Teays Valley established a torrid scoring pace in the first half on Saturday that host Hamilton Township wasn’t able to keep up with on its way to a 75-40 Mid-State League Buckeye Division win.
The Vikings pushed the basketball up-and-down the floor in a 32-point first quarter that featured 13 points from Brody Fields and 12 points courtesy of Sam Miller. Teays Valley held a 32-20 lead at the end of the period.
“Our guys did a good job of getting the ball to the open man all game long,” Teays Valley coach Brian Barnett said. “We executed our sets and were able to get the ball in the area where we wanted.
“We shot the ball fairly well in the first half, except for a few missed free throws.”
Miller, who didn’t miss a shot in the first half, contributed 10 more points in the second quarter, as the Vikings built their lead to 55-33 at the break.
“Sam was on point with his shooting, especially during the first half when he was perfect from the field,” Barnett praised. “Brody Fields did a good job of finding the open area and knocking down shots for us. Kole Nungester continues to do a great job on the boards and on both the offensive and defensive ends.”
After featuring their offense in the first half, the Vikings locked the Rangers down to just seven second-half points to remain undefeated in the league.
“The second half was very important to our growth,” Barnett said. “At halftime, we challenged them to hold Hamilton Township to less than 55 points for the game. Giving up 33 points in a half is a lot, so we needed to get better defensively. Our guys responded and Hamilton Township scored its only basket in the third quarter with around 50 seconds left.
“I was very pleased with the way we responded and adjusted at halftime. This is another step in our young team’s development and growth.”
With the lopsided score, Barnett was able to go deeper into his bench and get those players some varsity minutes.
“We were able to get some players a lot of varsity game time,” Barnett said. “I thought our bench did a great job of coming in during both halves and giving us a lift.”
Miller paced all scorers with 24 points for the Vikings, Fields tallied 21 points, Ryan Allton had nine and Kole Nungester added eight.
Jovon McBride had 12 points to pace the Rangers (2-5, 1-4).
The Vikings (4-1, 4-0) host Central Crossing on Tuesday for a non-league tilt.
Teays Valley 75,
Hamilton Township 40
TEAYS VALLEY — Kole Nungester 2-4-8, Brody Fields 7-3-21, Luke Burgett 1-0-2, Cavin McDowell 0-2-2, Ryan Allton 4-0-9, Riley Dick 2-1-5, Ivan Smith 1-0-2, Brayden Primmer 1-0-2, Sam Miller 12-0-24. Three-point goals — Fields (4) and Allton. Total — 30-10-75.
HAMILTON TOWNSHIP — Anthony McBride 2-0-4, Joran Woodard 4-0-11, Jovon McBride 5-0-12, Brenden Cassell 1-0-3, Trent Renz 2-0-5, Artis Cain-Jackson 1-0-3, Laon Harris Reid 1-0-2. Three-point goals — Woods (3), McBride (2), Cassell, Renz and Cain-Jackson. Total — 16-0-40.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Teays Valley 32 23 13 8 75
Hamilton Twp. 20 13 2 5 40
Coming to Circleville this September!