MOUNTAIN HOME — The Mountain Home Bombers opened their basketball season on a high note Monday evening with a commanding win over the Paragould Rams at The Hangar. Both the junior varsity and varsity teams secured victories in front of the home crowd.
The junior varsity boys started the night with a narrow 40-34 win. Drew Nelson led the JV Bombers with 10 points, while Lincoln Clements and Tanner Alkire each added 7 points to the effort.
The varsity game saw Mountain Home jump to an early 8-0 advantage. However, an administrative technical foul for a mistake in the scorebook allowed Paragould to narrow the gap to 8-4. The Bombers regained momentum to end the first quarter ahead 14-9 and carried a 27-19 lead into halftime.
The game’s defining moment came in the second half when the Bombers unleashed a 15-0 scoring run, pushing their lead to 49-23. Mountain Home held a commanding lead of up to 28 points at its peak before finishing with a 58-40 victory. The margin, though substantial, fell short of invoking the Arkansas Activities Association’s mercy rule.
Senior guard Satch Cheek led all scorers with 18 points. Bailor Tate contributed 9, Max Bryant added 8, and Cody Cormican and Davin Reasons chipped in 7 points each.
With the victory, Mountain Home begins the season 1-0. The Bombers will look to maintain their momentum this Saturday as they travel to Nettleton to compete in the Hytrol Classic.