Springs Valley Community High School

On Saturday the Springs Valley boys’ basketball team did battle with one of the top six teams in the Class 1A poll for the third time in as many weeks. After hosting Class 1A No. 2 Orleans at the beginning of the month and traveling to Class 1A No. 6 Barr-Reeve on Dec. 9, the Blackhawks were in Loogootee to take on the Class 1A No. 3 Loogootee and just like the first two games, Saturday’s contest was another one in which the Blackhawks had to learn some things the hard way. They struggled through the first half, trailing 36-17 at the break, and though they played better in the second it wasn’t enough to make a comeback as they fell 76-44. “You have to give a lot of credit to them. They are a really good basketball team, but we just have to get better,” Springs Valley coach Jonathon Bowles said. “I’ll take the blame for not having these guys ready to go against a team like this. We’ve got a lot of growing to do if we’re going to compete against teams like this and tonight showed it. “You get exposed if you aren’t going hard all the time. If your defensive intensity isn’t where it needs to be, this is what happens against good teams, you get blown out.” One of the big things the Blackhawks’ coach is hoping they’ll take away from the evening is that they can’t let their performance on one end of the floor affect how they play on the other. Bowles saw his team’s early offensive struggles turn into uninterested defense on too many occasions and when that happens it’s very tough to keep up with the level of competition Springs Valley was facing. “We have to get out of this whole thing where if the ball’s not going in the hoop, we don’t play defense,” Bowles said. “When the ball’s going in the hoop our defense is really solid, but your defense has to be there all the time. Tonight it wasn’t and they exposed us.” Even with the loss, there were still positive things Springs Valley could take away from the contest. The play of James Walls was one of those. The junior came off the bench to impact the game with his typical, steadfast effort. He pinballed around the court, creating chaos defensively and stepping up as a scoring option for the Blackhawks. He finished with 11 points, second only to Deion Edwards’ 15, to cap off a solid individual weekend. “Jay’s a warrior. Jay had a very good weekend. He flies around and when he uses his athleticism, he sees a lot of success,” Bowles said. “We continue to need a guy like that, we’re going to need him to step up. He stepped up and made some big plays last night for us. We just need everybody to have his motor.” Springs Valley (4-3, 2-1 PLAC) will return to play on Wednesday, taking the floor for their first game in the Accelerated Growth Capital Holiday Classic. They’ll take on Pike Central at The Hawk’s Nest, the game being moved to French Lick from Evansville due to expected inclement weather. As they prepare to take on the Chargers — then either Evansville Memorial and Charlestown — the Blackhawks will try to apply the lessons learned at Loogootee as well as the ones learned in their other early-season bouts with top-tier competition. “It’s very important (to get experience against elite teams). These are the type of teams you have to beat in our sectional in order to win and that’s always a goal for us,” Bowles said. “Right now we just aren’t ready. We’re fortunate that it’s still early. It’s still December so we have a lot of time to get better, but we have to work hard in practice and we have to have everybody working hard in practice. I have to make sure that’s happening so we can get there.” LOOGOOTEE LIONS 76, SPRINGS VALLEY BLACKHAWKS 48 Springs Valley (4-3);7;8;14;19—48 Loogootee (6-2);17;19;17;23—76