varsity.roanoke.com

The hottest thing Wednesday night in the home locker room -- besides the Hidden Valley basketball team that had just smoked Blacksburg -- was the camcorder operated by student Corey Bapst.

On the screen was an instant classic: a high-flying, one-handed dunk by Hidden Valley sophomore Luke Hancock late in the third quarter that punctuated an 83-53 River Ridge District victory by the Titans over visiting Blacksburg.

Hancock's slam rocked the gym and the final score might have made a statement to the rest of the River Ridge. Hidden Valley (13-4, 5-0) now owns a two-game lead over the field with five district games to play.

"We're coming. Everybody better be ready," Hancock said. "We've got five big games left."

If Hancock's dunk was the exclamation point, Blacksburg (10-7, 3-2) left with nothing but question marks. The Bruins were in ruins as they were beaten up on the boards, beaten down the floor in transition and whipped in every other phase of the game.

Hidden Valley went on a 17-0 run to lead 18-5 after the first quarter, building the margin to 42-23 at halftime and 70-40 at the end of the third period.

"It's hard to describe that one right there," Blacksburg coach Doug Day said after a long soul-searching session with his assistant coaches outside the visitors' locker room. "We just did not play well tonight in all aspects of the game. It was one of those nights when everything seemed to snowball."

Day also was not happy that Blacksburg players Jared Jaudon and Junior Brown were hit with technical fouls for excessive verbiage. Jaudon's was particularly untimely, leading to a five-point play by Hidden Valley's Logan Singleton that put the Titans up 39-18 just before halftime.

"We haven't had technicals like that since I've been here," Day said. "I can't remember the last time we had a technical foul. It's definitely not characteristic of us and it will not be tolerated.

"It's definitely behavior that we will not tolerate."

Hidden Valley coach Chris Morris had no complaints about his team. The Titans got contributions from virtually every player on the floor. Reserves Nelson Musselman and Will Anderson combined for 14 points in the first half, while 6-foot-6 backup center Rob Peterson made some key plays in the second half.

The Titans barely needed leading scorers Ben Boggs and Matt Partsch, who finished with 17 and 13 points, respectively, while saddled with early fouls.

"This is what I expected this year," Morris said. "This is how I wanted us to play, where we could substitute pretty liberally and get up and down the floor. I guess this a perfect time for us to be getting to where we wanted to be."

After the game, the Titans surrounded Bapst, viewing replays of Hancock's dunk on the tiny hand-held screen. It was the 6-foot-5 sophomore's first of the season.

"I've had like, a rim-grab kind of attempt but that's my first slam," he said.

It was tough to tell who had more elevation, Hancock or the Hidden Valley players and coaches on the bench.

"My job was to keep everybody off the court," Morris said. "That's all I needed was for us to do that and get a technical foul."

BLACKSBURG (10-7, 3-2)

English 5 2-2 12, Mitchell 2 0-0 5, Brown 4 1-3 9, Holmes 5 3-4 16, Keys 0 0-0 0, Jones 1 0-1 2, Sullivan 1 0-0 2, Jaudon 1 1-2 4, Wade 1 1-3 3, Proffitt 0 0-0 0, Eaves 0 0-0 0, Jennings 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 8-15 53.

HIDDEN VALLEY (13-4, 5-0)

Partsch 4 4-5 13, Bane 3 0-0 7, Singleton 3 3-4 9, Earhart 0 0-0 0, Boggs 4 8-10 17, Barrett 2 0-0 5, Hancock 4 0-0 8, Peterson 2 0-0 4, Musselman 3 0-0 6, Anderson 2 2-2 8, Goins 1 2-2 4, Coots 0 0-0 0, Krkeljas 0 2-2 2. Totals 28 21-25 83.

Blacksburg 5 18 17 13--53

Hidden Valley 16 24 28 13--83

3-point goals -- Blacksburg (Holmes 3, Mitchell, Jaudon), Hidden Valley (Anderson 2, Barrett, Bane, Partsch, Boggs). Total fouls -- Blacksburg 20, Hidden Valley 17. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- Jaudon. Brown.

JV -- Blacksburg, 36-29.