On Thursday night at Snavely gym, the combination of forwards Noah Stevens and Blake Young boosted Happy Valley to a 65-54 non-conference victory over Unaka. Stevens scored a game-high 26 points – dropping three dimes along the way – with Young adding 14 points with an additional three 3-ball bombs.

“He had a really good game on Tuesday night as well,” Warriors head coach Jeremy Maddox said. “He had 20 and he can do that. He just needs to have confidence in himself, and we tell him all the time that he’s one of our best players and when his head is right he’s good. We need that Noah moving forward. The one that has played the last two games.”

HV (5-13 overall) opened with an 11-8 first-quarter lead and with Stevens and Young each hitting from long range the Warriors extended to a 28-24 halftime advantage. Unaka held HV scoreless for nearly seven minutes between the end of the second period and the middle of the third and went on an 11-point run to take a 29-28 lead, but HV had a run of its own coming.

Young hit a pair of 3-balls and Timmy Mounts also had a long-range shot go down as the Warriors ran off nine straight points for a 37-29 lead before a free throw from senior guard Isaac Hill ended the run.

HV went into the final period with a 43-35 lead and saw the Rangers close to 47-43 after a three-point play from Hill with 5:36 left in regulation. Hill went to the free throw line on three straight Rangers possessions and was one-for-two each time. Meanwhile, the Warriors were getting two-point buckets from James Harmon, Stevens and Harmon again to take a 53-46 lead.

The Warriors went on a seven-point run to open a 60-46 lead and the game was effectively finished. Will Sexton led Unaka with 17 points, with Hill adding 15.

GIRLS

Happy Valley 44,

Unaka 41

Senior forward Bailey Ball scored 12 points – hitting a pair of trey’s – and senior guard Adrienne Henegar scored 14 to lead the Lady Warriors a gritty road win.

“We mixed it up some between zone and man defense,” commented Lady Warriors head coach Thomas Gouge, “That’s been our M.O. the last seven or eight games. Shalyn (Whitson) did a great job defensively and she uses her strong body well. I think she showed she is a next level player and will only get better.”

Whitson scored 10 points and did a good job fronting Unaka’s senior post Myah Parlier – a tactic that has proven effective the last few games for Lady Rangers opponents – holding her to 15 points, but shutting her out in the fourth quarter.

HV (12-5 overall) went into the fourth quarter with the score knotted at 28-28 but Henegar and Ball each knocked down trey’s to open the stanza and take a 34-28 advantage. Unaka answered with a pair of 3-balls from Madison Pierce sandwiched around a deuce from Whitson as HV led 36-34.

A deuce from Olivia Absher made it a four-point HV lead and Whitson added two free throws for a 40-34 Lady Warriors lead. The Lady Rangers closed to 41-39 following a three-point play from senior guard Savannah Tipton, who subsequently fouled out with 29.1 seconds left.

BOYS

Happy Valley 65-54

Happy Valley (65)

Willis 3, Stevens 26, Cochran 4, Young 14, Carter 9, Harmon 6, Mounts 3.

Unaka (54)

Johnson 6, Hill 15, Sexton 17, Whitehead 1, Ramsey 11, Rasnick 4.

Happy Valley 11 17 15 22 – 65

Unaka 8 16 11 19 – 54

3-point goals: HV 7 (Stevens 3, Young 3, Mounts 1), U 3 (Johnson 2, Sexton 1)

GIRLS

Happy Valley 44-41

Happy Valley (44)

Henegar 14, Ball 12, Absher 4, Whitson 10, Lunceford 4.

Unaka (41)

Pierce 6, T. Whitehead 4, Tipton 8, Ensor 8, Parlier 15.

Happy Valley 6 14 8 16 – 44

Unaka       9 8 11 13 – 41

3-point goals: HV 5 (Henegar 3, Ball 2), U 4 (Pierce 2, Ensor 2)