BOYS BASKETBALL

Hirschi's Hedge earns 200th career win

Andy Newberry
Wichita
Hirschi head basketball coach Donald Hedge got his 200th win after the Huskies defeated the Oklahoma City Storm 70-46 Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016, in the Wichita Falls Classic at Kay Yeager Coliseum.

The Hirschi Huskies tried to keep Donald Hedge's victory total a secret from him until the Huskies had finished a 70-46 victory Saturday night over the Oklahoma City Storm in the Wichita Falls Classic at Kay Yeager Coliseum.

The event and Hirschi basketball have become quite a success in Hedge's 11-year tenure at the school. But it's no secret that he's a big reason for that success.

"Nobody's teams play any better defense than Donald's (teams)," Burkburnett head coach Danny Nix said after his own team enjoyed a win over Wichita Falls High School at the WF Classic Saturday.

Hedge's success has sometimes made it tougher on the Bulldogs, who've been great for decades, to get where they want to go.

"When he took that job over, they weren't very good, but for what he's done year in and year out and the quality of product they put on the floor year in and year out, he's done a fantastic job," Nix added.

That defense his rival talked about was on display for the final three quarters of the seven-game WF Classic at the KYC. Hirschi allowed the OKC home school team to shoot 80 percent (8 of 10) in the first quarter.

Then the Huskies just simply didn't let the Storm shoot much at all, turning them over in the half court and sometimes with full-court pressure. Hirschi (4-2) forced 15 turnovers in the second and third quarters combined to take a 29-22 lead to halftime and a 55-32 lead after three quarters.

Mark Harrell and Javen Banks were at the forefront on both ends with Banks scoring 10 of his 15 in the third-quarter explosion. With the guards sharing the wealth, the Huskies placed five in double figures (Harrell 12, Trae Jones 12, Rashad Green 11 and Ezekiel Holmes 10).

Hirschi's Xavier King attempts a layup against the Oklahoma City Storm Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016, in the Wichita Falls Classic at Kay Yeager Coliseum. The Huskies defeated the Storm 70-46.

"Coach Hedge said we had to put full-court defense on them," Harrell said. "We started getting more easy ones."

Harrell said the "200" was kept quiet. "Coach Trey (Law) tried to tell us about it yesterday, but we didn't know if he was serious, he plays a lot."

As for being a part of the landmark win, the junior point guard said, "we want to try and get him a lot more, too."

Hedge would be OK with that.

"I had no clue, I'm just trying to win the next one," he said. "We try to play like that all the time with that type of intensity and focus defensively. I thought last night (in a loss to Dallas Carter) we played that way, too, we were just lost offensively. We played with a lot more energy on the defensive end, but that's what we try to do all the time.

"We've got enough pieces to the puzzle and now it's a matter of putting the puzzle together. We have a lot of talented guys. I think we're playing halfway decent right now, but we have a lot of areas we can improve in. We have to figure out who plays well together. Transition offense, I think we did it tonight, and there's a lot of areas we can improve."

Hirschi's Javen Banks drives to the basket against the Oklahoma City Storm Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016, in the Wichita Falls Classic at Kay Yeager Coliseum. The Huskies defeated the Storm 70-46.

Hedge's first win back in 2005 probably felt like it took a lot longer than the 200th. The Huskies lost their first 13 that year in a 5-23 season before beating Amarillo River Road, 64-32. Hirschi basketball has a much different feel 199 wins later, and Saturday night was a chance to celebrate that with their consistent leader.


Hirschi's Trae Jones grabs the ball before it goes out of bound in the game against Oklahoma City Storm Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016, in the Wichita Falls Classic at Kay Yeager Coliseum. The Huskies defeated the Storm 70-46.