Knights Pull Away With 68-57 Win Over Bees in Group 3A West Quarterfinal

Cave Spring 6'6" center Adam Sledd works the post against Brookville big-man Joshua Mason in the Knights' 68-57 Group 3A tournament win.
Cave Spring 6’6″ center Adam Sledd works the post against Brookville big-man Joshua Mason in the Knights’ 68-57 Group 3A tournament win.

Little gaps can lead to big holes.

That was the dilemma for the Brookville Bees Monday night at the Cave Spring gym as the Knights ran away with the 68-57  Group 3A West basketball quarterfinal win.
The Knights advanced to take on undefeated Spotswood at Rustburg High School Wednesday night, with the winner guaranteed of a spot in the state championship quarterfinals next week.
Despite poor shooting and a Cave Spring run in the opening half, Brookville seemed ready to make a move when they went to the free throw line for two shots early in the third quarter, trailing 34-30.
Instead of making it a one possession game, both foul shots drew nothing but iron, and the Knights went on a 18-0 run that extended to the 6:06 mark of the fourth quarter, putting the game essentially out of reach, 52-30.
“That sealed the game, for sure,” Cave Spring head coach Billy Hicks noted afterward. “We got out in transition and started to run. Once the lead started to increase, it gave us more energy. Up to that point things weren’t going our way.”
The Bees had struggled throughout the first half, ice cold from behind the arc, before going to the break down 26-20.
“We had some defensive breakdowns and missed open 3’s,” Brookville head coach Scott Jester pointed out. “We didn’t get in a good flow all night. In the first half we hung in there, but we had trouble getting inside. It was just one of those nights. Our kids played hard, but we got into too big of a hole in the second half.”
Brody Hicks got the ball rolling on the Knights big run when he hit from behind-the-arc after the Bees free throw misses. Adam Sledd added a layin and Mason Reyer hit 1-of-2 free throws to push the Cave Spring lead to 40-30. Hicks followed with an old-fashion  3-point play and Reyer pushed in the big dagger when he hit from NBA range as the buzzer sounded. Cave Spring led 46-30 heading to the final 8 minutes.
Brookville would get no closer than the final margin the rest of the way. When Cave Spring scored 4 points on a pair of foul shots resulting from a Bee technical foul and junior Zac Foutz’s basket on the subsequent possession, the Knights cleared the bench.
Reyer, a sophomore, led the Cave Spring scoring with 18 points. Reyer was forced into a starter’s role three games ago after junior Cager Hicks went down with an ankle injury.
“Mason has it in him,” Billy Hicks said. “I’m forced to let him play through mistakes, but he’s been big in the last three tournament games.”
Brody Hicks added 17 points for the Knights, with Sledd knocking down 15.
Ben Hogg had a game-high 26 points for Brookville, 17 coming in the fourth quarter. Darryl Christian chipped in 17 for the Bees.
Billy Hicks was prophetic about the challenging matchup ahead with 27-0 Spotswood.
“No one gives us a chance. But, we’re the only team that has a chance.”
Bill Turner

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