaski Academy, is unbeaten in the East.
"Tonight's game will measure how far we have come as a team since the first time we played West Memphis," said Forrest City Coach Dwight Lofton. In that first meeting, at West Memphis, the Blue Devils handed the Mustangs a 68-42 loss.
The Mustangs are still searching for help in the No. 2 guard slot, after losing senior John Foreman for the rest of the season. Sherman Allen, Melvin Lowe and Taurus Moore have been rotating in and out of that spot on the floor.
"We run a lot of our plays through that two-guard position," Lofton said.
The Lady Mustangs will be minus Torrie Willis for the week. Willis, who has been providing the Lady Mustangs with some quality playing time this season off the bench, is out with the flu.
The Lady Blue Devils are coming off a loss to Cabot on Friday and are in second place in the league standings.
West Memphis held off Forrest City 56-43 in the first meeting between the two teams.
The three-game set begins at 5 p.m., with a junior varsity boys game.
Dulin's Sports Academy of memphis, will host a pre-season baseball clinic on Saturday, March 13, at East Arkansas Community College.
The clinic will focus on throwing, batting, base running and fielding.
The Dulin's cosching staff will group the participants according to age.
Dulin's requires 40 campers to hold the camp and thos einterested in attending can sign up early by calling (870) 633-4480 Ext. 261 or 333.
The fee for the clinic is $45 per camper.
The Palestine-Wheatley basketball teams will play on the road tonight at Clarendon beginning at 5 p.m.
The Patriots are coming off two 6AA Conference home victories.
The Hughes Blue Devil teams will be in action at Parkin.
The Blue Devils lost to Earle Friday in 3AA South action.