Hidden Valley HS, Roanoke, VA –
In a reversal of fortunes on Monday Night, Hidden Valley rebounded from a 40 point loss to Northside last Friday to upend Glenvar who won on that same night by thirteen over William Byrd. This Titan-Highlander game would go down to the wire with Hidden Valley building up a second quarter lead and then hanging on for the 59-55 win.
The numbers don’t lie. Hidden Valley shot thirty eight percent from the three point zone for the game including three for three in that second quarter of separation. Meanwhile, Glenvar, after moving out to a 16-13 first quarter advantage, could 
only muster three points in the second. Give the Titan defense part of the credit there. G 3 Steph Barber was the only Glenvar player who could dent the scoreboard with a field goal and a foul shot. Glenvar Coach Todd Mann wasn’t
Glenvar G 3 Steph Barber defended by Titan G 1 Braxton Dunning
pleased with that second quarter dry spell, “Yes, kind of a drought. We had a lot of turnovers… (that) killed us. Too much dribbling.“ On the other side of the ledger, Titan Coach Phil Miron talked about the fight in his kids, “We beat a well coached Glenvar team. We ran our sets. Had a little dog in us tonight. We turned the ball over more times than we wanted in the second half, but the kids fought, kept that lead, and did the things they needed to do to get the victory.“
First Half –
Early on you got the feeling that this game might be a nail biter. The contrast in styles was evident. Glenvar wanted to run and Hidden Valley was inclined to a patient, run your offense approach. Both teams stuck to their strategy. Highlander F 24 Garrett Hendricks had five points to lead the visitors in the first quarter, while Wing 15 Hunter Whitaker kicked in two tres to spearhead the Titans with six. Hidden Valley shot the ball well from the start, but G 3 Barber, with four free throws, along with Hendricks, helped Glenvar jump out to the early lead. Barber is aggressive with the ball. He has great “hops” and is strong with the ball in his hands. Glenvar’s 16-13 first quarter lead wouldn’t hold up for long, as the Titans caught fire and the Highlanders went cold in the second.
HV G 1 Braxton Dunning is dogged by Highlander G 3 Steph Barber
Senior Titan W 23 Jacob Nichols goes up high for a jumper
Hidden Valley’s cheerleaders provide the energy for their team absent the crowd, due to the pandemic restrictions
Wing 23 Jacob Nichols drained two three pointers, while both F 25 Royston Smiley and F 12 James Stanley hit two field goals apiece. That, coupled with Glenvar’s unusual lack of offensive production, helped put the Titans ahead at the break 30-19. The Titans shot sixty percent from behind the arc in the first half.
Glenvar G 3 Steph Barber shoots over HV G 2 Sam Hart
Hidden Valley’s Braxton Dunning hits four pressure packed free throws at the end of the game to secure the win
Second Half – The second half turned more into a barn burner. Coach Mann’s troops were determined to claw back into it with pressure defense. Coach Mann wanted more of an uptempo contest, “Yes, we needed to get them into a running game and sure enough we got it back to 38-30, and it was like a new game. The strategy came at a cost though, as both teams racked up fouls. Twenty personal fouls, ten each, were whistled in the final quarter alone, as the game turned more physical. G 0 Aiden Alexander and G 3 Barber both eventually exited the game with five fouls. “We have to learn how to play defense and not foul. We are aggressive,” said Mann. Glenvar eventually closed the gap to 41-35 as the quarter changed. 
Hidden Valley also had their woes in the personal foul department. Titan Guard 23 Jacob Nichols fouled out with 1:47 left in the game. Coach Miron pondered a bit, then replaced him with G 1 Dunning. A move that proved to be noteworthy. Not only did the Junior do a nice job in the last minute and a half helping bring the ball up the court against G 3 Barber but he knocked down four critical foul shots when the Titans needed them most.
On the other hand, Coach Mann thought free throw shooting let his Highlanders down late in the game, “Every time we’d get close, something crazy would happen. Bottom line, if we make free throws we win that game.”
With the game 55-50, F 24 Hendricks calmly stroked a three pointer from the left corner to draw Glenvar closer at 55-53 with 1:12 left. 
On the next trip down the court, Hidden Valley’s F 25 Royston Smiley was called for a charge, his fourth, on his way to the basket. But Glenvar Guard 10 Tyler Johnson gave it right back on a traveling call. Barber then picked up his fifth foul pressuring the ball at the top of the key with :28 left. Coach Mann thought Barber had another foul to give. “I actually thought (G 3 Barber) Steph had four fouls. That was on me.”
Glenvar G 10 Johnson made two free throws to move the score to 59-55 with :12 left, but that was as close as Glenvar could get. G 1 Dunning made two more free throws and both G 4 Sam Purviance and W 33 Phillip Smith added a charity stripe toss each. Glenvar’s second half pressure defense nearly got them back in the game, and it wasn’t lost on Coach Miron, “They did a good job with that. We have to get better at handling that pressure. It was definitely better tonight than on Friday (against Northside), no question about that, but we did enough to get the win.“
Both Glenvar and Hidden Valley are 1-1 on the season. Glenvar will take on Northside on Wednesday at Northside, while Hidden Valley will play Willam Byrd at home on Friday.
Hidden Valley– Nichols 12pts (3FGs, 2-3ptrs) Whitaker 8pts (2-FGs, 1-3ptr, 1/2 FTs) Dunning 7pts (1-3ptr, 4/4 FTs) Smiley 6pts (3- FGs) Hart 6pts (2-FGs, 2/2 FTs) Stanley 6pts (3-FGs, 0/1 FT) McDaniel 5pts (1-FG, 1-3ptr) Purviance 3pts (1 FG, 1/2 FTs) Smith 1pt (1/4 FTs)
Glenvar – Barber 16pts (2-FGs, 1-3ptr, 9/14 FTs) Hendricks 14pts (2-FGs, 3-3ptr, 1/2 FTs) Johnson 11pts (3-FGs, 4/5 FTs) Johnson 7pts (2-FG, 1-3ptr) Housh 8pts (1-FG, 1-3ptr, 3/4 FT) Alexander 4pts (1 FG, 2/3 FTs) Boling 2pts (1 FG)
