Holston Notches Road Win

Glade Spring, VA— A short trip down interstate 81 for Holston led to tonight’s battle between the Holston Cavaliers and the Rebels of Patrick Henry (Glade Spring). A back and forth first quarter had Holston out in front 8-7, after sophomore Nathan Mossholder hit a last second inside jumper.

After a struggling start in that first quarter, both teams really found their rhythm and started getting things going in the second quarter. Freshman Zach Brown was all over the court for the Rebels, as he was getting in on each play and driving the ball to the basket whenever he got the chance.

An assist by Brown to sophomore Drew Miller gave the Rebels the 12-10 lead with about seven minutes remaining in the first half. Holston would answer that three right back with one of their own by sophomore Ben Hulbert, who came off the bench and played great basketball.

Hulbert again provided not just great perimeter shooting., but on the next possession for Holston picks up the offensive rebound and the put buck, pushing the Cavalier lead out to three with a score of 15-12. Patrick Henry answer right back going out a short 6-0 run to make the score 18-15 Rebels with four minutes left in the half. Holston again answered PH with another three, this time by senior Gideon Parks.

With the game tied at 18, Holston would go on a 8-2 run, highlighted by Hulbert and Park’s three-point shooting as they drained deep range three pointers. Patrick Henry again would answer right back in the scoring, but Holston would hold a slim two point lead 27-25 at the half. Parks led Holston with 10 points in the first half and Zach Brown led Patrick Henry with seven points.

Third quarter action found Holston finding their stride in the game finally. After some early back and forth action with the score being 29-28 Holston leading, the Cavaliers would go on a 10-0 run, that really just sparked them with the momentum the rest of the game. Hulbert got things going with back to back three pointers. Parks also added five points on the run. It was the first time all game that lead was in double digits.

The run by Holston would be all they needed as they would go on to defeat Patrick Henry 55-41. Gideon Parks led all scorers with 22 points, while Ben Hulbert chipped in with 12 points as well for Holston. Zach Brown led Patrick Henry in scoring with 14 points.

Coach Jeff Austin for Holston talked about how big this game was for the Cavaliers saying, “give Patrick Henry all the credit in the world, they came out firing and ready to play in that first half.”

Austin talked about how Patrick Henry’s 1-3-1 defense really was a struggle in the first half attributing to why the game was so back and forth. Austin also praised the play of Parks and Hulbert saying, “both of those guys are really great players, and we as a team just need to keep working and looking forward.”

He tells his guys, “it’s not about the other team, but it’s about us right now. We just need to keep doing what we need to do to get better.”

Andrew McClung is a new contributor to VirginiaPreps.com, currently attending Emory & Henry ('19). He is also Sports Editor for the Whitetopper.