Cyclones hold off Warriors

Published 10:26 pm Friday, January 26, 2018

After only managing ten points in the first half, the Cyclones found the momentum for 31 points in the second half to inch out a 41-36 conference win over Happy Valley Friday night inside John Treadway gym.

“We have a young team, and sometimes we have to talk them through somethings,” said EHS head coach Lucas Honeycutt. “Halftime was longer tonight, and that was probably a good thing, because I got to get on my seniors a little bit. They got the message.

“Will Miller did great getting us back on the upper end of things,” Honeycut added. “I thought we had a good post presence in the second half that we didn’t have in the first half. We were shooting a lot of threes tonight. I am glad we are more confident in shooting them.”

After a big quarter from Happy Valley’s Bryce Carter, the Warriors led Elizabethton 10-8 after one.

Happy Valley scored eight-straight points in the second to take an 18-8 lead over EHS. Happy Valley’s Jacob Surcey had four points during the run. Elizabethton’s Will Miller closed out the second quarter with a layup to send the Cyclones into the half trailing Happy Valley 18-10.

The Cyclones worked out to a 25-20 lead with 2:57 left in the third after a 15-2 run that was ignited by a layup from Miller in the quarter and capped off by a 3-pointer from EHS’s Parker Hughes. At the end of three, Elizabethton held a small 25-22 edge.

Happy Valley’s Brayden Sams opened up the fourth with five straight points to give HV a 27-25 lead before Elizabethton’s Adam Cornett knocked down a pair of free throws to tie the game at 27-27. Happy Valley’s Surcey and Dakota Cochran hit back-to-back shots to push the Warriors back in front, 31-27, with six minutes left to play. A mid-range jumper Miller tied the contest at 33-33 with just 2:40 left to go. At the 1:39 mark of the fourth, Elizabethton starter Eric Wilson fouled out after a charging foul. Carter nailed a layup to give HV a 35-33 lead before Elizabethton’s Nico Ashley popped a 3-pointer to give EHS a one-pointer edge with just 41 seconds left to play. With just ten seconds left, Ashley hit a fast-break layup to put EHS up by four points before hitting a foul shot to give the game its final tally.

Ashley’s effort in the fourth quarter, which saw Ashley have a big block and a couple of big shots, helped the Cyclones seal the deal.

“He is coming, but it is just a matter of when he is going to be one of the best in the area,” said Honeycutt about Ashley. “He has the athletic ability to be a player of the year contender.”

Miller finished the game with ten points for the Cyclones while Wilson recorded nine. EHS’s Adam Cornett and Parker Hughes had eight and seven, respectively. Ashley finished with six.

For Happy Valley, Carter finished with 12 while Sams totaled eight.

The win was made even sweeter for the Cyclones as they celebrated homecoming. Lady Cyclones Camryn Koroma was crowned homecoming queen.