After being down in the first half, Hamilton Heights revved up its defense in the fourth quarter and ran to a 67-59 win Friday at New Castle.
The Trojans led 20-14 after the first quarter and 38-29 at halftime. The Huskies began to work their way back in the third period, cutting the New Castle lead to 51-48. Brent Pennington helped out with a pair of 3-pointers.
Heights then took over in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Trojans 19-8. Lucas Letsinger had seven points, including his own pair of 3s. Letsinger finished the game with a career-high 11 points, one of three Huskies players who scored in double figures.
Gus Etchison led Heights with 20 points; he made three 3-pointers, two of them in the first period. Cameron Knott added 12 points. Hudson Hochstedler pulled seven rebounds and Etchison blocked two shots.
The Huskies junior varsity team won 42-41, with Harrison Hochstedler making a buzzer-beater at the end of the game. Braden Kinder scored 14 points to lead the Heights JV.
The Huskies are 2-0 and will play at Guerin Catholic tonight in an all-Hamilton County game. Tipoff for the junior varsity is at 6 p.m., with the varsity to follow.
HAMILTON HEIGHTS 67, NEW CASTLE 59
Heights FG FT TP PF
Gus Etchison 7-13 3-4 20 2
Issiac Hickok 3-6 0-0 8 2
Camron Knott 5-7 0-0 12 0
Lucas Letsinger 4-6 1-2 11 0
Brent Pennington 3-7 0-0 8 1
Luke Carroll 1-2 1-2 3 2
Hudson Hochstedler 1-4 1-2 3 3
Johnny Cambron 0-0 2-2 2 0
Totals 24-45 8-12 67 10
Score by Quarters
Heights 14 15 19 19 – 67
New Castle 20 18 13 8 – 59
Heights 3-point shooting (11-22) Etchison 3-7, Hickok 2-4, Letsinger 2-4, Knott 2-3, Pennington 2-3, Hochstedler 0-1.
Heights rebounds (22) Hochstedler 7, Hickok 4, Knott 4, Etchison 3, Letsinger 1, Pennington 1, Carroll 1, Cambron 1.