HVA 91 minus #1 guy
POWELL — Despite not having what is projected to be the team’s leading scorer, wing Hakeem Rashid, Hardin Valley Academy nonetheless went on the road and scored 91 points.
The Hawks pulled away in the second half at Powell and won 91-57 Thursday, Nov. 17, improving to 2-0 on the season.
“I’m most pleased with our defensive intensity and the way we pushed the pace” in the first, third and fourth quarters, HVA head coach Andrew Arendt said. “In the second quarter, I don’t understand what happened, but we fixed it.
“A.J. Gray didn’t score as much as he probably wants to, but we’re a different team on the court defensively when he’s in the game,” the new coach added.
Offensively, “When we move the basketball and it doesn’t stick, we’re tough to guard,” Arendt said. “When we did that we were really good.”
Individually, “It’s hard to pick out just one kid,” Arendt said. “Ben Brophy was amazing (17 points, a trey of three-pointers), Bryson Frey was great (14 points, four three-pointers). Barron Sheetz came off the bench and did a great job (13 points).”
HVA 71 Halls 64
Turning back a late Halls rally, HVA won 71-64 in its season opener at home Tuesday, Nov. 15, led by Rashid’s 24 points.
“He’s our best shooter and kind of leads us on offense,” Arendt said. “In the Halls game he really led us; big play after big play.”
Sheetz’s offensive rebound and score, off a missed free throw in the closing seconds, “was kind of the play of the game,” the coach added. Nic Hodge added 15 for the Hawks, while Brophy scored 10, which include a trey of three-pointers.
