After a 300-mile bus trip a day earlier, Chattanooga’s state-ranked Hamilton Heights Hawks jumped into a nationally renowned hotbed for high school basketball, commonly known as Oak Hill Academy, on Monday night on the outskirts of a town with a population of 1,182.
Inside Turner Gymnasium, a small on-campus facility that is to Virginia high school hoops what Hinkle Fieldhouse is to Butler (Ind.) University, Oak Hill upheld its highly regarded hardwood reputation by crushing Hamilton Heights, 88-55.
“Hamilton Heights is a very talented team, but this is a tough place to play,” Oak Hill coach Steve Smith said in a telephone interview after the game.
“We’ve lost one home game in 33 years, and that was in January 1997. You just can’t roll in here and win.”
Hamilton Heights coach Zach Ferrell knew the Hawks faced long odds going against high-powered Oak Hill, which has been called a “basketball factory” for years. Ferrell’s assessment of the Warriors didn’t change after having seen them up close.
“They’re a phenomenal basketball team,” Ferrell said. “There’s a reason they’re the No. 1 team in the country. They have great talent combined with great coaching and they’ve got a remarkable season going.”
That’s just a sample of what the Hawks faced.
Here’s more:
The Warriors went into the game 37-0, ranked No. 1 in the country by USA TODAY and MaxPreps.com and had that intimidating home-court advantage.
Situated in the Blue Ridge Highlands of southeast Virginia, within walking distance of the North Carolina line, and surrounded by the small communities of Grassy Creek, Weavers Ford, Pine Creek and Bridle Creek, Oak Hill Academy claims eight national titles – it has a stunning 288-4 record in those championship seasons – and has produced 25 National Basketball League draftees, including 12 first-round picks.
The Warriors walked out of the gym with a remarkable 1,191-97 record dating to 1976-77, and Smith has 1,000-plus career wins to his credit. They’ve had seven undefeated seasons, the last a 44-0 campaign ending with the Baptist-affiliated school’s eighth national title in 2012.
There’s something else, too.
Oak Hill led by nine points at halftime, took advantage of Hamilton Heights’ big man Abdulhakim Ado’s foul problems and blew the game open with a 17-point edge in the third quarter. Ado picked up three first-period fouls, two in the first two minutes, and eventually fouled out in the second half.
Ado, a 6-foot-10-inch junior and one of the country’s top 2016 post prospects, scored only two points, a third-period field goal.
With Ado in serious foul trouble, Hamilton Heights, ranked No. 2 in Tennessee by MaxPreps.com, was outscored 50-26 in the second half and fell to 26-3 on the season.
“I would say it was a pretty even game except for that third quarter,” Ferrell said. “And any time you lose a kid like Abdul, it affects how you play. The kids did a good job adjusting, but it took a toll on us. (Oak Hill) hit some several 3s (four of their six, actually) and got some easy breakaway baskets that were entirely our fault.
“This can be a learning experience for us. I think it can help us as we finish the regular season and go into the postseason National Association of Christian Athletes postseason tournament in Dayton. We still play some high-level teams from here on out and that can make us a better team.”
In the third quarter, Oak Hill had four players with at least five points – Daniel Giddens (6), Andrew Fleming (6), Dwayne Bacon (5) and Joe Hampton (5). Those four players accounted for 22 of the 27 points.
Giddens, a 6-10 Ohio State signee, led the Warriors with 18 points and seven rebounds; Bacon, a 6-6 guard who will play at Florida State, tossed in 16 points and six-five guard Andrew Fleming, an Iowa signee, and future Penn State player Josh Reaves, a 6-5 guard, each scored 10 points.
Another college-bound player, a 5-11 guard, had five points and eight assists. He has committed to Missouri.
Ezekiel Balogun, a 6-5 junior shooting guard from Nigeria, paced Hamilton Heights with 15 points, 13 of which came in the first half and eight in the opening quarter. He also had seven rebounds. Monaire McCartney, a 6-5 guard out of Huntsville, Ala., added 12 points, eight coming in the second half.
Joan Duran, who plans to play collegiately at Middle Tennessee State University, scored nine points, grabbed 12 rebounds – eight on the defensive glass – and had three steals.
Hamilton Heights’ primary strength all season has been a distinct height advantage over almost every opponent, but that wasn’t the case Monday.
And it showed up from start to finish as the steamrolling Warriors (half their roster ranged from 6-5 to 7-foot) posted their 38th win of the season. Oak Hill lost to Memphis Hamilton on Jan. 10, but had that reversed when Hamilton was forced to forfeit 10 victories due to playing an ineligible player.
Hamilton Heights fared better than some Oak Hill victims. The Warriors have surpassed the 100-point barrier seven times this season and the margin of victory averaged 52.9 points in those contests.
Against the Hawks, Smith said his team got off to a sluggish start, but looked more like the real Warriors after halftime.
That didn’t surprise the veteran coach, who also serves as the school’s athletic director.
“We rolled in here from California about midnight on Sunday and I was worried about how the guys would react in tonight’s game,” Smith said. “They picked it up as the game went along, but we sure didn’t play well early.”
There is no time for rest the remainder of the week either. The Warriors have home games Wednesday and Thursday and then fly to Nebraska to play Omaha South in the Heartland Hoops Classic on Saturday. That will be their final trip of the regular season.
The Warriors have a chance to win 48 regular-season games, with a possible invited to New York to compete in the Dick’s Sporting Goods tournament on the NCAA Final Four weekend. Should they reach the title game, it will be held in Madison Square Garden.
“That would be pretty neat for the players and coaches,” Smith said.
Smith thought back to the 2012 Oak Hill team when asked how this year’s edition stacks up to some of his better squads.
“That 2012 team was unbeaten and ranked No. 1 and this team is not as talented,” Smith said. “But this team has stepped up and won some huge games against the toughest schedule we’ve ever played. I think we’ve beaten probably 10 teams that were ranked in the top 25 nationally when we played them, and all were on neutral courts. We beat two such teams last weekend in California.
“I didn’t think this team could do that, but these guys have played well.”
Summary
Hamilton Heights 12 17 10 16 – 55
Oak Hill Academy 18 20 27 23 – 88
Hamilton Heights (55) – Duran 9, Ado 2, Chantha 4, Ezekiel Balogun 15, Micakovic 6, Monaire McCartney 12, Andelic 3, Adheke 4.
Oak Hill Academy (88) – Dwayne Bacon 16, Daniel Giddens 18, Phillips 5, Andrew Fleming 10, Hampton 7, Josh Reaves 10, Sy 8, Wigginton 5.
3-Point Goals – Hamilton Heights 4 (Micakovic 2, Balogun 1, Duran 1), Oak Hill Academy 6 (Bacon 2, Fleming 2, Hampton 1, Alexander).
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryflemin44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)