Lavaca boys basketball coach Renner Reed has a good feeling about the end of January.
He's hopeful the Golden Arrows are about to duplicate how they finished the 2016-17 season.
The Golden Arrows (14-4) travel to Hackett on Friday.
"Everything's coming around," Reed said. "It's been a weird challenge, with injuries and sickness. I think now we're to the point where we're pretty healthy. I think we've played two games now with a full team — the last two games."
The Lavaca roster, which includes four seniors, may be stronger because of the uncertainty surrounding injuries and sickness. Senior guard Garrett Eck, who went for 26 in Tuesday's 82-46 win over Hartford, is beginning to come around following an ankle injury.
Seniors Ryan Dockery, Chance Walker and Levi Simpson have all enjoyed big seasons.
Other players have had their moments, too, Reed said.
"As crazy as it sounds, the good news is we played a lot of guys who weren't expecting to play much, and they filled a roll and got the job done," Reed said. "I think it made us stronger."
Reed hopes to earn a first or second place seed at district, which would help the team in its quest to clinch a state tournament berth at the regional tournament. Lavaca went 1-2 at regionals last season, losing to Jacksonville Lighthouse and White County Central, before earning a state tournament win over Blevins.
"Our district is not bad, but the challenge beyond that is regionals," Reed said. "Our regional is always loaded. In the second round of regional, we played Jacksonville Lighthouse; we don't see that type of athleticism.
Lavaca will see some athleticism next Tuesday when they face County Line.
"We need to play a team like that," Reed said. "That's the type of teams we're going to see at regionals and state."
Ozark
Ozark boys basketball coach Brad Johnson knew what practice was like as a player. In short, there were no "off days" in John Parrish's program.
It's the same way now for Johnson's Hillbillies.
"Competition breeds success," he said. "I don't have to force them to battle in practice every day. They come to practice ready to work."
Ozark, 13-3, bested Subiaco Academy on Tuesday, 50-42. Colt Millsap led the team with 21 points.
"I've always thought this may be one of the better groups," Johnson said. "I have good guard plays, guys who can shoot it, and we have some toughness. I didn't think we would be 13-1 at this point, but I thought they would be pretty good. Our depth is good."
Johnson said despite the blended conference, where the Hillbillies are currently 3-0, a league title is a league title.
"We tell our kids we are playing for seeds, regardless of what the AAA (Arkansas Activities Association) says," he said. "If we win a conference championship, we're going to hang a banner.
"We tell them (players), every conference game matters."
Booneville
The Bearcats used some mental toughness to rally past Waldron on Tuesday. They'll need to patience and a big defensive effort Friday if they're to slow down the Ozark Hillbillies.
Booneville's enjoying another breakout season — something that might have seemed lost three years ago.
The Bearcats improved to 13-5 following Tuesday's win over the Bulldogs.
Junior point guard Camryn Lawson broke the Bearcats' single game assists record with 10. He's averaging four dimes a game.
Junior Blakley Cobb went 6-for-11 from deep and finished with 10 points in the win. Even more impressive, he held explosive Waldron sophomore Payton Brown to just seven second half points.
Clarksville
Within the blended conference of 6A-5A-West basketball, Tuesday's 56-53 overtime win at Siloam Springs may not have meant anything.
But after a tough stretch, the Clarksville Panthers certainly aren't about to give back their win.
Sophomore Emmaline Rieder continued her strong play with 16 points and teammate Maegan Payne chipped in 15 to pace Clarksville past Siloam Springs.
The Lady Panthers' KK Phillips and Grace Dougan added eight and five points, respectively.
Clarksville lost the boys game, 61-50, despite another big game from Trace Thomas. The junior guard led the Panthers with 25 points.
Charleston
The Tigers improved to 2-0 in the blended 3A/4A conference Tuesday with an easy 64-37 win over the Mansfield Tigers.
Jacob Green led the 8-4 Tigers with 13 points. Senior Chase Ewing added 11.
Charleston travels to Paris on Friday, and the Tigers return home next Tuesday to host Ozark.
Mountainburg
Levi Burrough hit for 14 points and the Mountainburg Dragons (7-9) nearly doubled up Hackett with a 43-20 victory Tuesday night.
The Dragons' Austin Wakefield added 12.
The Lady Dragons (8-9) suffered a tough 50-46 overtime loss to Hackett on Tuesday. Madelyn Beasley led Mountainburg with 16 points, while Kassy Pense and Emily France each had 9.
Paris
The Paris Lady Eagles defeated Cedarville on Tuesday night, 59-36, behind Kieli Robinson's 29-point effort.
The Eagles won the boys game as well, 46-41.