By RICHIE HALL
ARCADIA – After a close first half, Hamilton Heights went on a quick run of the third quarter to take control of its county rivalry game with Sheridan on Tuesday at the Huskies’ gym.
Heights would go on to win 61-44. It was a nice beginning to what will be a busy week for the Huskies, as this was the first of three games they will host over the next few days.
“We’re treating it like a sectional week,” said Heights coach Chad Ballenger. “We played Tuesday night and we’re going to play Friday night and play Saturday night, just like that same routine we play in sectional.”
The Blackhawks came out hot in the first quarter, jumping out to an 11-2 lead. Drake Delph scored four points, while Caleb Duke and Jesse Kolb both made a 3-pointer.
The Huskies went on an 8-0 run to get back within 11-10, with Cory Vonfeldt and Issiac Hickok both hitting 3s and Gus Etchison making a basket. Kyle Eden made a traditional three-point play for Sheridan with around a minute left, but AJ Field answered that with a 3-point basket, keeping Heights within 14-13 after one.
The ‘Hawks led 17-13 a minute into the second quarter, before the Huskies went on a 10-0 run to lead 23-17. Hudson Hochstedler scored five points in that run. The Blackhawks managed to cut it to 26-24 by the halftime buzzer; Nick Burnell helped out with two late baskets.
“Sheridan was locked in, they did a very good job,” said Ballenger, who admitted that his team came out flat. But it was all Heights after that.
The Huskies went on a 15-0 run to start the third quarter, scoring all those points in a two and a half minute span. Etchison got the first six points, all of them off of steals by various members of the team. Hickok drained a 3, then Etchison added five more points.
“We got out in the lanes, we denied,” said Ballenger. Heights had six steals during the first few minutes of that third quarter.
“And that’s how we want to play,” said Ballenger. “Our guys just weren’t real focused to begin with. We’re still working. We haven’t been very good defensively on some nights.”
The Blackhawks went on their own 8-0 run midway through the third to get within 43-34. Burnell scored six of those points, including two putbacks. Brent Pennington ended the run with a 3-pointer, and the Huskies used a 7-0 run that bridged the third and fourth periods to get back on top 53-36.
Both teams had 6-0 runs in the fourth quarter, with Heights making its run to finish the game. Etchison scored four points in that final run; he would lead all scorers with 27 points. Field scored nine and led the rebounds with six. The Huskies totaled 13 team steals; Pennington and Hochstedler both had four takeaways.
Delph and Burnell both scored 11 points for Sheridan, with Duke adding 10.
“We were in the exact same position two years ago,” said Blackhawks coach Chris Schrank. “Played a really good first half, came back out in the second half. I know Coach Ballenger was in there giving them a little something to get them going. So we knew they were going to come out and be aggressive. We went away from the scouting report. We didn’t do the things we talked about to take advantage of that aggressiveness and the result was that real quick run.”
The Huskies are 11-6 and host Westfield on Friday. Sheridan is 8-7 and will play a Hoosier Heartland Conference game at Carroll on Friday.
Hamilton Heights 61, Sheridan 44
Sheridan FG FT TP PF
Drake Delph 5-10 1-3 11 3
Walker Casler 0-2 0-0 0 1
Caleb Duke 4-12 1-2 10 2
Nick Burnell 5-6 1-2 11 4
Jesse Kolb 2-5 0-0 5 2
Kyle Eden 3-6 1-1 7 2
Nick Roberts 0-0 0-0 0 1
Nolan Buckner 0-2 0-0 0 1
Steve Smith 0-0 0-0 0 0
Will Zachery 0-1 0-0 0 0
Devin Mitchum 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 19-44 4-8 44 16
Sheridan 3-point shooting (2-14) Delph 1-3, Kolb 1-3, Eden 0-2, Casler 0-2, Duke 0-2, Buckner 0-1, Zachery 0-1.
Sheridan rebounds (15) Kolb 7, Burnell 4, Delph 3, Duke 1.
Heights FG FT TP PF
Gus Etchison 11-21 5-5 27 2
Issiac Hickok 2-5 0-0 6 3
Brent Pennington 2-2 0-0 5 1
AJ Field 4-7 0-1 9 3
Hudson Hochstedler 2-4 3-4 7 3
Cory Vonfeldt 2-5 1-3 6 1
Jonny Cambron 0-0 1-2 1 0
Rich Espinoza 0-0 0-0 0 0
Noah Linville 0-0 0-0 0 0
Isaac Wilson 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 23-44 10-15 61 13
Heights 3-point shooting (5-16) Hickok 2-4, Vonfeldt 1-3, Field 1-3, Pennington 1-1, Etchison 0-4, Hochstedler 0-1.
Heights rebounds (14) Field 6, Pennington 3, Hickok 2, Etchison 1, Hochstedler 1, Cambron 1.
Score by Quarters
Sheridan 14 10 12 8 – 44
Heights 13 13 22 13 – 61
Sheridan’s Kyle Eden goes up for a layin while being guarded by Hamilton Heights’ Issiac Hickok during the Huskies-Blackhawks boys basketball game Tuesday at the Heights gym. The Huskies won 61-44. (Kent Graham)
Hamilton Heights’ Cory Vonfeldt (1) takes a shot during the Huskies’ game with Sheridan Tuesday. Pictured for the Blackhawks are Devin Mitchum (24) and Nick Roberts (43). (Kent Graham)