Saturday, January 28, 2012
Blue Demons' defense defeats Hidden Valley
Christiansburg holds the Titans to four points in the second quarter and forces 30 turnovers.
varsity.roanoke.com
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CHRISTIANSBURG - The score in Friday's Christiansburg boys basketball victory over Hidden Valley was 61-45, but just as important was 30-11. That was the turnover ratio as the Blue Demons forced the Titans into giveaways and bad passes.
Christiansburg (17-1, 7-0 River Ridge District) trailed 21-14 after the first quarter, but turned on the pressure and forced 12 Titan turnovers in the second quarter. Hidden Valley (8-9, 3-3) managed only four shots in the frame, making two for four points.
The Demons scored 16, mostly in transition, and took a five-point lead into halftime.
Demons' coach Shawn Good said his team works on pressure defense, and that turned out to be the winning strategy.
"That's the difference in the game," Good said of the forced turnovers. "That's what we work on. We work on pressuring and getting after people, trying to force turnovers. We don't always do a good job of converting after turnovers, but if we get 30 of them and convert after 10, that's 20 points."
Hidden Valley coach Troy Wells agreed.
"If you have as many turnovers as we did it doesn't make for a good recipe to stay in a ballgame," Wells said.
Hidden Valley was efficient when the shots went up - shooting 52 percent for the game and 64 percent through the first three quarters, compared to 37 percent for the Demons. The percentages favored the Titans but the raw numbers were on the Demons' side. The Titans made 17 of 33 while Christiansburg made 20 of 54.
What's more, the Demons had a huge margin at the free throw line, making 18 of 33 while Hidden Valley hit 7 of 11.
"They shot 11 and we shot 33," Good said. "I said to be aggressive. Early against the zone we were passing around and shooting 3s and I said to the guys 'we have to penetrate and attack the zone.' Once we started doing that they started fouling us and we started getting to the line, then getting open shots in other places."
Wells knew what to expect from the River Ridge District's top team, but handling it was another story.
"You don't practice for that," he said. "They're better than anybody else in the league. We've just got to take better care of the basketball. If you don't give yourself a chance in the half-court it's a tough situation."
Zach Davis led all scorers with 20 points for the Blue Demons. Dylan Hodson had 16 for the Titans.
HIDDEN VALLEY (8-9, 3-3)
Williams 3 0-1 7, Rowe 1 2-2 4, Hodson 6 1-2 16, Pilat 1 0-0 2, Beecher 5 0-0 10, Kendrick 1 0-2 2, Hawkins 0 4-4 4, Nave 0 0-0 0, Brown 0 0-0 0, Settles 0 0-0 0, Muncy 0 0-0 0, Helgeson 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 7-11 45.
CHRISTIANSBURG (17-1, 7-0)
Kelly 2 2-4 8, Johnson 2 3-4 7, Davis 7 6-15 20, Snell 0 2-2 2, Motley 6 3-4 15, Price 2 2-2 6, Augustin 0 1-2 1, Buchannon 1 0-0 2, Cayton 0 0-0 0, Moore 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 19-33 61
Hidden Valley 21 4 13 7 - 45
Christiansburg 14 16 15 16 - 61
3-point goals - Hidden Valley 4 (Hodson 3, Williams), Christiansburg 2 (Kelly 2). Total fouls - Hidden Valley 21, Christiansburg 14. Fouled out - Williams.
