Basketball Game Preview: Smackover Buckaroos vs. Bearden Bears

The Smackover Buckaroos will challenge the Bearden Bears at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. The teams are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Smackover has struggled recently with six defeats in a row, while Bearden will arrive with three straight wins.

Last Monday, Smackover came up short against Genoa Central and fell 47-38. While losing is never fun, the Buckaroos can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arkansas basketball rankings (they are ranked 212th, while the Dragons are ranked 48th).

Meanwhile, after only two points in their last game, Bearden made sure to put some points up on the board against Emerson on Tuesday. Bearden sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 61-58 victory over Emerson.

Smackover's loss dropped their record down to 1-7. As for Bearden, their win bumped their record up to 4-5.

Smackover strolled past Bearden in their previous matchup back in November of 2023 by a score of 81-64. Will Smackover repeat their success, or does Bearden have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.