Cyclones sweep past Happy Valley
Published 9:15 pm Wednesday, January 27, 2021
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders The Cyclones Nicholas Wilson (50) controls the opening tip-off in Tuesday nights game against the Warriors of Happy Valley.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders The Cyclones Jake Roberts (0) buries the second of his first quarter trey’s from well behind the arc late in the quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders The Warriors Andrew Clawson (15) double pumps the shot, getting the Cyclones Jake Roberts (0) airborne, and draws the foul late in the second quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Happy Valley’s Alex Lunsford (33)goes chest to chest with the Cyclones William Willocks (24) as he hits this pull up jumper at the rim mid-way through the second quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Elizabethton’s Lina Lyon (4) lights it up from downtown in the fourth quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders Lady Cyclones Head Coach Lucas Andrews draws up a play to continue Elizabethton’s 9-0 run after Happy Valley calls timeout mid-way through the third quarter.
StarPhoto/Larry N. Souders After coming away with the ball on a steal near mid-court the Lady Warriors Olivia Absher (25) coasts to an easy layup in the fourth quarter.
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BY ALLEN LAMOUNTAIN
STAR CORRESPONDENT
Guard Jake Roberts hot start gave the Elizabethton Cyclones an early lift and they rode it to a 63-48 Three Rivers Conference win over Happy Valley on Tuesday at Bayless gymnasium. Roberts scored 17 of his game-high 23 points in the first half as EHS (14-4, 6-2 TRC) rolled to a 34-23 halftime lead.
“I thought he did a real good job of hitting shots and distributing the ball to his teammates for good looks,” Cyclones head coach Lucas Honeycutt said. “A lot of teams key on him and make it hard on him, but I think tonight was one of his better all-around games, and it was good just to see that kind of growth.”
Roberts scored 13 of the Cyclones 16 first-quarter points – mostly going one on one and making shots off the dribble – including a pair of trey’s as the Warriors couldn’t find a defensive answer for him.
HV (1-14, 0-9) battled with senior post Alex Lunceford producing points in the paint and he finished with a team-high 15 points with eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Lunceford scored nine first-half points but the Warriors got little offensive production elsewhere as HV fell into a double-digit halftime deficit.
The Cyclones never allowed HV to claw their way back into this one as they extended their lead in each of the last two periods and won going away. William Willocks scored 18 points for EHS with Nicholas Wilson and Nate Stephens each contributing nine points.
For HV, Blake Young scored 10 points and both Andrew Clawson and Landon Babb each scored eight for the Warriors.
“We shared the ball well and attacked the basket,” Honeycutt said. “And we got to the free-throw line and I think that was a key. We weren’t just out there jacking up shots like we might have earlier in the year.
“So there was a lot of growth and now that we are in the second round of conference games we have to continue to show that growth. We need to do everything we can to find our rhythm and reach that peak.”
Girls Varsity
EHS 55
Happy Valley 37
The Lady Cyclones took advantage of a Happy Valley shooting lull in the first period – opening an 11-4 lead – and cruised to victory. McKendra Norris and Torrie Roberts each hit a trey in the period as HV went two-for-10 (20 percent) from the floor in the first quarter with guard Gabby Wood connecting on both field goals.
EHS (11-7, 5-2) took a 21-14 halftime advantage with Renna Lane scoring all seven of her points in the first half. Lane was also good for 10 rebounds and two steals.
HV (7-7, 4-5) fell into a deeper hole as the Lady Cyclones outscored them 20-12 in the third period to open a 41-26 lead going into the final stanza.
Senior Olivia Absher led the Lady Warriors with 12 points and seven boards with Wood adding nine points. For EHS Lina Lyons connected on four second-half treys and was the top scorer with 16 points. Roberts added 10 for the Cyclones with Norris good for eight.
“From the start of the year it has been our focus to play good defense,” Lady Cyclones head coach Lucas Andrews said. “We can never have a bad night defensively, and these girls have bought into that.
“We switched it up on defense tonight to keep them guessing. We have had some good offensive games from different people and we have had several step up and tonight it was Lina.”
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Boys Varsity
EHS 63-48
EHS (63)
Roberts 23, Phillips 1, Stephens 9, Wilson 9, Van Huss 3, Willocks 18.
Happy Valley (48)
Clawson 8, Mounts 5, Young 10, Babb 8, Lunceford 15, Little 2.
Elizabethton 16 18 15 14 – 63
Happy Valley 11 12 13 12 – 48
3-point goals: EHS 6 (Roberts 4, Willocks, Van Huss), HV 2 (Clawson, Mounts)
Girls Varsity
EHS 55-37
EHS (55)
Holly 3, Lyon 16, Norris 8, Lane 7, Headrick 7, Mathena 2, Whitson 2, Roberts 10.
Happy Valley (37)
H. Moore 6, Wood 9, Blevins 4, M. Moore 2, Absher 12, Bailey 4.
Elizabethton 11 10 20 14 – 55
Happy Valley 4 10 12 11 – 37
3-point goals: EHS 11 (Lyon 4, Lane 2, Norris 2, Roberts 2, Holly), HV 2 (Blevins, Wood)
