The Cavaliers fight past Hyde to capture another regional crown.
By Randy Whitehouse
Staff Writer

AUGUSTA – The Valley Cavaliers have now won seven consecutive regional titles, so we now have a large enough sample size to rank their triumphs on their individual aesthetic beauty.

Even if Valley goes on to win seven more regional championships in a row, it’s likely Saturday’s Western D final will rank at the bottom of the list.

The second-seeded Cavaliers overcame a smothering Hyde defense to escape with a 43-36 win at the Augusta Civic Center, where they will return next week to try to capture their seventh straight state title against Cavalry Christian.

Mark Gaudet hit a 3-pointer which gave Valley the lead for good at 35-34 with 2:40 left. The Cavaliers (20-0) then made 8-of-10 free throws in the final 1:08.

“They defended Mark Gaudet really well and the other guys didn’t seem focused on what we needed to do,” Valley coach Dwight Littlefield said. “Mark Hyland had a tough night (zero points) and our big guy inside (Travis Hovey) couldn’t get it going either (13 points). It was a struggle.”

Yet the turning point came long before Gaudet’s 3. With the game tied at 25 late in the third quarter, an offensive foul on Hyde’s Bobby Moore, his fourth personal foul, led frustrated Phoenix coach Tom Bragg to draw a technical. Just 19 seconds later, Bragg picked up a second technical for violating the “seat belt rule” that requires coaches to remain seated after drawing a technical. As a result, Bragg was ejected.

“I blew that as a coach,” Bragg said. “That’s all my fault. I don’t blame the refs for it, I blame myself for it.”

With no assistant coach on the bench, Brian Mulligan, Hyde’s athletic administrator, was forced to come out of the stands to take Bragg’s place on the bench, though it was Moore, a senior who later fouled out with 1:08 left in the game, who coached the team in the fourth quarter.

“That’s the rule, but, boy it’s a tough one,” Littlefield said. “That was a tough situation for Hyde.”

“I lost my composure because I didn’t feel like we were getting the calls we should have gotten,” Bragg said. “I told the seniors I screwed it up and it’s in their hands and they had to take charge. I was proud to see Bobby do that.”

Moore led the top-seeded Phoenix (15-2) with 13 points, while Rich Ortega added seven points and 11 rebounds.

Hyde limited Gaudet to just two points in the first half and held the Cavs to 26 percent shooting for the game, including an uncharacteristic 1-for-17 for 3-point territory.

The result was an 8-8 tie at the end of the first quarter and a 17-17 deadlock at the end of the second.

“The key to Valley is Gaudet,” Bragg said. “If you can keep him from getting to the free throw line and shooting 3s, you’ve got a chance. The kids did the two things I wanted them to do, that is, stop the transition baskets and cut the 3s off.”

“They played a great box-and-one. Their defense was superb,” said Gaudet. “We were more prepared for their halfcourt trapping and fullcourt trapping defenses. We weren’t really expecting a box-and-one, but we adapted and by the end of the game we were starting to get good looks at the hoop, but we just weren’t hitting our shots.”

Fortunately for the Cavaliers, they were hitting their shots at the charity stripe (18-for-25), as the Phoenix had eight fouls charged to them in the third quarter to Valley’s zero, hence Bragg’s frustration.

As a result, Hyde was forced to sit Moore for four minutes and Ortega for two minutes with four fouls apiece. Valley led by two when both returned with 6:07 left in the game. Hoops by Moore and Ortega gave the Phoenix their final two leads of the game, but Valley picked up its defensive intensity down the stretch. Hyde made just 3-of-17 from the field in the fourth quarter.