MHS faces grueling week

The McDowell Titans and Lady Titans chased a basketball game all over western North Carolina last week and never did catch it.
As a result, the final week of the regular season is going to look a lot like holiday tournament time – three games in three days.
McDowell was originally set to play at A.C. Reynolds last Friday. Impending winter weather forced the schools to move the game up a day in hopes of beating the frozen precipitation to the punch. But Old Man Winter scored a knock out. The snow and ice hit Asheville Thursday afternoon, sending MHS back down Old Fort Mountain after the jayvee boys' game ended.
As it stands, the schedule for this week looks like this: on the road Tuesday for a regularly scheduled game against Enka; back home on Wednesday for a game against Erwin (senior night) that was snowed out Jan. 29; and on the road Thursday at Reynolds, varsity only.
All three games are rife with postseason and championship ramifications for both McDowell's unbeaten varsity teams, who are off to far-and-away the best combined start in school history.
The Titans (9-0 Mountain Athletic 4A/3A Conference, 19-0 overall), ranked third in the state by NCPreps.com, have already locked up the split conference's 4A regular-season championship and the No. 1 spot for the State 4A Sectionals. McDowell needs one win in its final three games to capture the overall MAC crown.
For the Titans, Tuesday's game may be the toughest of the three, although any of this week's opponents could throw a monkey wrench into McDowell's best start since the 1991-92 team won its first 28.
Enka (6-4, 14-8) played well in the early going back on Jan. 15 before the Titans pulled away for a 68-49 win. The Jets have one of the league's best players in 6-8 forward Corey Hensley, who averages 28.5 points and 11.7 rebounds per contest.
Meanwhile, Erwin (2-7, 3-17) also gave McDowell some trouble the first time around; the Titans won 69-56 on the road. And A.C. Reynolds (3-6, 3-13), with nine football players from the Rockets' 4A State championship team, is perhaps the most physical club McDowell has faced (81-61 win Jan. 12).
The Lady Titans (9-0, 20-0) have already clinched their 26th consecutive State 4A Playoff berth and have now won at least 20 games in 19 of the last 21 seasons. But Thursday's matchup with A.C. Reynolds (8-1, 14-2) looms as the game that will likely decide whether the second-ranked Lady Titans win the MAC crown or share it.
First, McDowell must get through Enka (0-9, 4-17) and Erwin (3-5, 13-5), but neither posed much of a problem the first time around. The Lady Titans beat Erwin 81-50 on Jan. 5 and thrashed Enka 72-27 Jan. 15.
McDowell beat A.C. Reynolds 74-61 at home in the first meeting between the two Jan. 12, but the game was one of the most contentious of the year for the Lady Titans, who have won every contest by double figures and have beaten their foes by an average of 31.4 points per outing.
McDowell owns a 33-10 edge in the all-time series against A.C. Reynolds, and has taken 16 of the last 20 from the Lady Rockets.
The junior varsity teams are also looking to complete perfect MAC seasons this week. The Titans (10-0, 17-0) and Lady Titans (10-0, 14-4) both won their games at A.C. Reynolds last Thursday.
The jayvee girls tip off the action Tuesday and Wednesday at 4 p.m. The start times for Thursday's games at Reynolds have not yet been announced.
Notes: The best start previously for the Titans and Lady Titans came in the 1991-92 season when the Lady Titans went 16-1 and the Titans 17-0. The Titans finished 28-1 that season, while the Lady Titans ended up 26-3. Both teams lost in the West Regional finals…In 1995-96, the girls were 12-1 and the boys 13-0…The MAC tournament is scheduled for next week (Feb. 15-19). All games will be played at North Buncombe.