'We're peaking at the right time': Hendersonville riding 11-game winning streak as postseason nears
West Henderson boys basketball forwards Grant Putnam and Cameron Banks passed the ball back and forth to each other in the backcourt, trying to break Hendersonville’s press.
But the third time they tried to hit each other, Bearcats guard Eric Rasheed read it perfectly. He stole the pass and took it to the basket for the layup with Banks bearing down on him. Banks’ pressure forced him to miss, but teammate Jacobi Simpson was there for the emphatic put-back slam.
His dunk sent the Bearcats faithful into a frenzy and gave his team a 10-point lead it wouldn’t surrender on the way to a 70-61 victory over the Falcons on Wednesday. Hendersonville’s latest victory keeps its winning streak alive, extending it to 11 games.
The Bearcats’ last loss came on Dec. 29 against Crest. Since then, they have beaten opponents by an average of 17 points per game.
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Coach Marvin Featherstone attributed Hendersonville’s winning streak to his team putting everything together and strong defense.
That defense was key in the second and third quarters. The Bearcats outscored the Falcons 47-23 in those periods.
“They made some turnovers,” Featherstone said. “We got some easy baskets, got some transition baskets, couple of put-back dunks and got us going. In high school, sometimes a dunk changes the game.”
The press is an important aspect of their defense. They will show a zone and man press against opponents.
Featherstone said it’s working well currently because the team is trusting one another. He added that it doesn’t work if players don’t trust their teammates to be where they need to be.
Malachi and Jacobi Simpson led Hendersonville. Jacobi poured in 24 points while Malachi added 21.
They did most of their damage in transition but also took advantage of some mismatches in the half-court.
Featherstone believes his team is peaking at the right time.
“We had some early-season losses, some close losses,” Featherstone said. “But these guys are starting to put things together, and they’re getting closer to each other and becoming closer as teammates.”
But first, the Bearcats need to focus on clinching the Mountain Foothills 7 regular season title. They hold a one-game lead over R-S Central with two games left.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Hendersonville riding 11-game winning streak as postseason nears
