Bearcats Fend Off Huntsmen Rally for 63-60 SVC Win

Article presented by Kingston National Bank …

A determined Huntington club set out to prove Yogi Berra right – It ain’t over till it’s over.

Paint Valley staked a double-digit spread, but the Huntsmen turned the tables in the second half to tie the game with 4:08 remining.  

Huntington dug a hole in the first half, falling behind 31-19 at the break. The Huntsmen were  getting great looks at the basket but had trouble finding the bottom of the net. The boys in green and white shot an abysmal 17-percent from the field (3-18) in the first quarter and an 0-for-13 stretch over a seven minute period in the first half. All the while, the Bearcats’ Carson Free tallied 15 of his 30-points by the intermission.

Photos by Aaron Glandon/Litter Media

Huntington found new life after halftime and created a productive 29-point third quarter run, cutting the margin to 50-48 before the period was over.

When the Huntsmen got it going in the second half, they kept attacking Paint Valley with pressure all while getting balanced offense from across their rotation. In the third quarter, the lineup of Frankie Hirsch (7), Eli Ary (5), Kalvin Manson (5), Gabe Beardsley (6) and freshman guard Brennan Smith (6) combined for the 29-point period.

“I know we had enough missed shots to have had the lead at halftime” Huntington’s Rick Uhrig said after the game. “I wanna act like that’s a surprise… but that’s been our Achilles Heel all year. We’ll get that against everybody we play and we’ll miss eight or ten of them.”

While the Bearcats were building the lead at the half, the message from Coach Lakiem Lockery remained the same. “I went into that halftime and I told our guys ‘It’s zero-zero… It’s rivals… anything can happen.’ We knew in the first half they played well, they just missed some shots.”   

In the fourth, Hirsch found Brayden Elliott running the baseline for a bucket to knot the game at 56-56 with just over four minutes remaining. The two clubs exchanged baskets down the stretch before Paint Valley’s Carson Free shut the door in the final seconds for the 63-60 win.  

The Bearcats (3-4/3-3 SVC) have a quick turnaround as they head to Leesburg Fairfield Saturday night. Huntington (1-6/1-5 SVC) is off until after Christmas, traveling to Piketon for the Pike County Holiday Classic, taking on Eastern Friday and Western Saturday.

SCORING:

Huntington (60): Brennan Smith, 12; Eli Ary, 12; Frankie Hirsch, 12; Gabe Beardsley, 9; Kalvin Manson, 9; Brayden Elliott, 4, Colt Parker, 2.

Paint Valley (63): Carson Free, 30; Braylon Robertson, 14; Colton Yoakum, 8; Jaxon Immell, 5; Jase Rinehart, 5; Landon Elliott, 1.