MEDORA

Despite the 62-35 loss, Medora boys basketball coach Mark Morin feels that the team played their strongest game of the season Saturday.

“We’re in a rebuilding mode, so we just try to play as well as we can for as long as we can,” Morin said. “We want to put a lot of positive possessions together.”

Springs Valley (3-0), coached by former Medora coach Michael Leitzman, took a 16-5 lead after eight minutes.

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In the second quarter, the Hornets (0-4) played more physical — fighting for rebounds and diving for loose balls.

An and-1 conversion by J.D. Fish cut the Hornets’ deficit to 18-10.

The Blackhawks went on a 9-0 run from the 3:48 to 2:42-mark before a basket and free throws from Calib Willis halted the scoring stretch at 29-18 with 2:17 on the clock.

At half, the Blackhawks were up 33-19.

Morin said he was pleased with the effort before intermission.

Medora struggled to find much offensive rhythm in the third quarter, just scoring four points on baskets by Tony Norklun and Gavin Henson.

After three, the Blackhawks built their lead to 47-23.

A 3-pointer by Brandon Moore got the Hornets going to start the fourth quarter, and Fish would add four points in the final eight minutes but the Blackhawks would hang on for the victory.

Moore and Willis both scored nine for the Hornets and Fish added eight.

The Hornets are still trying to figure out the best way to get points on the board.

“We need to run our sets,” Morin said. “We’ve been in search of what will work for us. I think we’ve finally found what we want to try and do. We need to be more patient and not have bad possessions.”

Braden Whitaker topped the Blackhawks with 14 points. Nine different players scored for the visitors on the evening.

Morin said that young Hornets are seeing improvement.

“The first game we didn’t play well, West Washington was a tough one and against Crothersville we had a good stretch right before the half,” he said. “Tonight, for the most part, we did a lot of nice things — it’s something to build on.”

Medora hosts Martinsville Tabernacle on Friday.