Central's McClendon Curtis is guarded by Hamilton Heights' Silas Adheke, left, and Abdulhakim Ado Friday, February 5, 2016 at McCallie.The McCallie School basketball arena has a reputation for being a difficult place to play for outside shooters.
Fortunately for Hamilton Heights, Therren Shelton-Szmidt likes a good challenge. The 6-foot-5 junior wing was 6-for-10 from 3-point range and scored 26 points as the Hawks rolled past Central, 67-42, in the opening game Friday of the Dr Pepper TEN Classic.
While the rest of the talented Hawks (22-2) struggled to adjust to the shooting background in the first half, Shelton-Szmidt scored 11 of his team's 12 points in the first period and added two in the second as Hamilton Heights held a 24-20 lead.
"I was lucky to have my shot on today, and my teammates were very unselfish in getting me the ball," Shelton-Szmidt said. "I was fortunate to knock them down. This is great, especially in our hometown against some very good competition.
"The second half we woke up after Coach (Zach Ferrell) made a good speech. All the guys came together in the second half and we had a good showing."
Ferrell didn't change his team's strategy at halftime against a Central team that mostly had out-hustled his team early. He just urged his squad to amp up the effort.
"We just had to stay focused on every single possession," Ferrell said. "We didn't take any plays off in the second half."
It was Central (16-2), though, that seemed to have the early second-half momentum, getting a short jump shot from Emmanuel Lane and a putback from McClendon Curtis to tie the game at 24.
Abdulahakim Ado, the Hawks' 6-foot-11 Mississippi State recruit, missed most of the first period after suffering a bloody nose in the game's first minute. His layup and two free throws stemmed the Central rally and was the start of a 16-6 run to end the period.
Shelton-Szmidt had eight of those points, including a 3-pointer to end the quarter. Ado scored the first four points of the final stanza, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's drive quickly pushed the lead to 16 and out of the Purple Pounders' reach.
"I'm just proud of our guys," Ferrell said. "This is the middle game of a three-game stretch and I'm glad the guys came in focused, because we knew it was going to be a tough game. We had to keep battling and hope for an opening to get a good run going, which we were able to do in the second half.
"It's exciting, and to be in Chattanooga to play in front of fans who might not even know who we are was great for these kids and our program."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter@youngsports22