Things were going according to plan for the Hidden Valley boys basketball team Thursday night in the Cave Spring gym.
Then, the fourth quarter sidetracked the Titans’ attempt of pulling off a win over their Southwest County rival.
Getting their up-tempo offense untracked, Cave Spring outscored the Titans 18-8 in the final eight minutes to pull away for the 48-39 victory in the regular season finale for both teams.
For three quarters Hidden Valley used its slow-paced rotation offense to stymie the faster style preferred by the Knights. The Titans were content to pass around the perimeter, often catching Cave Spring off guard on backdoor cutters.
The deliberate style allowed Hidden Valley to lead 23-21 at the halftime break before going on an 8-2 run to begin the third quarter that had the Titans up 31-23 with just over two minutes left in the frame.
That’s when the Cave Spring offense came to life, with a little help from Hidden Valley losing its focus on valuing the ball.
The Knights scored the final seven points of the quarter on Cager Hicks’ old-fashion 3-point play, a pair of free throws by Brody Hicks and a runner by Mason Reyer that cut the Titan lead to 31-30 heading to the final quarter.
After the Titans scored the opening basket of the fourth, Brody Hicks tied things at 33 with a bomb from the left corner. Reyer gave the Knights its first lead since the opening half on a steal at mid court and driving layup. Cave Spring never trailed the rest of the way.
Hidden Valley got to within 37-36 with 4:24 remaining on a Kye Coolbaugh field goal, but Zach Shannon’s basket and a free throw by Alex Emery returned the Knight lead to 40-36 at the 3:18 mark.
Titan senior Jaret Butenschoen hit a pair from the charity stripe to cut the Cave Spring lead to 40-38 with 2:33 left, but the Knights closed the deal with an 8-1 run down the stretch to settle the final margin.
“It was a one possession game and we took some ill-advised shots,” Hidden Valley head coach Troy Wells noted of the score at the 2:33 mark. “We needed to keep the game in the 40s to have a chance to win. They started playing their way and we got away from our plan. When we were playing the way we needed, we had a chance.”
It was Wells’ last regular season game after an amazing 45-year coaching career. He was honored prior to the contest by Cave Spring for his accomplishments and contributions to the game.
“It all boils down to defense,” Cave Spring head coach Jacob Gruse noted of the Knights coming to life. “Defense sparks the offense and defense makes the team. You have to be about defense. The first 2 1/2 quarters was not like us. When our guys decide to get after it, we’re a pretty good team. You saw that tonight.”
“We knew Hidden Valley would shorten the game,” Gruse added. “Troy is a heck of a coach.”
Reyer led the Cave Spring scoring with 17 points, while brothers Brody and Cager Hicks followed with 13 and 9 points, respectfully.
Butenschoen paced Hidden Valley with 14 points, while senior Graham Whitaker netted 12 points for the Titans.
– Bill Turner