Thursday night at the Hidden Valley Titan gym, baskets came at a premium and turnovers were pivotal.
Gaining the benefit of both of those categories in the final 1:30, Northside pulled out the hard-fought 49-41 non-district victory over the short-handed Titans, who played with only 9 players in uniform.
The Vikings were nursing a 43-41 lead after Hidden Valley senior guard Graham Whitaker had hit from behind-the-arc with 1:30 left. But, it would be the last Titan points as Hidden Valley committed two turnovers and Northside converted on six straight free throws down the stretch to clinch the win.
“Hidden Valley played well and they had a good game plan,” Northside head coach Billy Pope noted outside the Viking locker room afterward. The Vikings were looking to rebound from a close loss to William Byrd earlier this week.
“We’ve had some little ruts in the last two games,” Pope added. “No team goes through a whole season without encountering that. Our offense depends on the 3-point shot, and tonight we struggled with the outside shot. Fortunately, we finished strong. Good teams find ways to win games. Tonight, we earned it.”
It was a back-and-forth affair throughout the scrappy first half. Hidden Valley scored the game’s first six points before the Vikings stormed back to close the first quarter with a 10-2 run to lead 10-8 after the opening eight minutes.
Camden Sine’s score and free throw off the harm tied things at 21 with 3:58 left in the first half. The game was still knotted at 23 when Northside used a 3-pointer by Kendrick Tucker and three free throws by Clarence Finney in the final minute to take a 29-25 advantage to the halftime break.
The third quarter was an exercise in turnovers and missed shots, with both teams only scoring six points apiece to head to the final frame with the Vikings holding the 35-31 lead. Both teams struggled against their opponent’s full-court press throughout.
The Titans got to within one point at 35-34, but Hidden Valley couldn’t get over the hump and Northside fought off the Titan comeback effort.
“We played with intensity, we just need to find a way to finish,” Hidden Valley head coach Troy Wells said. “I couldn’t ask for more from these guys. They played hard on the defensive end all night. They contested Northside’s shots and contested shots are harder to make. That’s a very talented Northside team.”
Tucker led the Viking scoring with 14 points. Finney followed with 11 points, while junior Carlos Basham netted 10 for Northside.
Whitaker produced a game-high 16 points for Hidden Valley, with Sine scoring 10 for the Titans.
– Bill Turner