NASHVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Rossview High and Clarksville Academy boys’ basketball teams participated in the opening round of the ninth annual NXT LVL Hoops Fest on Wednesday.
Rossview High (8-3) kickstarted the tournament with a matchup against the Central Tigers (13-3) out of Little Rock, Arkansas. The Tigers are led by four-star recruit Annor Boateng, who has offers from Arkansas, Auburn and Mississippi State.
Rossview vs. Central
From the beginning of the game, Rossview and Little Rock Central had a high-scoring game. In the first half alone, the two teams combined for 73 total points. The Tigers led the Hawks 40-33.
In the second half, the Tigers tightened up the defense and found their rhythm on offense. During the second half, Little Rock Central outscored the Hawks 46-33. When the game concluded, Rossview lost 86-66.
Rossview High coach’s corner
“We’re 8-3 now and we have a super talented group,” said Rossview High Head Coach Johnny Jackson. “We’ve played some high-level teams up to this point in the season and tonight was no different.
“Playing a team of their caliber in Little Rock Central, who is one of the top programs in Arkansas with the No. 13 ranked player in the country, I just think we really upgraded our schedule this year to give our guys a big challenge,” said Jackson.
“I told our guys after the game we played for three quarters and with a team like that you need to play all four quarters. I thought that they exposed us on rebounding and forcing costly turnovers. In the end the score didn’t indicate what the game was. We played really good for three quarters and then ran out of gas.
“We had only practiced once over the last seven days due to the weather and Christmas, so I felt like we didn’t have the legs we had going into Christmas. But I thought it was a great effort from us tonight.”
Clarksville Academy vs. Mount Bethel
Clarksville Academy (9-4) and Mount Bethel (9-1), out of Marietta, Georgia, were the second game in the NXT LVL Hoops Fest tournament.
From start to finish, the matchup played out as an instant classic. After an explosive second quarter, it looked as though the Eagles may run away with the game. They were up by 13 when the halftime buzzer sounded.
However, the Cougars fought their way back into the game, and at one point took a six-point lead.
The game was decided at the last second with Mount Bethel hanging onto a 2-point victory.
Clarksville Academy coach’s corner
“At halftime we began talking about all the things we weren’t doing as a team,” said Clarksville Academy Head Coach Matt Hoppe. “We weren’t running back on defense; stopping the ball in transition; working to get good shots.
“I told them that if we started doing the things we were supposed to do and the things that we practice, we’ll get back into the game and have a chance to win. In the second half I kept telling them to fight. They responded and did exactly that,” said Hoppe.
“We kept playing and at one point got up six points and then had an unfortunate sequence of events down the stretch such as giving up second chance points and making poor decisions. These are all things we need to be better at and learn from.
“After going down 13 points to a good team at halftime to eventually comeback, led by six points and hold them to 25 second half points is something we can build off of. That’s something I’m proud of too.”
What’s next
The tournament is scheduled to run for two additional days, Dec. 29-30. Each game will be streamed online at this site.