December high school basketball has often been labled ‘ugly’. Friday night at the Cave Spring gym, it would have been hard to argue that the ugly hadn’t slipped into January.
“You could describe this game with a little four-letter word,” Cave Spring head coach Billy Hicks noted afterward, shaking his head. “A ‘u’ at one end, a ‘y’ at the other, and a big ‘gl’ in the middle.”
In a game that featured 55 fouls, 73 free throws and four players fouling out, Cave Spring held on when senior guard Terrell Simmons calmly sank four free throws in the last 17 seconds to secure the 57-50 win over Pulaski County in the River Ridge District opener for both teams.
“It turned into a hackfest,” Hicks added. “The fouls take way from the game’s rhythm. I doesn’t surprise me in a district opener, but I wish it had gone more smoothly.”
Pulaski County had grabbed a 25-21 lead at the halftime break in a rough-and-tumble first half punctuated by fouls and turnovers.
Cave Spring took control in the third quarter by opening with a 9-0 run before Victor Duval’s 3-pointer gave the Knights a 44-34 lead late in the quarter.
Pulaski County clawed back to 50-47 late in the final quarter, but Cager Hicks’ trey from deep in the right corner put Cave Spring ahead 53-47 with 1:51 to play.
Pulaski County got to within 3 in the final minute and had the ball for a potential game-tieing shot before the wheels came off for the Cougars.
A tight play down the right sideline turned the ball over when a Cougar ballhandler stepped on the line. Pulaski head coach Mark Hanks, upset that a foul wasn’t called, came onto the court and was assessed a technical.
Although Cave Spring missed both technical free throws, they retained possession at midcourt. Simmons took the inbounds pass and was fouled with 17 seconds left, making both from the charity stripe.
Moments later, after a Pulaski miss, Simmons was fouled and returned to the line, with his next two shots touching nothing but twine.
“It’s my job to stay mentally focused,” Simmons said in the Cave Spring locker room afterward. “I wanted the ball down the stretch and was able to hit the free throws. I had a lot of confidence in making them.”
“We had missed opportunities tonight, but in the end we kept our composure and responded,” Hicks pointed out. “Terrell sealed the game for us.”
Senior Connor Baker led the Cave Spring scoring attack with 17 points. Cager Hicks added 14 for the Knights, with Simmons finishing with 8.
BILL TURNER game story/photos
