Hammond Boys in good position despite loss to AC

Hammond Boys in good position despite loss to AC

By WORTHY EVANS

Contributing Writer

Columbia - Hammond’s boys basketball team was on the losing end of a 73-70 overtime battle between the Skyhawks and No. 1 Augusta Christian Jan. 31, but ninth-year head coach David Ross wasn’t disappointed with the loss.

“I told the team tonight that I don’t care about records. I never have,” Ross explained. “I don’t care if we win by 30, I don’t care if we lose by 30. What I’m more interested in is did we get better tonight. And I think we accomplished that.”

With the loss of USC football signee and forward Michael Tyler due to a broken foot, and the absence of sophomore starter Jackson Ross who had the flu, Hammond had every reason to believe the challenge of facing the tall and strong Augusta Christian squad might be overwhelming. Bryce Reynierson, a 6-feet, 5-inch forward who averages 20.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, and sophomore Ty Shine (17.6 points and 4.3 assists per game, lead the way for Augusta Christian.

“We knew we were outmatched from a size perspective,” Ross said. “I challenged our guys to go out and compete against guys we knew were going to be bigger and stronger, and they responded for sure. We lost the game, but it wasn’t because of a lack of effort.


The Skyhawks (16-4, 7-1 SCISA Region 1-4A) met the Lions (23-2, 8-0) head on. Hammond used its speed and ball-handling to get around the height advantage. Offensive rebounding kept the Skyhawks in scoring position, and senior guard Jaiden Haltiwanger led the way with mid-range jumpers and layups. Behind the athleticism of Haltiwanger, Mekhi Smith-Brown’s field goals included three 3-pointers, and junior Daylin Haltiwanger had some clutch shots as well. 

Hammond led 19-16 after the first quarter and 35-28 at the half. Augusta stayed within reach, trailing 48-43 going into the fourth quarter, when the teams battled to a 62-62 tie at the end of regulation.

The Lions finally got some distance on the Skyhawks, winning the overtime period 11-8 and clinching the win.

Jaden Haltiwanger had 39 points to lead all scorers. Brown had 21 points.

Shine was the top scorer for the Lions with 34 points. Reynierson had 18 points.

“It was fun,” Ross said. “I told the (first-year) Augusta Christian Coach (Brian Slade) that we had some pretty hotly contested games with them, and it didn’t stop with his first game against us for sure. Ty Shine, I’ve watched him play in AAU over the past couple of years, he’s a good player and he played very well.”

Hammond, which reached the semifinals last season without any seniors on the team, returned intact this season. In spite of the loss of Tyler, the Skyhawks are a seasoned group that promise to stick around for a possible region title and a playoff run.

“It's paying dividends,” Ross said about his team’s experience and tenacity. “We’ve still got several big games to go, but we’ve been playing very well. We played very well tonight but we just came up short.”

Since that game the Skyhawks beat Cardinal Newman 62-41 Feb. 4, Heathwood Hall 48-43 Friday, and Ben Lippen 57-39 Saturday.

Hammond closed out the regular season at Augusta Christian Monday and Northside Christian Tuesday.

The girls team (1-14, 1-7) is having a difficult season after losing seniors who led the Skyhawks to a 15-6 record last season. Their only victory of the season was a 42-38 win over Cardinal Newman. Hammond played tough against Augusta Christian Jan. 31 but fell 32-21. The Skyhawks also lost the rematch with the Cardinals 29-23 Feb. 4.