Magnolia is searching for ways to keep from falling behind during 5A-South Conference games.
The Panthers did it again Friday night and were unable to dig themselves out the hole. It resulted in a 50-45 home loss to Hot Springs Lakeside and the Panthers' third straight conference loss.
"Again, we dug ourselves too deep of a hole early. We kept telling the kids the entire first half to stop settling for jump shots when they were not falling and let's attack the rim," said Magnolia head coach Dyun Long.
The Panthers have now found themselves 6-6 overall on the season and 1-4 in conference play.
The Rams, winless in league play before visiting Panther Arena, move to 7-11 on the year and 1-4 in conference.
"For some reason or another, we didn't attack the basket in the first half. That's something I take full responsibility for and I have to do a better job of coaching," said Long.
Other than a 3-0 lead at the start of the contest, the Panthers never got ahead of Lakeside again after the Rams tied the battle at 3-3 with 4:51 on the clock.
The Rams reeled off nine unanswered points to build a 9-3 advantage late in the period, but a 3-pointer by Trey Davis made the first quarter score 9-6.
Lakeside dominated the second period. Four free throws put the visitors up 13-6 early, but another 3-pointer by Davis made it 13-9 with 6:19 on the clock.
The Rams then went on a 10-0 run and led by 14, 23-9, with two minutes to play in the first half.
Neither team scored again and the Panthers trailed by 14 at intermission.
Magnolia was down by 15, 28-13, early in the third period before attempting to battle back.
Jamontay Bunn and Cedric Turner had back-to-back 3-pointers as Magnolia closed the gap to 10 at the 5:09 mark.
A late spurt in the final minute allowed the Panthers to trail by only eight, 36-24, when the third-quarter buzzer sounded.
Bunn and Turner sparked the Panthers at the start of the final period and Lakeside's lead was cut to five, 37-32, with 4:45 to play.
Greg Martin nailed a long-range jumper with 4:15 left and the Panthers were down by only two, 37-35.
Magnolia wouldn't get any closer as the Rams stretched the lead back to 10, 48-38, with 1:10 left.
A late flurry of points were not enough as the Panthers lost by five.
"The hole was just too deep to crawl out of," Long said.
The coach agreed that the Panthers were taking some good shots, but they were simply not falling.
"Lakeside did a good job on defense in trying to take away our best player. We started screening and running a little weave which helped a little," explained the coach.
However, he again said Magnolia had plenty of opportunities in the first half to get to the rim and simply didn't take them.
"We just have to play a little smarter and get better," he added.
Bunn led the Panthers in scoring with 15 points before fouling out early in the fourth quarter. Davis and Turner followed with 10 apiece.
Tanner Rice had 14 for the Rams, while Grant Webber and Andrew Spakes added 13 apiece.
Magnolia will look to snap the conference losing skid at home Tuesday against the De Queen Leopards.