Hatton can't keep up with Mars Hill

Both varsity teams suffered tough losses to Mars Hill, with the boys losing 58-29 and the girls 66-35.

The losses took both teams out of the running to host the area tournament, which will be held at Mars Hill.

Offensive woes plague Hatton boys

To say it was a rough night shooting for the Hornets would be an understatement.

Hatton scored just 13 points in the first and half and finished with 29. The Hornets did hold Mars Hill to 17 points in the first half, but eventually the poor shooting caught up with them when the Panthers blew the game open in the second half.

"I was really proud of our effort and how we played on defense in the first half. Holding them to 17 was big," said Hatton head coach Justin Henley. "We just couldn't find a way to score. They got it going in the second half, and 10 points started to feel like 15 and so on."

Kahne Little led Hatton in scoring with 13 points. Hugh Hargett led Mars Hill with 22, while Connor Pigg added 19.

Henley said his team has one goal in the last four games of the regular season as it prepares for the area tournament in two weeks.

"We have to figure out who we are offensively," Henley said. "With four more games, we have to get to work and figure that out."

Hatton girls lose control early

It was an equally bad night for the Hatton girls on Tuesday.

The Panthers took control early, taking a 21-10 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 39-21 lead at halftime.

The lone bright spot for the Hornets was a 7-0 run to start the second quarter that cut the lead to four.

"We just didn't have any heart," said Hatton head coach Erika Little. "We got outplayed, and if we play like that, we won't make it out of area."

Little said coming into the game the team had been playing some of its best basketball, but Tuesday that wasn't the case.

"I was really looking forward to this game with how we've been playing lately, but tonight it's like we took a step back," Little said. "We're going to have to figure out if we want our season to end after five more games or if we want to go further."