Hawks shock Wildcats, 70-63
Hardin Valley — Hardin Valley Academy boys basketball coach Andy Arendt has been waiting for his young team to mature.
The Hawks, one of the area’s youngest teams, have battled through a roller-coaster ride of a 2025-26 campaign. But they took a big step forward at home Friday night when they overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to notch a victory over one of the state’s most successful and tradition-rich programs.
Hardin Valley persevered and toppled Oak Ridge, 70-63, in a District 4-4A contest
at HVA.
“We grew up tonight and this was a big win for us,” Arendt said. “We played harder than they did and we were tougher than they were, and that’s what I told the players and the coaches in the locker room.
“This is a big win for us against a coach like (Oak Ridge’s) Aaron Green. He’s a great coach, probably the best in the state.”
The game was tight in the first quarter as the Hawks (12-8 overall, 2-4 in the district) and the Wildcats (11-7, 4-2) matched baskets. Oak Ridge, however, was able to seize the upper hand when Justice West buried a shot at the buzzer as time expired in the opening frame.
From there, Oak Ridge was able to build on the momentum that the first-quarter buzzer-beater established.
The Wildcats had a 30-24 advantage late in the second half but another last-second bucket, this one a jumper from beyond the 3-point arc, by Josh Amos, made the score, 33-24, at the halftime break.
The Hawks clawed their way back into the game as they outscored Oak Ridge, 20-11, in the frame and tied the game with a buzzer-beater of their own, a two-pointer by Hunter Ratclff.
Over the final eight minutes of the contest, Hardin Valley’s Jax Sparks heated up and scored all 12 of his points in the second half, including 10 in the fourth quarter. He knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, including one that gave the Hawks a 61-57 lead with 1 minute, 39 seconds remaining.
From there, Hardin Valley never trailed again. Sparks also converted a pair of foul shots to make it 66-61 with 28.4 seconds to play.
Kymani Smith, who finished with 17 points for the Hawks, also made four free throws down the stretch.
Green knew that the Wildcats let a win slip through their grasp.
“They played harder than we did and they wanted it more than we did,” Green said. “They were just tougher than we were. Tip your hat to Hardin Valley. They deserved to win the game.”
“You can talk about X’s and O’s all you want, but they just played harder than we did and they were tougher. As a coach, you try to establish a mindset where your team gives effort.”
