SPRING VALLEY — The Spring Valley boys basketball team got what it needed at halftime.
A nice pep talk, and whatever coach Rick Chaffin said, worked.
The Timberwolves (10-4) outscored the visiting Riverside Warriors 43-19 in the third and fourth quarters on their way to a 65-48 victory Tuesday night after trailing by nine points early in the game.
"It took a good halftime talk by the coach -- that was part of it," Chaffin said with a grin. "I thought we weren't running hard on offense, didn't think we were running when we got rebounds, our feet weren't moving on defense and I let them know all those things at halftime."
The Timberwolves trailed 19-10 near the end of the opening quarter, but Clay Robertson cut the deficit to six with a corner 3 at the buzzer.
Spring Valley didn't connect on another field goal for more than six and a half minutes, but used free throw shooting (9-11) in the second quarter to come within one point of the Warriors, 26-25, at the break.
Riverside (1-14) got 10 points and six rebounds in the first two quarters from Braydin Ward, who towered over the Timberwolves lineup and used his size to his advantage when he got near the basket.
Chaffin said slowing down Ward was a point the Timberwolves nailed home while in the locker room during intermission.
"We ran with the ball, got out and created points in transition, and we shut down the pass inside to Ward, and that was because we got more pressure on their guards," Chaffin said.
Ward was limited to two points and two rebounds in the second half Tuesday, finishing with 12 points and eight boards. Caden Ray matched Ward in the scoring column and hit three triples in the loss.
It came down to free throws. More specifically, opportunities at the free throw lines.
Spring Valley shot 20 times from the stripe and sank 15 of them, while Riverside only attempted nine free throws in the game and made four of them.
Riverside coach Taylor Woods said it was too much ground to make up, especially once Spring Valley began to heat up from the floor in the third quarter.
"It's not that our guys didn't play well; they've got shooters and they hit," Woods said. "Then they got calls and went to the foul line and they hit there. It's a make or miss game, and they made them."
The Timberwolves scored the first seven of the third frame and turned a one-point deficit into a seven point advantage as they entered the final quarter.
Robertson scored nine in the fourth quarter and finished with a game-high 23 points, while Keyan Grayson (11) and Tate Adkins (11) each scored in double-digits.
Spring Valley returns to action Thursday at Cabell Midland beginning at 7 p.m. Riverside hosts Capital that same evening, also beginning at 7 p.m.
SV 13 12 19 24 - 68: Robertson 23, Grayson 11, Adkins 11, Hazlett 6, Caldwell 5, Smith 5, Larson 4, Meredith 3
RHS 19 7 11 8 - 45: Ward 12, Ray 12, Terrell 10, Mitchell 6, Crowser 3
