Never underestimate a staunch defense on the basketball court.
Friday night on the Hidden Valley hardwood, the Titan defense was executing in fine form as Hidden Valley dispatched Northside 53-37 in a key non-district matchup.
“In the first half they did everything on ‘D’ “, Northside head coach Billy Pope noted after the game.”They were very, very good. It sped us up and we didn’t make the shots.”
After three early lead changes, Hidden Valley pulled out to a 15-8 advantage after the first quarter. It was all Titans in the second quarter, as Hidden Valley started hitting the boards and liberally substituting while holding Northside to 4 points in the quarter for a 29-12 lead heading to the halftime break.
Hidden Valley kept the margin at 17 at the end of the third, 40-23, as Northside, still returning football players to their depleted roster, began hitting their shots.
“We played better in the second half,” Pope added. “We started getting shots and responded. It’s tough without those football players being in basketball form. It makes everyone press, but we’ll be fine when we mesh.”
Hidden Valley answered every Viking comeback effort in the fourth quarter, taking its biggest lead 48-26 midway through the final 8 minutes before Titan head coach Troy Wells substituted like a carousel. A final 11-5 Northside run was too little, too late.
The win was a huge turnaround for a Hidden Valley team that had suffered a 7-point loss on the road to Pulaski County the night prior.
“We had a poor effort in Pulaski,” Wells said in the Titan locker room. “We talked to the kids about being focused and being ready to play tonight. We played well together and handled that adversity.. The margin tonight was because of our defense.”
The continuous substituting led to 14 Titans getting in the game, a point not lost on Wells who had an animated evening along the Titan sideline.
“We can play 9 or 10 and not lose a thing,” Wells pointed out. “It was a fun game for me tonight. The bench stepped up and we played as a team. When everyone gets in the game, the kids just play and are not worried.”
Hidden Valley had three scorers in double digits, with Camden Sine leading the way with a game-high13 points. Davion Rice and Jaret Butenshoen were right behind, each contributing 12.
Northside was led by senior Daniel Brammer’s 10 points, with Daniel Palmieri adding 9 and Carlos Basham chipping in 8 for the Vikings.
-Bill Tuner
