It was the typical high school basketball season opener.
A few jitters, some rough edges and a couple of mental lapses on defense.
But, despite the 67-57 non-district setback to the bigger Franklin County Eagles Monday night in Rocky Mount, Hidden Valley showed it will be a team to be reckoned with in the River Ridge District this season.
“You can’t fault the effort,” Hidden Valley head coach Troy Wells commented as the clock ticked off the final seconds. Hidden Valley had come back from a late 12-point deficit to get within a basket that would have made it a one-possession game.
“There was a lot of intensity and enthusiasm,” Wells added. “It was a two-possession game and plenty of time left. We may have gotten in too big a hurry. Most of the game we had been pretty patient.”
The Titans played catch-up most of the second half after falling behind 25-20 at the halftime break. The Titans had led 20-19 before Franklin County closed the second quarter with a 6-0 run.
J.J. DeVaughn scored six straight points for the Titans early in the third quarter, and Camden Sine reeled off five straight when he scored and converted a missed free throw into a rebound and three-point play later in the third. But, Franklin County was hot from the outside and led 49-39 heading to the final eight minutes.
“We wanted to defend their drives to the basket and were willing to see if they could beat us with threes,” Wells noted.
Franklin County looked to be in control when they went up 57-44 on a 3-pointer with 3:48 left, but Hidden Valley showed it had plenty of game left by scoring the next nine points. After an Eagle basket, Sine scored on a breakaway with 2:09 left to cut the Titan deficit to 59-55. But, DeAndre Kellam hit from behind the arc for the Eagles, and Franklin County held on in the final minute.
DeVaughn led Hidden Valley with 19 points while Sine added 15. Kellam was the big gun for Franklin County, netting 19.
“J.J. played hard on both ends of the court and Cam took the ball to the hole,” Wells pointed out. “We gave up a lot of second shot opportunities tonight on defense, but we’ll build on this game.”
