This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Harrison Basketball Sweeps Allatoona

In a varsity basketball doubleheader, the Lady Hoyas beat Allatoona 56-49; the men's team finished the night with a 77-50 win.

Tuesday was a good night for the basketball program as the men's and women's varsity teams both left Allatoona High School with victories.

The women led off with a nail biter, while the men won by 27 points. Standout performances, combined with crisp passing and good defense, made for an entertaining evening of basketball.

The first game featured the Lady Hoyas versus the Lady Buccaneers. Good rebounding on both the offensive and defensive glass, mixed with a lot of missed opportunities by the Bucs, gave the Lady Hoyas an 18-9 lead after the first quarter.

Find out what's happening in Kennesawwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Allatoona stepped up their game in the second quarter, however, improving on their first quarter jump shooting. The Lady Bucs also stepped up their zone defense and buckled down to bring the game to within one point at halftime, 30-29.

The third quarter had a lot of back and forth action. Allatoona's first lead of the evening came with 3:30 remaining. After that, it was Harrison's Nikki Hegsetter, who finished the game with 23 points, who assumed control. Her blocking and rebounding jump started the rest of the team.

Find out what's happening in Kennesawwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"She's a good all-around player. You look at her stats, she has a little of everything," said head coach Steve Lenahan.

Allatoona had a chance late, pulling within three points with a minute to go. But in the end, Harrison was just too well rounded, pushing them to a 56-49 win.

"For the first time in a while, we were patient," said Lenahan.Β 

"Usually, we come down, we get pressure on the man, we panic and throw the ball up," he said. "Tonight, we did a good job of handling the pressure."

Following a win by the ladies, it was now the men's turn to hit the court.

The game started out similar to the women's with the Hoyas jumping out to an early lead. Good ball movement by both teams kept the defenses on their toes; after a 9-2 run to open the quarter, the Bucs traded baskets with Harrison ending the first quarter with a score of 19-11.

After the first quarter, the Hoyas took command and never looked back.

"Our intensity was good for most of the game," said head coach Robert Churchwell.

The Hoyas came out of the locker room after halftime with a 15 point lead and kept the pedal to the metal with good defense.

"Our full court press makes the guys play faster. They play more aggressive and that's what we needed," said Churchwell.

"The referees seemed to let us play a little bit, and that's not all bad!"

With dunks by Elijah Staley, who had 8 points, and jumper shots from Ryan Blumenthal, 19 points, Harrison looked solid from beginning to end. The Hoyas never let up, winning 77-50.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Kennesaw