As basketball season is officially underway, two teams in Cobb are under careful scrutiny this season. Both schools are located in Powder Springs—Hillgrove and McEachern—and both have experienced momentous coaching changes since last season.

For the first time in nearly two decades, the McEachern boys team has a new coach on the sidelines. Likewise, Hillgrove, as founding coach Ed Morris stepped down and new boys coach Greg Moultrie stepped in. Both 7A programs are historically strong, and both are rebuilding. The matchup last night was an early opportunity to see what both had accomplished in the off-season.

The girls got the evening started in front of an excited crowd at Hawk Arena. Both teams had a strong student presence and entered the evening with a single loss and both wanted to keep it that way. Hillgrove took a slim lead into halftime, but McEachern fought back in the second half. The third quarter ended with the Indians up by five, 35-30.

The Hawk ladies fought hard in the fourth quarter, but could never regain the lead. The Indians were strong off the glass, taking away Hillgrove's second-chance scoring opportunities. Although the game was close throughout the entire 32 minutes, the Indians took a 44-38 road win to improve their record to 3-1. The Hawks fell to 5-2.

As the arena filled up to near capacity, the boys teams ran out onto the court for warmups. The Hawks entered the game with a perfect record (7-0), while the Indians came in with work to do at 2-4. Despite the fact that the teams are in different regions, the atmosphere was charged and anxious for the Powder Springs rivalry to begin.

A steal and an alley oop dunk by Jalen Hilliard set the tone early for the Indians. McEachern jumped out to an 11-6 lead causing Coach Moultrie to call a momentum-stopping timeout. The Hawks listened to their coach and battled back to take the lead at the end of the first quarter, 16-15.

The second quarter was all McEachern. The Indians outscored the Hawks 29-15 in the quarter to take a double-digit lead into halftime, 44-31.

The second half was more of the same, as McEachern continued to build on its lead. It was clear that this was McEachern's night, and they finished the game up big with a final of 82-65. Scoring leaders for the Indians were Mike Jacobs with 25, Braden Sparks with 21 (6 three-pointers), and Jalen Hilliard with 14. The Indians host a very good North Gwinnett team on Friday.

Hillgrove's point leaders were Jeremiah Wilkinson with 14, and Andre Kidd with 12. The Hawks travel to Paulding County on Friday.