Playing their third game in as many days, the Hargrave Tigers took the floor at Springfield College in the prestigious Spalding Hoophall Classic to take on Orangeville Prep (CAN) in a game featured on ESPN3. Hargrave earned a 91-73 win and advanced to 20-1 on the season.
After splitting a pair of games at the inaugural Hoophall Showcase on Friday and Saturday, the #1 Tigers were determined to avenge their lone loss of the season, which came to #2 IMG Academy on Friday afternoon, and they did so in incredible fashion. Throughout the storied history of the Hargrave Basketball program, they had never been featured on ESPN or the ESPN family of networks, so this was an opportunity to not only play a high level opponent on a national stage but also continue to build notoriety around the Hargrave program.
The Tigers got out to a hot start when K.D. Johnson (Atlanta, GA) rebounded his own miss and finished through the contact for the and-one. Orangeville Prep, who is considered to be the top prep school in Canada, kept things close in the early minutes but a flurry of baskets and stops for the Tigers helped them build an 18 point halftime advantage. K.D. Johnson was incredible in the first half, grabbing 23 of his game high 35 points in the process. Mark Sears (Muscle Shoals, AL) and Corey Walker (Hastings, FL) also contributed offensively for the Tigers as they utilized their patented defensive pressure to stifle Orangeville Prep throughout not only the first half but the entire game.
The second half was much of the same story for the Tigers as they continued to push the pace and stop any potential Orangeville Prep runs before they got started as they closed out the 18 point victory, 91-73. “We were outstanding today,” remarked Head Coach, Lee Martin. “Our guys played with the same level of intensity and focus as if it was our only game this week. But for us to put forth this kind of performance after playing back to back high level games over the previous two days was incredible. I’m so proud of our effort and I’m honored that our Hargrave Basketball program got this opportunity to be featured on ESPN3 and on a national stage against a big time opponent.”
Notable Performances Included:
K.D. Johnson–35 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists
Mark Sears–18 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists
Corey Walker–14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks
Hargrave is back in action this weekend as they head to the Fork Union Military Showcase on Friday January 24th and Saturday January 25th. They open the event with a rivarly game on Friday as they take on Massnutten Military Academy and follow that up with a Saturday showcase against Mt. Zion Prep (MD). Tip-off times are scheduled for 4:00 PM and 2:00 PM respectively.
