Hillgrove, Alexander among 'Powder Springs Showcase' winners

As the first full week of the Georgia High School Association basketball season came to an end on Saturday, the Hillgrove Hawks boy's basketball team hosted their annual "Powder Springs Showcase" featuring several teams from around the metro Atlanta area, including defending champs, the Kell Longhorns, who defeated Woodstock 79-59.

Other winners on the day included Marietta taking down North Clayton 52-51, Etowah defeating McDonough 86-58, Langston Hughes defeating Chapel Hill 60-49, and Alexander defeating McEachern 69-56. "I thought the biggest thing was effort," Alexander head coach, Jason Slate said of his players' performance in their season opener, praising them for playing "hard the whole game,".

The nightcap of the showcase featured host Hillgrove, who found themselves having to battle back from a third quarter deficit to pick up a 57-56 win over Mount Paran, improving to 3-0 on the season. "We wanted to make sure we showcased the best talent," Hillgrove head coach, Gregory Moultrie said of the teams featured in the showcase after their win which came down to the final seconds.

Crediting his players for their "next man up mentality", due to several players having to sit out, to help sure the win, Moultrie shared his thoughts on the Hawks' overall performance in Saturday's win. "Once the nerves settled down we were able to do what we needed to do to increase our defensive intensity," Moultrie said.