Springs Valley Community High School

For four minutes or so, the Springs Valley boys’ basketball team was deadlocked with Class 1A No. 2 Orleans. The pace was slow and scoring was at a premium. It was 0-0 for some time, then 2-2 for a longer stretch. The Blackhawks were defending at a high level and, perhaps, if a few shots would fall they’d be able to build a lead. They weren’t the team that stepped up its offensive execution though. The Bulldogs started scoring despite Springs Valley’s stout defense and the Blackhawks fell 62-33 in the IHSAA Sectional 63 semifinal matchup. “Obviously we struggled to score and execute offensively. The big thing was just turning the ball over in the fullcourt. We have to do a better job of taking care of the basketball,” Springs Valley coach Jonathon Bowles said. “I thought there were some things in the second half that were working. Deion (Edwards) got to the rim really well, Jaheim Hamilton got to the rim really well and got some things going, unfortunately we just missed some open shots.” Though the Blackhawks were foiled by their worst offensive output of the season, they were quite happy with one facet of their performance — halfcourt defense. As long as they were able to keep the Bulldogs off the fastbreak, they were able to limit what the Bulldogs did offensively. “Defensively, we really executed tonight. When you look at how many halfcourt points they scored, it wasn’t very many. Most of their points were in transition or off steals,” Bowles said. “Proud of our guys because we put in a different defense that we kind of went over 35 minutes before the game and our guys did really well. I’m still not sure that a lot of people in this gym know what we were playing and that’s a good thing.” The loss brings the 2022-23 season to an end for Springs Valley (8-16, 3-3 PLAC). An inexperienced group at the season’s onset, the Blackhawks were tested time and time again and they expect to be better for it moving forward. They will graduate just one player, Max Pendley, and though he won’t be with the team next year, there’s hope that he left an impression on Springs Valley’s younger athletes that will remain. “He’s relentless,” Bowles said. “He’s fought his entire left, he’s faced some different adversities, and he’s been able to overcome them. We have no doubt that he’s going to be very successful in whatever he may do after high school. “I hope our younger guys saw how hard he worked every day in practice, how hard he worked in games, and how he was just a true team player. We need more guys like that.” With all but one player returning, the Blackhawks are hopeful that they can make a leap next year similar to the one they made between the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. They’ll be senior-laden with six juniors from this year’s rotation returning. They’ll also have five of this year’s sophomores stepping up with some varsity minutes under their belts. If they’re going to take advantage of that though, they’ll have to make strides this offseason. “We have to work a little extra on our own, put in more individual time,” Bowles said. “We have to get better at shooting, we have to get better at handling the basketball, and that’s the biggest thing. We have some guys in that locker room who want to put in extra time and they’re hungry. We had guys who got some varsity minutes that they maybe didn’t know they were going to get. “There are just so many guys who improved a bunch throughout the season and I think we’ll see that continue.” ORLEANS BULLDOGS 62, SPRINGS VALLEY BLACKHAWKS 33 Springs Valley (8-16);4;2;12;15—33 Orleans (22-3);9;18;12;23—62