The Silverdale Seahawks are off to their best start in school history as they breezed to their 10th straight win of the young season without a setback, but coach Slater Belew still isn’t satisfied as he knows deep in his heart that his kids are still capable of playing better.
But on a night where the Seahawks won easily by a score of 58-25 against East Hamilton, everyone dressed for Silverdale got to play and eight of those guys scored at least one point.
“We played better tonight than we have in our last two games and I feel like we took a step in the right direction, but we still aren’t playing up to our potential,” Belew said shortly after the final horn sounded in the Silverdale Center.
“It’s nice that some of our younger guys who normally don’t get to play much got some time and it’s always fun to see how they will react, but we still have a lot of work to do. It takes a strong effort every time we play and we can’t afford to take a night off. But as long as we continue to improve, that’s all I’m asking for,” he added with a smile.
Houston Holland swished a 3 from the corner to start the game and Silverdale never trailed. The Hurricanes got within two at 9-7 on a 3 from Josiah Wiley with 3:03 left in the opening stanza, but the Seahawks finished the quarter on an 8-3 run and it never got much closer.
East Hamilton, now 1-7 after Tuesday’s loss, had a tough time scoring as Anderson Dawson scored its first two points on free throws with 1:59 before halftime while Abel Rogers scored their other two points in the second stanza on a drive from the wing right before the buzzer to get the Hurricanes within 16 at 30-14.
Silverdale totally blew the game open as the Seahawks scored the first 17 points for a commanding 47-14 lead with 2:37 left in the third stanza following a slam by Kennedy Okpara.
The difference was 52-20 when the quarter ended and the Mercy Rule was in place for the final four minutes after a layup by Luke Burger put the Seahawks up 58-23.
Brett Wright scored 16 points to lead three Silverdale players in double figures. Holland matched his jersey number with 13 points while Okpara was next with 12.
Dawson and Wiley both scored six points to lead East Hamilton.
Silverdale also had an unofficial 33-25 edge in rebounds as Okpara grabbed nine for the Seahawks and Wright five. Benjamin Duffy and Rogers both had six for the Hurricanes.
SILVERDALE GIRLS 51, EAST HAMILTON 47: The score was tied at 39-39 when the fourth quarter began, but Ella Canter converted a four-point play with 7:22 to play for a 43-39 lead and the Lady Seahawks went on to win their eighth game in 10 tries.
Taylor Bledsoe led Silverdale with 16 points while Kelsie Johnson added 12. Noa Woodruff led East Hamilton with 14 points, including all eight of her team’s points in the fourth quarter. Alexis Price was also in double figures with 11.
Silverdale’s next game will be in North Georgia on Friday when they face Heritage while East Hamilton’s next game is at Central on Friday.
GIRLS SUMMARY
EAST HAMILTON 12 11 16 8 -- 47
SILVERDALE 15 10 14 12 -- 51
EAST HAMILTON (47) – Alexis Price 11, Hilvers 7, Noa Woodruff 14, Calhoun 4, LaBoo 7.
SILVERDALE (51) – Canter 7, Taylor Bledsoe 16, Raby 8, Owen 5, Littrell, Kelsie Johnson 12, Cline 3.
3-Point Goals: East Hamiton 5 (Price 3, Hilvers, LaBoo); Silverdale 7 (Canter 2, Bledsoe, Owen, Johnson 2, Cline).
BOYS SUMMARY
EAST HAMILTON 10 4 6 5 -- 25
SILVERDALE 17 13 22 6 -- 58
EAST HAMILTON (25) – P. Harris, Dawson 6, Wise 4, Hunter 2, Wiley 6, Duffy 2, Munson 3, Rogers 2, Brooks, Brewster, Willingham, Pendleton, E. Harris, Readus.
SILVERDALE (58) – Burger 4, Kennedy Okpara 12, Keith 1, P. Holland, Brett Wright 16, Houston Holland 13, Bowers, McGraw, E. Richardson 7, J. Richardson 4, Hoewischer 1.
3-Point Goals: East Hamilton 1 (Wiley); Silverdale 5 (Wright 2, E. Richardson 2, H. Holland).
(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)