It was a senior night to remember for University Heights Academy’s Elijah Walton Thursday night in Blazer Gym.
The senior forward was honored before the game for his career with the Blazers, then went out and scored 20 first-half points on his way to a 27-point night in a 90-52 District 8 basketball rout of Heritage Christian Academy.
In addition, Walton scored his 1,000th-career point on a two-handed dunk as the game was stopped and the senior was presented a game ball.
Walton and junior guard Tylin George got the Blazers off to a hot start as they combined to score 13 of the team’s first 14 points as UHA raced out to a 14-0 lead.
With junior forward Frank Pollard applying full-court pressure to HCA guard Jason Leek, the Warriors struggled with any scoring opportunities. Leek, the state’s leading scorer at 36.9 points per game, finally got the Warriors on the board with a free throw with 3:26 to play in the opening frame. By that time, the outcome was pretty much decided.
Leek was held to 24 points, as the senior not only had to face a relentless pressure defense all night, but also was saddled with two early fouls.
The Blazers led 35-10 after one quarter and pushed the lead to 57-28 at halftime. The only scare came in the first inning when George went in for his third dunk of the quarter, but lost his grip on the rim and crashed to the floor in a scene that was eerily similar to a play that saw him break a collarbone last year and miss much of the season. This time George jumped up and had his hand taped up and returned to the game, only to throw down a monster one-hand jam seconds later.
UHA coach Terry Hayes said after the game that George is playing with a fractured thumb and that the fall resulted in the junior, who is second in the state in scoring at 31.9 pointer per game, getting his hand taped.
The second half was more the same as UHA continually leaked out behind the HCA defense for layups and dunks forcing a running clock midway through the third quarter.
Keshawn Moore, who recently returned to the Blazers’ lineup after missing the first part of the season with a broken leg, scored 19 points.
Nathan Wheatcraft had nine points for HCA.
UHA won for the fourth straight time and is now 8-11 on the season and 3-1 in the district. The win forces a three-way tie in the district with Hopkinsville and Christian County. The tie will be decided by the team with the highest RPI. Currently Hoptown has a two-point lead over the Blazers in the RPI. Christian County will be the third seed, followed by HCA, and Fort Campbell. A district meeting is scheduled for Feb. 20 at Hopkinsville High School when the brackets and times will be announced.
The Blazers will play host to Todd County Central on Saturday night.
HCA falls to 9-17 overall and 1-3 in the district. The Warriors will play Saturday at 2 p.m. against Breckinridge County at Butler County High School in the Hebrews Classic.
Score by Quarters:
Heritage Christian 10 18 11 13 – 52
University Heights 35 22 24 9 – 90
Individual Scoring:
HCA (9-17, 1-3) – Miles 3, Leek 24, Travis 3, Wells 4, Wheatcraft 9, Arvin 2, Thompson 3, Kirkman 4.
UHA (8-11, 3-1) – Moore 19, Thomas 1, Pollard 7, George 27, Luckey 5, Walton 27, Miles 4.
3-Point Goals:
HCA – Miles, Leek, Travis, Wells; UHA – Moore 3, Pollard, George 2, Luckey, Walton.
Pictures by Peyton Biaquis
Featured image by Lorie Maxwell