Hardin Valley holds off West, 61-55
The 2025-26 season ended on a winning note for the Hardin Valley Academy boys basketball team Friday night, Feb. 13.
The Hawks outlasted Knoxville West, 61-55, in the Marble City Community.
The game might’ve landed in the win column for Hardin Valley but Hawks’ coach Andy Arendt was anything but pleased with his squad’s defensive effort against the Rebels (10-19).
“It’s always get to get a win on the road and get a win over here,” Arendt said after Hardin Valley (16-13) led throughout the contest against the Rebels, who are in a bit of a rebuilding mode this season under the direction of second-year head coach Tommy Eggleston, a longtime assistant in the program. “West has good athletes and a great program.
“Offensively, I think we played pretty well, but our defense was terrible and we didn’t do a good job rebounding.”
The Rebels and Hawks were similar heading into the recently completed regular season as both had to replace some key pieces from the previous year but on this night it was a pair of veterans, Jax Sparks and Colin Dyreness who were the key playmakers in the victory.
“I think our two seniors, Jax Sparks on offense and Colin Dyreness on defense, did a good job leading us against a good team, coached by a great guy like Tommy Eggleston,” Arendt said. “He’s one of the best guys around.”
The contest was a close one throughout, with West High holding a narrow 19-16 advantage at the end of the first quarter. HVA had seized the upper hand by halftime as it used a 17-8 second-quarter run to open a 33-27 advantage by the break.
The Rebels then trimmed the Hawks’ advantage to 44-43 by the end of the third stanza.
Sparks scored 20 points against the Rebels while Kymani Smith added 13. Mike Fritts and and Kristian Oliver finished the contest with 12 points.
West High’s Robert Shuler had a game-high 23 points for the Rebels, keeping them within striking distance.
The win in the regular-season finale will provide the Hawks as the head into the District 4-4A Tournament at McMinn County High School. They’ll play Lenoir City in an elimination quarterfinal.
The Panthers and Hawks split the two meetings in their regular-season series.
Lenoir City and Hardin Valley are set to tip off tonight (Wednesday) at 6 p.m. and Arendt said that the Panthers will provide a stiff test.
“We’ll have to be ready to play,” he said. “We split with them in the regular season and they’re a very good basketball team.”
