Tucker had a game-high 23 points for Northside, including 5 three-pointers in the win.
The Hidden Valley boys basketball team faced some pressing questions Monday night in the Northside gym.
The most daunting one was what to do against the Viking press.
Riding a dominant full-court press through three quarters, Northside rolled to the 66-25 non-district win over the visiting Titans. The Vikings improved to 11-1 on the season.
The game had plenty of rough edges in the opening minutes, and when Hidden Valley junior guard Joseph Keenan drained a 3-pointer to give the Titans a 6-5 lead, it looked like Hidden Valley might be set to threaten a Northside lineup which was without big-man Carlos Basham who was serving a two-game suspension.
But, Northside is way deeper than a one-man show, and the Titans found out for themselves in short order.
Viking senior guard Kendrick Tucker sank a pair of free throws with 3:00 left in the opening quarter to put Northside up 6-5, and the Vikings never trailed the rest of the way.
Northside finished the opening frame with a 10-0 run, the last seven coming from a pair of treys and a free throw from Tucker to put the Vikings up 16-5. Northside hung another 16-5 quarter on Hidden Valley in the second, sending the teams to the break with the Vikings comfortably ahead 32-10.
It was 21-5 in favor of Northside in the third, and Tucker, who finished with a game-high 23 points, had scored on a bomb from behind-the-arc with just under 5 minutes left that had him scoring more points to that point than the entire Titan offense.
The culprit for the Titans was the efficiency of the Northside full-court trap and half-court press that played havoc all evening.
“It was a long night,” Hidden Valley head coach Kevin Burcham admitted afterward. “We have an important game against Christiansburg tomorrow night, so we had to consider that for tonight’s game. Northside is so deep and talented. They are tough defensively and had a lot of guys step up.”
“The game plan was to be patient and get good shots,” Burcham added. “We just didn’t keep the ball long enough to get the good shot.”
With Northside up 53-15 after three quarters, both coaches went to the reserves in the fourth to play out the final 8 minutes.
“Our focus was to play well tonight and our defense was the constant,” Northside head coach Billy Pope noted. “We need that kind of defense every night. Kendrick played an all-round good game. He got good looks and knocked ’em down, and he played good defense. That’s what you want, play well and be happy.”
After Tucker’s 23, senior Clarence Finney followed with 9 points for the Vikings.
Senior guard Marc Arner paced Hidden Valley with 7 points, with Keenan adding 6.
Bill Turner
