MOUNT HOPE — Petey Foster glanced to his left and gave a slight smile and a nod to teammate Andre Wright.

Foster, a senior, had just made the first of two free throws which proved to be the final points in the Valley Greyhounds’ 71-68 conquest of the Mount Hope Mustangs in a Class A Region 3, Section 1 quarterfinal game before a relatively sparse crowd at Mount Hope High School Monday.

“He (Wright) always (says) I miss my free throws,” said Foster, who delivered a 25-point breakout game, including a 4-of-4 effort from the free-throw line and a trio of three-pointers, at just the right time for Valley. “I had to prove him wrong.”

Minutes earlier, Foster, Wright, their teammates and coaches weren’t able to smile quite as easily. Valley saw a 15-point lead at the midway point of the third period evaporate in the face of a withering Mount Hope rally. After taking their first lead on an Eric Canaday deuce that snapped a 56-56 tie with 3:45 left, the Mustangs eventually led 59-56 on a Kyle James free throw before Valley knotted the contest at 59 on a Foster trey after a Wright feed.

James later put the Mustangs back on top, 66-63, on a three off a Canaday assist, then Foster netted a two-pointer after a Mustang miscue to whittle the deficit to 66-65. Wright (a reverse lay-in) and Mount Hope’s Richard Swain (two free throws) scored to leave the game at 68-67, Mustangs, with 39.2 seconds left.

Valley’s Cameron Cochran then converted a tough leaner from the foul line to put the Greyhounds up 69-68 and set the stage for Foster’s clinching freebies.

“We came out a little flat and didn’t run our offensive sets, play defense or block out,” said Mount Hope coach Jim Maynor. “When we did finally do that, we finally got a little momentum.

“We might have been a little bit spent at the end.”

Valley coach Joby Groom said he tried all game long to get his team to settle down.

“We bought into their chaos,” Groom said. “I was trying to get the guys to play controlled basketball, because Mount Hope is too athletic.

“After they tied it up and went ahead, I asked the guys if they were going to do it my way or let it get away from them.”

In the end, the ‘Hounds answered the challenge.

Wright (12 points and 19 rebounds) and an active Foster helped Valley enjoy an advantage on the glass for a majority of the game.

“Foster and Wright both played one heck of a ball game,” Groom said. “Tonight we owned the boards.”

“Coach Groom works with us on rebounding every day in practice,” said Foster. “We played as a team the whole game, took care of the ball, and helped each other out defensively.”

After Foster put Valley ahead by three, Mount Hope’s Nick Amick had a three-point attempt partially blocked by Valley’s Jack Simms, Cochran missed two free throws with 1.9 seconds left, and James fired up a desperation three from beyond half-court at the buzzer.

Valley led 20-14 after the first quarter. The ‘Hounds nursed a 33-29 cushion late in the opening half before they reeled off nine straight points in the final 1:10 for a 42-29 halftime bulge. Cochran (19 points) was fouled on a three-point attempt and canned all three freebies, then Foster — with Groom imploring his team to hold it for one shot — buried a trey from the left wing. Finally, Dillon Ganoe ended the late surge with a running, banking three-pointer at the buzzer.

“That was the best I’ve seen them shoot this year,” Maynor said of Valley. “They knocked it down when they had to.

“Those points (late in the first half) were momentum killers.”

James closed out an outstanding career with a 29-point effort for the Mustangs. Swain added 17 and Canaday 16.

Valley (13-4) advances to play top-seeded Fayetteville at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building in Fayetteville at 7 p.m. Thursday. The winner plays for Section 1 bragging rights against either Midland Trail, Pocahontas County or Richwood at 7 p.m. Friday at the home of the best-seeded remaining team.

Mount Hope ends its season at 10-5.

“I hate for my seniors (James, Amick and Brian Hatcher) that we didn’t get to play more games than we did,” said Maynor. “It was a weird season, with the snow and everything.

“We came a long way. We have a good group of kids coming back.”

— E-mail:

skeenan@register-herald.com



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Valley 71, Mount Hope 68

Valley (13-4)

Cameron Cochran 7 3-11 19, Andre Wright 6 0-4 12, Petey Foster 9 4-4 25, Jack Simms 1 2-2 4, Gordy Mitchell 2 4-5 8, Dillon Ganoe 1 0-0 3. Totals: 26 13-26 71.

Mount Hope (10-5)

Kyle James 11 5-9 29, Eric Canaday 7 2-2 16, Richard Swain 5 6-9 17, Nick Amick 0 2-2 2, Demetri Gray 0 0-0 0, Sean Bunting 0 0-0 0, Tyler Pennington 2 0-0 4. Totals: 25 15-22 68.

V    20     22     10     19    —    71

MH    14     15     11     28    —    68

Three-point goals: V: 6 (Cochran 2, Foster 3, Ganoe); MH 3 (James 2, Swain); Fouled out: MH: Gray.