The saying says opportunity only knocks once.
Tuesday night in the Hidden Valley gym, opportunity knocked three times for the Titans basketball team, but the home standing team couldn’t get the door ajar.
That’s when the visitors from Cave Spring blew the door right off the hinges.
Going on a 14-0 run midway through the final quarter, Cave Spring captured the Southwest County rivalry game over the Titans 67-48 in a matchup that was much closer than the final score.
The strategies were set well before this one ever had the opening jump ball. It was Hidden Valley’s patient tempo going up against the throttle-wide-open Cave Spring offense.
Although Cave Spring led 18-9 after one quarter and 33-21 at the half, Hidden Valley was still in a manageable deficit despite wasting numerous opportunities to get things closer throughout the second frame when turnovers and missed shots sidetracked their comeback bid.
The Titans had the same chance to open the third quarter, missing opportunities to get to within single digits despite outscoring the Knights in the quarter and closing to 46-36 heading to the final eight minutes.
Early in the fourth, Hidden Valley had the golden opportunity to make things interesting, getting to within eight points and having three straight possessions to cut the deficit further. That’s when the wheels came off.
Leading 50-42, Knight Cager Hicks drained a bomb from behind-the-arc. After Hidden Valley responded with a basket to make it 53-44, Cager Hicks and brother Brody each connected from long range, followed by two straight breakaway scores from the Knights. Moments later, it was Cager Hicks again dialing in from long distance and Brody hitting 1-of-2 from the free throw line with 1:50 left that completed the deciding 14-0 run and 67-44 Knight advantage. At that point, both coaches cleared the benches to settle the final margin.
“We had three straight opportunities to cut it to six with the ball, and we didn’t take advantage,” Hidden Valley head coach Troy Wells noted afterward. “Lost opportunities. We were 1-for-17 from behind the arc. You’re not going to win many games shooting like that. But, what bothered me most was the 22 turnovers we had, and most of them were unforced.”
“In our last three games we had two solid games,” Wells added. “Tonight we didn’t execute like those two.”
One key factor was the swarming Cave Spring defense that comes with height and plenty of arm span.
“This is a tough place to play and Troy does a tremendous job with a game plan,” Cave Spring head coach Jacob Gruse noted. “Our defense was effective when we went to a man-on-man. If we can’t play man-on-man something’s wrong. Our guys just get after people.”
“Tonight, Cager hit some big shots,” Gruse pointed out. “With Cager it’s give and take. In the clutch he’s a big-time player. As a team we just need to be more consistent.”
The Hicks brothers were the big guns for the Knight offense with Cager scoring 28 and Brody knocking down 19.
On the Hidden Valley side, Will Harrison connected for 18 Titan points, with Luke Marston following with 8 points for Hidden Valley.
– Bill Turner
