A big third quarter sent the Hamilton Heights boys basketball team to a season-opening win at Lebanon on Wednesday.
The Huskies beat the Tigers 71-51. The teams were tied at 14-14 after the first quarter, but Heights began to make its move in the second, taking a 32-24 lead. Sophomore Gus Etchison scored seven points in that period.
The second quarter was a warm-up for the third quarter, where the Huskies outscored Lebanon 24-10, giving them a 56-34 lead. AJ Field had an incredible shooting performance in that period, making five 3-pointers. Field made one more 3 in the fourth quarter, giving him a total of six downtown shots on his way to a team-leading 24 points.
“I thought we did a great job defensively, turning them over,” said Heights coach Chad Ballenger. “I thought our pressure started getting to them. AJ Field did a really nice job shooting the ball.”
Etchison finished the game with 19 points, while Camron Knott drained a pair of 3s on his way to scoring 13 points. Field led the Huskies’ rebounding with six. Hudson Hochstedler had a solid defensive game.
“I thought Hudson Hochstedler did a great job defensively and also handing the basketball as our point guard,” said Ballenger.
Heights will host its first home game on Saturday, playing Mount Vernon.
Heights 71, Lebanon 51
Heights FG FT TP PF
AJ Field 8-17 2-3 24 1
Camron Knott 5-10 1-2 13 2
Gus Etchison 7-11 4-6 19 3
Kray Leininger 0-1 0-0 0 5
Hudson Hochstedler 3-5 0-0 6 2
Jonny Cambron 0-1 0-0 0 1
Cory Vonfeldt 0-2 1-2 1 2
Issiac Hickok 2-3 0-0 6 4
Brent Pennington 1-4 0-0 2 1
Totals 26-54 8-13 71 21
Score by Quarters
Heights 14 18 24 15 – 71
Lebanon 14 10 10 17 – 51
Heights 3-point shooting (11-32) Field 6-12, Knott 2-7, Hickok 2-3, Etchison 1-5, Vonfeldt 0-2, Pennington 0-2, Hochstedler 0-1.
Heights rebounds (18) Field 6, Hickok 3, Pennington 3, Knott 2, Hochstedler 2, Etchison 1, Leininger 1.