12-20-05
BY JACK BULLOCK
WALTONVILLE - In a non-conference matchup on Tuesday night at Waltonville, the host Spartans knew heading into the contest that they would receive a stern test from 0-3 Hamilton County.

The Foxes had three tough losses coming in against competition that was clearly better than the eight early season Spartan victims.

In a game that attracted a host of idle coaching staffs from around the area wanting a look at both clubs, neither Hamilton County nor Waltonville found a rhythm in a tightly called, foul plagued scrum.

But it was Waltonville that managed to take advantage of the Hamilton County mistakes to post a victory.

The Spartans, behind 22-points from Adam Kitowski, out slugged the Foxes, 56-40.

Winning the battle of the boards, and the eventual free throw shooting contest, the Spartans improved to 9-0 on the season heading into the Sesser-Valier Holiday Tournament.

Kitowski continued to be the team leader for the Spartans.

This 5-foot-11 senior hit the big shots for Waltonville, while his teammates were struggling.

Scoring nearly half of his clubs points, Kitowski made some key plays in the second half to help secure the victory.

Despite 20-points from Cedrick Graham, who had missed the first three Hamilton County games with a broken jaw, the Foxes saw their record slip to 0-4.

"He (Kitowski) reestablished himself in that role of 'go-to-guy' on our team," said Waltonville coach Mike Denault. "He has never been afraid to take that big shot in pressure situations. Tonight he led us to the win."

The two teams combined to commit 47 fouls and shoot 53 free throws in a defensive struggle.

However turnovers by Hamilton County (17 for the game) and rebounding by Waltonville made the difference. Coach Denault's squad out 'glassed' the Foxes 24-15.

In the mother of ugly first quarters, the two squads stumbled around to the tune of six turnovers apiece which kept shot attempts to a minimum.

Kitowski and Graham represented an oasis surrounded by a desert of debacle in the first eight minutes.

Graham scored six points in the opening frame while Kitowski added five.

Kitowski broke a 4-4 tie with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc coming off of a screen to make it 7-4 with 4:41 remaining.

Graham kept his club close with four free throws and a driving lay up in the opening quarter that ended at 11-10 Spartans.

The second quarter remained close as the personal fouls racked up like credits on a pinball machine.

During this stretch, Hamilton County made its best run of the night.
After a Jake Welch hit the back end of a two-shot opportunity, Graham scored five consecutive points thanks to two straight Waltonville turnovers.

Graham got his first four points of the run on two buckets; the first one on a back door lay up and the second one on a fast break score in transition.

The Spartans' Anthony Lowery then fouled him on a breakaway lay up attempt with 5:42 remaining.

The foul was deemed intentional and Graham made the second toss of a two-shot opportunity to give his squad a 16-13 advantage.

Getting to inbound the ball, the Foxes had a great chance to put even more pressure on Waltonville.

However Hamilton County turned the ball over and Kitowski made them pay.

He buried another shot, a 3-pointer from the top of the arc, evening the score and stealing back the brief bit of momentum enjoyed by the Foxes.

Ham Co. stayed close the rest of the half.

Kevin Weir, the Foxes 6-foot-3 center, stepped out and made a 3-pointer from the top of the circle which was followed by Graham making 3-of-4 free throws for a 24-23 lead with just :05 remaining.

However while the Foxes apparently fell asleep on the ensuing play, Waltonville reserve guard took the inbound pass and went the length of the court for a lay up that beat the buzzer for a 25-24 Spartans lead.

The hosts took control of the game in the third quarter with a 9-2 run.

With Graham on the bench for the Foxes with four personal fouls, Waltonville ran off to a 39-28 lead.

Kitowski scored on a spinning shot in the lane while being fouled by Hamilton County's Jerrod McGill.

McGill became the first disqualification victim, picking up foul number five on the play with 2:38 to go in the third quarter.

Waltonville slowed the game down in the fourth quarter; with Kitowski scoring twice on drives to the basket.

After a Foxes turnover, the Spartans held the ball for nearly two minutes before Alex Owens was fouled.

His two made free throws gave Waltonville a 45-30 lead with 5:45 remaining.

Owens canned a 3-pointer from the right wing late in the quarter and subsequent free throws by Kitowski and Lowery pushed the lead to its pinnacle at 52-34 with 1:47 to play.

Hamilton County could get no closer than the final margin of defeat.

Kitowski and Graham were the only players to reach double-digits in scoring.

Waltonville received eight points from Lowery and seven points from Owens off the bench.

The Spartans shot just 17-of-39 from the field, but 3-of-6 from behind the arc on the night.

Waltonville outrebounded its guests 24-15.

Despite committing 14 turnovers themselves, the Spartans walked out of the gym with their undefeated record intact.

The Foxes got nine points from Welch and seven points from Waier.

Ham Co. hit on just 13-of-35 from the field. Its 1-of-5 mark from behind the 3-point line is misleading as three of those misses came in the final minute of the game.

Nevertheless, the Foxes were just 11-of-22 from the foul line. With Graham hitting 10-of-12 himself, the rest of his teammates were just 1-of-10.

Coach Curt Reed's club dropped its fourth-straight game. The four losses are to teams that are a combined 29-7 on the season.

"We are used to adjusting to a close called game but we didn't adjust early in the game," added Denault. "We were in foul trouble and struggled to match up with Graham. But they (Hamilton County) had some matchup problems with us, too. They might be a bit down but they have Graham back and they will be tough now."

Both teams are idle until next week when both head back to action at holiday tournaments.

Waltonville is the second seed at the Sesser-Valier Holiday Tournament while Hamilton County is seeded eighth at Eldorado.

The Foxes open play Monday morning at 10 am against Harrisburg while Waltonville will play Shawnee at 6:30 pm Tuesday.