By Nick Brockman, Messenger Sports Reporter nbrockman@the-messenger.com
When playing rivalry games, exciting finishes become the norm and Tuesday's annual basketball matchup between Hopkins County Central and Madisonville-North Hopkins did not disappoint.
The Storm (14-5) entered Maroon Gym and led by as many as 13 points during the second half, but the game's outcome did not crystallize until the final seconds when Josh Riley converted on a fastbreak layup and Central beat North (6-10) by a score of 66-62.
"This win means everything," Riley said. "This is what we have been working for all year long. We haven't won a game here in four years and that's what we were looking for."
Ahead by just a single point with less than 30 seconds to go, Central's defense faced a tall task to stop Jon Hood and the Maroons, though North's Ryan Robinson took the possible game-winning shot.
The rebound eventually bounced into the hands of Central's Je'Vonte Hughes, who sent an outlet pass to Riley well ahead of the North defenders.
Riley accepted the pass and off-balance in the air, the junior softly placed the ball off the glass and into the rim as his body twisted.
"I saw Je'Vonte pushing the ball, so I just ran up the floor as fast as I could," Riley said. "I just caught it. I knew I was going to get contact, I just had to finish strong."
The Storm (14-5) entered Maroon Gym and led by as many as 13 points during the second half, but the game's outcome did not crystallize until the final seconds when Josh Riley converted on a fastbreak layup and Central beat North (6-10) by a score of 66-62.
"This win means everything," Riley said. "This is what we have been working for all year long. We haven't won a game here in four years and that's what we were looking for."
Ahead by just a single point with less than 30 seconds to go, Central's defense faced a tall task to stop Jon Hood and the Maroons, though North's Ryan Robinson took the possible game-winning shot.
The rebound eventually bounced into the hands of Central's Je'Vonte Hughes, who sent an outlet pass to Riley well ahead of the North defenders.
Riley accepted the pass and off-balance in the air, the junior softly placed the ball off the glass and into the rim as his body twisted.
"I saw Je'Vonte pushing the ball, so I just ran up the floor as fast as I could," Riley said. "I just caught it. I knew I was going to get contact, I just had to finish strong."
The Maroons quickly pushed the ball back up the floor following the converted basket and Hood attempted a three-point shot with six seconds remaining, but could not find the mark.
Storm center Chuck Jones added a lone free-throw with 3.6 seconds for the final score.
Central held a double-digit advantage as late as six minutes left in the game, but North mounted a rally led by three consecutive steals. The trio of takeaways all occurred within 32 seconds and cut the deficit to 54-51.
Hood, a senior, scored eight points in the final quarter and finished with a game-high 32.
"We want to give credit to North for putting that run together," Central coach Matt Bell said. "When you got a kid like Jon Hood that's Mr. Basketball, he can single handedly beat you and he just about did.
"Our kids were courageous and never quit. They believed in themselves and we've talked about it all year, this team is poised and persistent."
Maroon guard Robert Hatchett launched a three-pointer with 1:20 in regulation and hit nothing but net to pull North within one point. Hatchett raised his arms, encouraged fans to stand up as they wildly cheered and bumped chests with his teammates in celebration.
The two squads traded baskets when Central's Cameron Tabor knocked down a pair of free-throws and Hood nailed a pull-up jumper to make the score 63-62 in favor of the Storm.
Central led by 10 entering the final quarter, but neither team clearly established itself in the first half. North trailed 27-24 entering the intermission.
The Storm came out in the third quarter and worked to create a presence inside. Central's 6-9 duo of Croft and Jones cleaned up inside along with Nikee Caldwell, who got to the line multiple times.
Jones posted a team-high 29 points and 19 rebounds to go with two blocks.
"I haven't beat them until tonight, my whole high school career," Jones said. "I'm 1-7 against them and the only one I care about is this one."
The two teams will face off again in a rematch on Jan. 29 at Central.
HCCHS (14-5) 15 12 21 18 - 66
MNHHS (6-10) 14 10 14 24 - 62
HCCHS: Chuck Jones 29, Josh Riley 13, Dan Croft 8, Nikee Caldwell 7, Je'Vonte Hughes, Cameron Tabor 2
MNHHS: Jon Hood 32, Robert Hatchett 9, J.C. Wade 6, L.J. Gregory 4, Isiah White 4, Carl Hatchett 3, Ryan Robinson 2, Joe Kington 2
Storm center Chuck Jones added a lone free-throw with 3.6 seconds for the final score.
Central held a double-digit advantage as late as six minutes left in the game, but North mounted a rally led by three consecutive steals. The trio of takeaways all occurred within 32 seconds and cut the deficit to 54-51.
Hood, a senior, scored eight points in the final quarter and finished with a game-high 32.
"We want to give credit to North for putting that run together," Central coach Matt Bell said. "When you got a kid like Jon Hood that's Mr. Basketball, he can single handedly beat you and he just about did.
"Our kids were courageous and never quit. They believed in themselves and we've talked about it all year, this team is poised and persistent."
Maroon guard Robert Hatchett launched a three-pointer with 1:20 in regulation and hit nothing but net to pull North within one point. Hatchett raised his arms, encouraged fans to stand up as they wildly cheered and bumped chests with his teammates in celebration.
The two squads traded baskets when Central's Cameron Tabor knocked down a pair of free-throws and Hood nailed a pull-up jumper to make the score 63-62 in favor of the Storm.
Central led by 10 entering the final quarter, but neither team clearly established itself in the first half. North trailed 27-24 entering the intermission.
The Storm came out in the third quarter and worked to create a presence inside. Central's 6-9 duo of Croft and Jones cleaned up inside along with Nikee Caldwell, who got to the line multiple times.
Jones posted a team-high 29 points and 19 rebounds to go with two blocks.
"I haven't beat them until tonight, my whole high school career," Jones said. "I'm 1-7 against them and the only one I care about is this one."
The two teams will face off again in a rematch on Jan. 29 at Central.
HCCHS (14-5) 15 12 21 18 - 66
MNHHS (6-10) 14 10 14 24 - 62
HCCHS: Chuck Jones 29, Josh Riley 13, Dan Croft 8, Nikee Caldwell 7, Je'Vonte Hughes, Cameron Tabor 2
MNHHS: Jon Hood 32, Robert Hatchett 9, J.C. Wade 6, L.J. Gregory 4, Isiah White 4, Carl Hatchett 3, Ryan Robinson 2, Joe Kington 2
No comments:
Post a Comment