EVENSVILLE, Tenn. – Hamilton Heights had a chance to win the boys and girls title in the Rhea County Holiday Hoops tournament Saturday night.
The Hawks delivered.
The Lady Hawks came up short.
Once-beaten Hamilton Heights, getting pivotal back-to-back 3-pointers by Silas Adheke and Joan Duran in the final two minutes and sterling efforts by Ezekiel Balogun and Abdulhakim Ado, squeaked past Riverdale, 55-43, at Rhea County High School to capture the tournament championship.
Balogun paced the Hawks’ offense with 13 points and was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
He had eight points in the second half. Ado finished with nine points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocked shots.
“I think I played pretty good in the tournament,” Balogun said. “Not great, but OK. In the fourth quarter we had to create some tempo and did a very good job of extending the lead. Winning the award feels great.”
Balogun, a 6-foot-6-inch junior who is, along with Ado, is being heavily recruited several top colleges, including Tennessee, Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt, overcame a rough patch in the third period. He was called for two charging fouls in a 48-second span and turned the ball over on a walk later in the quarter.
He was clutch at the end, though.
As the Hawks (11-1) outscored the Warriors, 15-6, in the final 2:38 it was Balogun who put the exclamation on the victory with two dunks in the last 19 seconds.
“The kid brings maximum effort every day and every game,” Hawks coach Zach Ferrell said. “He always tries to give the team is absolute all.”
Balogun also pulled down eight rebounds. Joan Duran grabbed 10 rebounds as the Hawks turned a distinct height advantage into domination on the glass against the scrappier, but smaller, Warriors.
Brad Woodson, the only senior starter, at 6-foot is one of the taller Riverdale players. Woodson, whose dad Kevin is the Warriors’ coach, doesn’t mind mixing it up inside against most teams, but he found much more success on the perimeter where he is deadly.
“Playing them is a lot different because of their size,” said Woodson, who scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half. “But we’re not scared of any team we play and we won’t back down from a fight.”
Woodson drained two 3-pointers and added two more buckets as the Warriors stayed with the Hawks in the third period.
Riverdale had a 29-27 lead when Woodson drove the lane and somehow got an acrobatic shot to fall driving the lane.
Balogun made a layup and Ado was fouled by Riverdale’s Johnathan Mathons. A blink of an eye later, officials slapped Kashka Edwards with a technical foul. Ado made both free throws and Strahinja Micakovic dropped in two off the technical and Hamilton Heights had a 33-29 lead going into the fourth quarter.
After Ado got his eighth block at one end of the court, Micakovic drove for a layup on the other to push the Hawks’ lead to 35-29 with 7:42 remaining.
Woodson sandwiched two buckets around a Duran baseline jumper and the Hawks’ lead was 40-37.
That’s when Adheke and Duran drilled their clutch 3s, C.J. Massengill dropped in a layup – the Hawks took advantage of three straight Riverdale turnovers in the scoring spree – and opened a 48-37 lead.
Hamilton Heights offset two Gentry Bonds 3s in the last minute with three free throws and Balogun’s two-handed dunks.
“Riverdale is really good,” Ferrell said. “(Woodson) can really shoot the ball well and they’re well-coached. But this was our second game today and fourth in three days, so I’m proud of the guys’ effort right to the end. I’m glad they could experience winning the tournament.”
The game didn’t start well for the Hawks.
Before the opening tip they were hit with a technical foul for wearing blue uniforms, instead of white, due to a misunderstanding of the bracket.
Riverdale got two Woodson free throws and a Sidney Bell field goal for a 4-0 lead.
No sweat.
The Hawks scored the next 16 points – Balogun scored on a steal and dunk and ripped a 3 from the right corner – and enjoyed a 12-point lead after one quarter.
However, Hamilton Heights manage just two points on Massengill’s floater in the lane. The Hawks failed to score over the next six minutes.
“I’m really proud my guys battled like they did,” coach Woodson said while making a sandwich to eat on the drive back to Murfreesboro. “(Ado) blocked a few shots, but we still did a good job attacking the goal. This was our second game of the day and was against a high-quality team. We had a good week and improved a lot.
“I hate the game was 12 points because I think it was closer than that.”
Earlier in the day Riverdale beat host Rhea County in the semifinals while Hamilton Heights got past Cannon County, 69-52, to reach the title game.
Micakovic scored 17 points, including three of the team’s four 3s, to lead the semifinal win.
The Lady Hawks, playing without half of their talented freshman tandem, trailed by a point in the fourth quarter but saw Wilson Central pull away down the stretch for a 50-41 victory to claim the girls’ title.
Hamilton Heights’ girls had reached the championship game by beating Baylor’s Lady Red Raiders, 65-52, and putting five players in double figures. Freshman Elizabeth Balogun scored 14 points and fellow rookie Jazmine Massengill added 12.
North Carolina State women’s coach Wes Moore attended the game to watch the two Lady Hawks standouts and also Baylor’s Kaleigh Clemons, who scored 12 points, second to Mya Long’s 17.
However, Massengill suffered an ankle injury against the Lady Raiders and was unable to play in the title game against Wilson Central.
The Lady Wildcats, who knocked off Rhea County to gain a berth in the title game, led until the third period. Down 31-27, Hamilton Heights’ Kamile Kasaciunaite popped a 3 from the left wing and got a steal and layup to give the Lady Hawks their first lead at 32-31 with 1:08 left in the quarter.
The lead lasted 22 seconds before Kendall Spray hit one of her four 3-pointers that gave the Lady Wildcats a 34-32 lead after three quarters. Nursing a 36-35 lead, Wilson Central got two free throws from Piper Elrod, a free throw and layup by Addison Byrd and a punch-to-the-gut 3 by Spray to push the lead to 44-35 with 2:11 left.
The Lady Bulldogs (11-4) hit 6-of-7 free throws over the final 54 seconds to seal the deal.
Kayla Jackson scored 13 points and Byrd had 10 for Wilson Central.
Balogun led Hamilton Heights (10-2) with 16 points.
Scoring Summaries
Boys Championship
Riverdale 4 11 14 14 – 43
Hamilton Heights 16 2 15 22 – 55
Riverdale (43) – Brad Wooson 18, Somerville 2, Edwards 4, Gentry Bonds 11, Bell 2, Mathons 6, Wiggins.
Hamilton Heights (55) – Laing 3, Pitts, Joan Duran 10, Ado 9, Chantha, Ezekiel Balogun 13, Micakovic 9, McCartney, Adheke 5, Massengill 6
3-Point Goals – Riverdale 4 (Woodson 2, Bonds 2), Hamilton Heights 3 (Duran, Balogun, Adheke).
Boys Third Place
Cannon County 18 23 13 18 – 75
Rhea County 24 2 12 14—52
Cannon County (75) – Jakes 5, Daniel 8, Josh Ruehlen 26, Brock 4, M. McReynolds 7, Jacob Nave 14, G. McReynolds, Knox 6.
Rhea County (52) – Patterson 5, Loden 2, Hall, Pugh 7, Ray, Bowers, Logan Hunter 19, Downey 10, Hill 9, Edwards.
3-Point Goals – Cannon County 9 (Ruehlen 6, Jakes 1, Daniel 1, Nave 1), Rhea County 2 (Pugh 1, Hunter 1).
Girls Championship
Hamilton Heights 4 12 16 9 – 41
Wilson Central 11 12 11 16 – 50
Hamilton Heights (41) – Elizabeth Balogun 16, Todorova 6, Onoime, Monyei 1, Kasaciunaite 5, Bardeeva 8, Plentauskaite 3, Hunt 2.
Wilson Central (50) – Addison Byrd 10, Elrod 6, Kendall Spray 19, Vertura 2, Bean, Kayla Jackson 13, Tucker.
3-Point Goals – Hamilton Heights (3) Todorova 2, Balogun 1), Wilson Central 7 (Spray 4, Jackson 3).
Girls Third Place
Baylor 19 11 13 16 – 59
Rhea County 11 10 7 10 – 38
Baylor (59) – Kaleigh Clemons 12, Willis 4, Lyndsey 2, Huckabay 2, Simpkins 6, Hubert 9, Wardeberg 7, Mya Long 17, Popp, Rich.
Rhea County (38) – Revis 2, Freeman, Wallis 6, Baker 6, Thurman 3, Keylon 4, Clark2, Keen 2, Amber Levi 10.
3-Point Goals – Baylor 4 (Clemons 2, Wardeberg 1, Long 1), Rhea County 3 (Levi 2, Buslos 1).
All-Tournament Teams
Boys
Hamilton Heights – Joan Duran, Ezekiel Balogun (MVP), Abdulhakim Ado; Riverdale – Brad Woodson, Gentry Bonds, Jonathan Matthews; Cannon County – Jacob Nave, Josh Ruehlen; Rhea County – Logan Hunter, Lee Hill.
Girls
Wilson Central – Kendall Spray (MVP), Kayla Jackson, Addison Byrd; Hamilton Heights – Mariya Bardeeva, Jazmine Massengill, Victoria Monyei; Baylor – Kaleigh Clemons, Mia Long; Rhea County – Jessee Wallis, Amber Levi.
Other Saturday Scores
Girls
Clarkrange 66, Brainerd 39
Hamilton Heights 65, Baylor 52
Baylor 59, Rhea County 38
McMInn County 45, Sequatchie County 39
Happy Valley 63, Chattanooga Patriots 15
Walker Valley 51, Cookeville 39
Wilson Central 44, Rhea County 41 (OT)
Rhea County 49, Ooltewah 33
Boys
Soddy-Daisy 69, Elizabethton 66
Clarkrange 43, Berean Academy 32
Hamilton Heights 69, Cannon County 52
Cookeville 61, Walker Valley 42
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)