BY ANTHONY STEVENS
for the Daily Telegraph
HONAKER, Va. — It was a battle between the only two undefeated teams in Crooked Road Conference play. Round one went to the Russell County Tigers in a big way. Honaker used a huge second half to blow by Haysi 98-64 at A.P. Baldwin Gymnasium.
“Haysi has a very good team, but we came out ready to play,” 6-foot-8 Honaker post Tanner Robinette said. “We wanted to make a statement.”
Robinette definitely made a huge statement, finishing with 41 points, 16 rebounds and three steals. He dominated in the paint and also had a lot of help. 6-foot-5 Casey Harman also proved difficult for Haysi to stop, contributing 16 points, 14 rebounds and four assists. Harman hit several jumpers. Both big men had several offensive rebounds for put-backs.
“They were men inside, that’s all you can say,” Honaker coach Marcus Dunham said. “Haysi didn’t have an answer for them. They were dominate defensively and offensively for us.”
The contest between the two fierce rivals that share the same nickname was tied twice and there were two lead changes, all in the first quarter. Haysi had their first and only lead at 12-11 after a 3-pointer by sharpshooter Hunter Sutherland.
Honaker’s next possession, Robinette answered with a bucket as they retook the lead. Casey Dye added a stick-back and Caleb Sample a transition layup and Honaker never relinquished the lead again. Honaker (9-1, 4-0) led by as many as nine points in the first half and by as few as one after a trey by Sutherland midway through the second quarter. But Honaker then began to pull away and were up 43-34 at halftime.
“We battled really well,” Haysi coach David Robinette said. “I thought my kids gave everything they had. I thought we really played well until we just gave out and that’s to Honaker’s credit.”
Haysi (6-5, 3-1) stayed with Honaker for most of the third quarter. Honaker led 56-50 after a 3 by Collin Hillman. But Honaker closed out the third on a 6-0 run. They dominated the final stanza outscoring Haysi 98-64.
“Our goal was to be relentless for 32 minutes tonight,” commented Dunham. “We wanted to get the ball up and down the floor and we were able to do that.”
The full-court pressure defense resulted in several turnovers for Haysi and easy baskets for Honaker. Haysi could never get into a comfort zone with all the pressure.
“We wanted to play Honaker basketball and make them worry about stopping us,” Dunham said. “We wanted to attack offensively and defensively.”
Hunter Lester had 14 points and six assists for Honaker. Dye added 11 points and eight rebounds. Sutherland led Haysi with 22 points and Hillman was solid with 15 points.

HAYSI (64)
Sykes 2, Sutherland 22, Gilbert 0, Hillman 14, Conaway 5, O’Quinn 0, Yates 0, Ratliff 12, Hill 0, Edwards 0.
HONAKER (98)
Sample 9, B. Coleman 0, Dye 11, J. Coleman 5, Lester 14, Harman 16, Stinson 2, Robinette 41.
Haysi..............................20 14 16 14 — 64
Honaker.........................25 18 19 36 — 98
3-point goals – Haysi 7 (Sutherland 4, Hillman 3), Honaker 3 (Coleman 1, Lester 2).