Valwood guard Ethan Owens (10) works near the basket against Sherwood Christian’s Owen Henshaw during a game Tuesday.

HAHIRA – It was a night head coach Joel Stites would like to forget.

The Valwood Valiants (5-2) found themselves down by double digits early against the Sherwood Christian Academy Eagles (7-1). Despite a late fourth quarter surge, Valwood lost 61-55 Tuesday night.

Owen Henshaw scored 17 points and Alex Harris added 15 points for the Eagles to hand the Valiants their second loss of the season.

The game was the second half of a home-and-home with the Eagles. The Eagles also won the first matchup in Albany, 58-51, on Dec. 16.

“We’re just going to erase this from our memory banks and come and try to lock back in for next year,” Stites said. “We’re 5-2. I guess we’re gonna have to take that and live with it.”

Turnovers plagued the Valiants throughout the game. None were more damaging than a string of turnovers in the first quarter that set the tone of the game.

Multiple Valiants had passes intercepted, allowing the Eagles to build an early lead. Sherwood found themselves up 24-11 after the first quarter and never looked back.

Valwood’s slow start on offense continued into the second quarter. Despite both teams scoring 12 points in the quarter, the Valiants struggled to get into a rhythm on offense. The Valiants went into halftime down 36-23.

“I don’t think we played fast at all to be honest with you,” Stites said of his team’s pace on offense. “We didn’t run what we’re supposed to run. We were out of sorts, and it looked like it, we don’t play that way, and we shouldn’t play that way. … They [Sherwood] outplayed us tonight, out-hustled us in the first half for sure.”

The third quarter saw Sherwood take its largest lead of the night, leading by as many as 18 points. The Eagles held the Valiants to just eight points and took a 48-31 lead into the final quarter.

The Valiants’ offense finally broke through in the fourth quarter, with freshman guard Jack Morris leading the way. Morris scored 15 of his 23 points in the quarter as he caught fire from three-point range.

The Valiants clawed their way back into the game as they stifled the Eagles with a full-court press. Their defense generated multiple stops, allowing the offense to chip away at the deficit.

Morris then turned good team defense into offense. He drained three straight 3-pointers to bring the Valiants within single digits for the first time since the first quarter with under three minutes left in the game.

However, Valwood’s comeback attempt would be all for naught.

With a chance to pull within one possession, the Valiants came up short on a layup. That allowed the Eagles to put the game on ice with three straight layups to go up 61-52.

Stites put the late defensive breakdown bluntly.

“We’re not playing defense the way we’re taught,” Stites said. “It just comes down to that. We just got to get back in the gym and keep working and executing. It’s easy to make layups when we don’t have anyone defending the rim.”

Though the Valiants outpaced the Eagles in the fourth quarter 24-13, Stites wants to see a four-quarter effort from his team.

“Tonight, we just didn’t play the brand of basketball that we’re chasing after – lots of mistakes,” Stites said. “We can’t play one quarter and expect to win a ball game.”

UP NEXT

Valwood: The Valiants will be back in action on Jan. 5 against Echols County at home at 7:30 p.m.

Sherwood: The Eagles will be back in action against Randolph-Clay in Cuthbert on Jan. 3 at 7:30 p.m.