Frankton slipped by Hamilton Heights, 73-68. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for Hamilton Heights. (Kayden Key pictured from Frankton's basketball Twitter account)
It was a back and forth game from start to finish Tuesday night. The game started in fifth gear as both offenses were clicking early. Hamilton Heights was led by Gus Etchison's playmaking and Tyler Wiltermood's finishing. Frankton was balanced early with Landon Weins knocking home a couple three-pointers in the opening quarter. Travis McGuire was able to get to the basket frequently as well.
The pace was fast throughout the first half. Hamilton Heights took a 40-39 lead to the locker room thanks to a Camron Knott jumper at the buzzer. The game slowed down a bit in the third quarter. Hamilton Heights was able to score a couple of baskets early in the third to open a six-point lead. In this game, that felt like a big lead.
In the deciding quarter, Frankton leaned on role players like Rylan Detling and Jon Hatzell to make big players. Hatzell hit a three to put Frankton up six late in the game. It was his only basket of the game. Detling was really good as a rebounder and finisher in the fourth quarter. Hamilton Heights was unable to knock down outside shots when it needed. The Huskies finished the game 6=24 from deep.
Frankton sealed the game with free throws late to win 73-68. Landon Weins finished with a game-high 21 points. Kayden Key tallied 18 points and eight rebounds. Key went over the 1,000 career point mark in the first half. Travis McGuire was huge with 16 points. Detling added 13 points and eight rebounds for Frankton.
Hamilton Heights was led by AJ Field's 14 points. Gus Etchison, Tyler Wiltermood and Hudson Hochstedler all had 12 points for the Huskies. Etchison finished with eight assists as well. Seven of those were in the first half.
Frankton is now 16-3. Hamilton Heights drops to 9-8.