Hargrave captured the 2018 First Piedmont Corp. Invitational over the weekend, beating Combine Academy in the semi-finals on Friday and topping Fork Union in the championship on Saturday. Recaps from the games are below:
Hargrave 94, Combine 69
Playing the nightcap of the first day of the First Piedmont in front of a raucous Corps of Cadets, Hargrave bested Combine by a score of 94-69. A back-and-forth game early on, Hargrave surged ahead towards the end of the first half and never allowed Combine back in the game after that. Connor Crabtree led Hargrave in scoring again, scoring 20 points, adding 5 rebounds and 4 assists to his line. Jules Moor (16 points, 4 steals), Bryce Beamer (12 points, 7 rebounds), Tre King (10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals) and Collin Blanchard (10 points, 4 assists, 3 steals) all reached double-digits in the win.
Hargrave 92, Fork Union 67
The championship of the 2018 First Piedmont Corp. Invitational pitted arch-rivals Hargrave and Fork Union against each other. This was the third meeting between Hargrave and Fork Union this season, with Hargrave winning the first two match-ups, the most recent match-up just 7 days earlier. This game would be more of the same, with Hargrave putting Fork Union away early and cruising to a 25 point victory. Hargrave came out firing in the opening minutes, surging out to a lead and never looking back. Hargrave never trailed in the game, and had a lead as high as 33 points in the second half. 11 different players scored for the Tigers in the championship win, led by Tavin Lovan who poured in 23 points, including 16 in the first half. Lovan was Hargrave’s leading scorer against Fork Union on February 17th, scoring 23 points in that contest as well. Trey McGowens (16 points, 6 assists, 3 steals) and Connor Crabtree (15 points, 4 assists) were the only other double-digit scorers for Hargrave in the balanced scoring effort.
The win keeps Hargrave unbeaten all-time in the First Piedmont Corp. Invitational, and pushes their 2017-18 record out to 32-3. The Tigers also pushed their home winning streak to 90 games, their last loss in Walter Davis Gymnasium coming in January of 2014. Hargrave has one regular season game left on the schedule, as they will take on Ridgeview Prep at home on Tuesday February 27th. The game is scheduled for a 6:00pm tip-off.
Hargrave basketball would like to thank First Piedmont Corp. for their continued support.
