Hamilton Heights used a third quarter shooting spree and some timely defense to come from behind and defeat New Castle Friday night in Arcadia. Gus Etchison led the hosts with 20 points, while Cole McDaniel also had 20 for New Castle.

The visitors looked like they were going to run away and hide early on, scoring 20 points in the opening period and extending their advantage to 13 points midway through the second, thanks to an attacking offense that capitalized on any defensive mistakes Hamilton Heights made. Cole McDaniel was the main beneficiary, scoring 13 points in the first half, while teammate Trey Miller added eight, all in the first quarter, behind a pair of three pointers.

 

Hamilton Heights came out strong from the halftime break, and turned their fortunes around thanks to some blistering shooting. The Huskies first 15 points in the third quarter all came from behind the arc, with senior wing Brent Pennington making a pair of those five. 

 

The three point barrage also seemed to take the wind out of New Castle’s sails offensively, as the Trojans became passive on their offensive end. The easy looks that were generated in the first half became harder to come by, as Hamilton Heights cleaned up their defensive mistakes from the first half.

 

Heights would climb all the way back from their 13 point first half deficit to take the lead after scoring the first five points of the final quarter, but that lead only lasted one possession, thanks to a Will Grieser three point play.

 

The hosts maintained a two point lead as the clock counted down, and the two smallest Huskies came up big on the defensive end to keep that lead safe. First, after a Heights turnover trying to milk the clock, New Castle appeared to have a wide open layup, but junior guard Gus Etchison would bolt into the passing lane at the last instant to knock the ball away and save two points. Then, it was 5’8 Hudson Hochstedler coming from behind to block a shot in the lane. In the ensuing scramble, Etchison would come away and eventually be fouled, making both at the line.

 

The final act would again come from Etchison. A missed Trojan three pointer fell into the hands of 6’4 Collin Blessinger in the paint, but his outback attempt was snuffed out by the 6’ Etchison, who climbed the ladder to swallow up the outback attempt before it ever left Blessinger’s hands. 

 

On the ensuing inbounds play, Cameron Knott found a streaking Etchison and threw a perfect 70 foot pass that hit the junior in stride for the last bucket on his night.

 

New Castle falls to 1-2 on the season while Hamilton Heights moves their record to 2-0.

 

 

New Castle            20  18  13   8  -  59

Hamilton Heights  14  15  19  19  -  67

 

New Castle: Cole McDaniel 20 points (7/14 FGs, 3/7 3Ps, 3/3 FTs), 4 rebs, 2 asts; William Grieser 11 points (4/10 FGs, 1/3 3Ps, 2/3 FTs), 5 rebs, 5 asts, 2 stls; Trey Miller 11 points (4/7 FGs, 3/6 3Ps), 5 rebs, 2 asts; Collin Blessinger 7 points (3/6 FGs, 1/2 FTs) 4 rebs; Dillon Bergum 6 points; Caleb Grow 4 points; Brandon Matney 2 points

 

Hamilton Heights: Gus Etchison 20 points (7/13 FGs, 3/7 3Ps, 3/4 FTs), 2 rebs, 2 asts, 3 stls; Camron Knott 12 points (5/7 FGs, 2/3 3Ps), 4 rebs; Lucas Letsinger 11 points; Brent Pennington 8 points (3/7 FGs, 2/3 3Ps), Issac Hickok 8 points; Hudson Hochstedler 3 points (1/4 FGs, 1/2 FTs), 6 rebs, 4 asts; Luke Carroll 3 points; Jonny Cameron 2 points