Admirals stay steady late to edge Hawks
Against 4-4A rival Hardin Valley Academy, the Admirals led until late in the third, lost the lead until late in the fourth, then managed a late surge to hang on for a 69-62 win.
FHS coach JP Burris had praise for the youthful, upstart Hawks. “Credit to them,” he said. “For them being a young team, they play so hard. They’re well-coached.”
“Credit to Farragut,” Hawks’ coach Andy Arendt said. “They came back; our youth and inexperience showed up a little bit at the end.”
The teams traded baskets in the first quarter to a 14-all tie with 2:31 left in the period. The final five points – two layups and a free throw – went to Farragut, who led 19-14 after one.
HVA pulled to within two in the second – 25-23 with 3:14 left – but consecutive threes by Dan Lanning and Parker Lane gave the Admirals a 31-23 lead with 2:13 to go.
Three free throws later, the Admirals’ lead was 11, 34-23, but HVA scored the final five points of the half to cut FHS’s intermission lead to six, 34-28.
A minute into the third, Farragut led 35-30. Then Kymani Smith took over.
Smith, a freshman guard, was unstoppable, repeatedly driving to the hoop and scoring 16 of HVA’s remaining 18 points in the quarter. His layup with 1:08 left in the period gave the Hawks their first lead, 47-46. Down 49-46 with under a minute left. FHS scored the final four points to lead 50-49 after three.
He’s special,” Arendt said of Smith. “He has a chance to be the best player to ever play at Hardin Valley. We’re excited to coach him for the next four years.
“Smith played out of his mind,” Burris said. “He was unreal.”
Five straight to start the fourth gave HVA a 54-50 lead. Twice in the period the Hawks led by five, the second time 59-54 with 5:06 left.
But over the next 3:41, the Admirals went on an 11-1 run – five by senior forward Reid Vining – and led 65-60 with 1:25 left in the game. Smith’s layup made it 65-62 with a minute left, but Farragut closed it out with the final four points, all on free throws.
Vining led all scorers with 20. Lane got 17 and Britton Lewis added 15. Smith had 18 for HVA.
“I’m proud of our guys for staying resilient and getting over the hump, especially when we were down a couple of possessions there in the fourth,” Burris said. FHS improved to 6-1, 1-0.
