Northland (OH) led by as many as 10 points in the second half before having to hold off Spring Valley (SC) for a 62-56 win in the opening game of the 2013 Beach Ball Classic.
Northland (5-1) led 34-24 after Seth Towns connected on a 3-pointer just 22 seconds into the second half to give the Vikings their largest lead of the final half. Spring Valley (2-8) chipped away at the lead with tremendous second half shooting, tying the game for the third and final time of the half with 1:11 on the clock at 54-54 on Jordan Bruner’s short jumper.
Ty Hairston regained the lead for Northland with a trey with 56 seconds on the clock. That would prove to be the final lead that Northland would need as it connected on 5-of-6 free throws in the final 23 seconds to seal the win. Spring Valley, which connected on 73.7 percent of its shots from the field in the second half (14-of-19), missed its only shot in the final minute of play.
Towns paced Northland with a game-high 23 points, while Spring Valley was led by Jordan Bruner’s 14 points and nine rebounds.