Hilliard puts up game-high 26 points, followed by Owens with 21
By Randy Arrington
LURAY, Dec. 2 — It’s no secret that there are high expectations for the Luray High School boys basketball team this season. Not only did the Bulldogs finish in the final four of the Class 2 state tournament last season before falling to a “loaded” John Marshall team, now Luray drops down to Class 1 competition in the postseason and their top player just committed to play Division I college basketball next season at JMU.
Although he had back-to-back region titles in his pocket, LHS head coach Matt Huff entered his eighth season on Tuesday night winless in openers. And he was facing a tough, senior-laden Class 3 program.
“It’s my first opening night win,” Huff said after the 20-point victory over East Rockingham, 72-52. “I was 0-7 in first games, so the guys at halftime were hollering about that … It felt really good. It was a real quality win and what a way to start the season off for us to beat a real quality opponent like East Rock.”
Senior Connor Hilliard, who has signed his National Letter of Intent to play baseball for JMU, put up a game-high 26 points, including a hat trick of three-pointers and a 6-for-8 performance at the line.
“Connor, for the last two years, as a sophomore and junior, has been a guy that can do everything. He can shoot it from the outside, he can score it on the inside, he can attack, he rebounds, he shares the ball…and tonight he did a little bit of everything,” Coach Huff said. “He scored on the inside, he made some threes, made some free throws, shared the ball. Connor’s a district Player of the Year caliber kid and he has a state Player of the Year caliber kid on his team. It’s one of those things where on nights where Matthew’s getting face guarded like he was tonight, Connor’s gotta step up and do that, and he was big for us tonight.”
Senior Matthew Owens, who has committed to play basketball for JMU next season, recorded 21 points, despite being doubled-teamed and closely guarded all night. Owens countered the Eagles’ stiff defense with some timely fade-away jumpers.
“He’s tough…that’s what he does…that’s why he’s playing at JMU next year, I mean he can do those things…so even when you face guard him, he’s hard to stop, but we have so many other guys and he shares the ball so nicely,” Coach Huff said. “He doesn’t force a lot of those shots. He sees guys that are open when the double-team comes and he gets it to them and tonight guys made shots. Will Judy made shots, Riley Benson played phenomenal.”
The Bulldogs outscored the visiting Eagles in all four periods. Judy hit two of his three shots from beyond the arc in the opening eight minutes. Owens added five in the first frame as Luray jumped out to a 17-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. East Rock committed four turnovers and went 2-for-9 from the floor in the opening minutes. Both Eagle field goals were made by senior Michael Smith, including a triple.
Hilliard put up eight points in the second period, while Owens recorded two steals, a block and six points. East Rock’s Camden Clem hit a three-pointer and finished off a traditional triple from the line for six points in the second, while senior Tyson Hindle hit a three-pointer and had five points total. Luray lead by as much as 13, but East Rock drew within six at one point. The Bulldogs went to the half up 35-24. The Eagles only shot 38 percent from the floor in the first half, while committing eight turnovers.
After scoring only one point in the first half, junior Kenneth Moore III exploded for 11 of his team-high 16 points on the night in the third quarter. The Bulldogs would answer with four three-pointers, including back-to-back big buckets from Hilliard. Luray also went 5-of-7 from the line and carried a 56-43 lead into the fourth quarter.
The final frame mirrored the first, as Luray went on a 16-9 run, hitting over half their shots; while East Rock shot 30 percent from the floor and 50 percent from the line. The Eagles averaged four turnovers each period and finished the night shooting 18-for-44 (41 percent). Behind Moore’s 16 points, Smith scored 12 points and Clem had 10.
With Clem at 6’2″, Moore at 6’4″ and Smith at 6’5″…the Eagles are going to be tough this season.
“Honestly, I predicted those guys to win the Valley District. I think they’re good enough that they can beat T.A. I think this is the year they beat Spotswood again, and they haven’t done that since Nickel and McNair and those guys left,” Coach Huff said Tuesday night. “That’s a really good ball club. I think they are going to win the Valley. I think they are that good, they are that talented. They have enough to do it.”
Luray turned the ball over half as many times as East Rock and shot 47 percent from the floor. The Bulldogs hit eight three-pointers as a team and went 14-of-18 from the line (78 percent). In addition to Hilliard’s 26 and Owens’ 21 points, Judy had nine, junior Ayden Haddock finished with seven and junior Aiden Cook added five.
East Rock (0-1) will now host Page County at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4, before hosting Luray next Thursday on Dec. 11.
Before heading to East Rock, Luay (1-0) will host Broadway at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9. The Bulldogs open up Bull Run District play on Tuesday, Dec. 16, when they host the Eagles of Clarke County.
Expectations are high in Luray and their “special season” is off to a strong start. Coach Huff says that he’s keeping his guys grounded by allowing them to carry a chip on their shoulder.
“I just think this is the start of something really, really special. I hope we can continue it,” he said after Tuesday’s opening win. “To be honest, we’re still kinda disrespected by everybody in the district and the region…I mean even though we’ve had really good runs, it’s still kinda like ‘Oh they got lucky’… so we use that as motivation. I tell the guys that all the time…people still don’t believe, so we gotta go out there every day and make them believe.”
For schedules, rosters and results, check the Bull Run District website.
•••
RELATED ARTICLES
Be the first to comment