By RICHIE HALL
SHERIDAN – Hamilton Heights used a strong second quarter to pull away from Sheridan, and eventually score a 71-44 victory Saturday in an all-county boys basketball game at Hobbs Memorial Gymnasium.
The Huskies led 18-13 after the first quarter. Heights had four 3-pointers in that period, including two from Lucas Letsinger. Gus Etchison had one triple as part of his seven first-quarter points, with Brent Pennington also making a 3. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks’ Ethan Moistner had a good first quarter with seven points, also making a 3.
Two free throws from Moistner kept Sheridan within 23-18 with 5:03 left in the second period. But Heights took over after that, going on 21-2 run that took the Huskies into halftime. Etchison had nine points during that run, while Noah Linville and Issiac Hickok both hit 3s.
“We got locked in,” said Heights coach Chad Ballenger. “Sheridan was ready to play and they did a really nice job the first quarter and really took it to us. We didn’t respond too well, having last night off and they played. Sheridan was in the framework that they were ready. Once we got locked in, I thought we did a great job.”
With that, Heights held a 44-20 halftime lead. The ‘Hawks scored the first four points of the second quarter; Silas DeVaney made two free throws and Moistner got a putback. But the Huskies went on another run, this one a 15-5 run that took up the remainder of the period. Etchison added another six points.
Heights maintained that advantage in the fourth quarter, although Sheridan mad a 6-0 run in the early part of the period. Moistner, DeVaney and Will Zachery all had two points during that run.
Etchison led all scorers with 25 points and also had four assists and four steals. Hudson Hochstedler collected seven rebounds to go with six assists and four steals, while Pennington made two blocked shots. Hickok finished with nine points and Letsinger scored eight.
Moistner was the Blackhawks’ top scorer with 16 points and also had five rebounds. DeVaney had eight points and pulled six rebounds.
“This game, for us, is always going to be like a measuring stick game,” said Sheridan coach Chris Schrank. “There’s no conference, no sectional, no anything of that sort. We want to see where we’re at in relation to a good team. We know that they’re going to be tough and play hard and they play smart.”
“We felt like we played with them for a long stretch in that first half,” said Schrank. “For us, then, it’s just a matter of being able to maintain that for the full 32 minutes rather than just a portion of the first half.”
The Huskies are 11-4 and return home on Friday to play rival Tipton in a Hoosier Conference game. Sheridan also plays a home conference game on Friday, taking on Taylor in Hoosier Heartland Conference action.
HAMILTON HEIGHTS 71, SHERIDAN 44
Heights FG FT TP PF
Gus Etchison 9-15 6-8 25 1
Issiac Hickok 4-6 0-0 9 1
Lucas Letsinger 3-6 0-0 8 0
Brent Pennington 3-5 0-0 7 0
Hudson Hochstedler 1-2 0-3 2 1
Luke Carroll 1-2 2-2 4 4
Jonny Cambron 2-2 2-2 6 0
Noah Linville 1-1 0-0 3 0
Isaac Wilson 3-6 0-0 7 1
Rich Espinoza 0-0 0-0 0 1
Totals 27-45 10-15 71 9
Heights 3-point shooting (7-13) Letsinger 2-2, Etchison 1-3, Pennington 1-3, Wilson 1-2, Linville 1-1, Hickok 1-1, Hochstedler 0-1.
Heights rebounds (23) Hochstedler 7, Etchison 4, Hickok 3, Pennington 3, Carroll 3, Linville 1, Wilson 1, Cambron 1.
Sheridan FG FT TP PF
Kyle Eden 1-5 0-0 2 4
Silas DeVaney 3-6 2-2 8 4
Nolan Buckner 2-6 0-0 5 0
Nick Roberts 1-6 0-0 2 0
Ethan Moistner 5-14 5-5 16 2
Will Zachery 1-2 0-0 2 1
Corbin Murray 0-1 0-0 0 2
Tyler Lowder 0-1 2-2 2 0
Jacob Shreve 1-1 0-0 2 0
Cayden Hunter 0-0 0-0 0 0
Dylan Cork 1-1 0-0 3 1
Keenan Warren 1-1 0-0 2 0
Totals 16-44 9-9 44 14
Sheridan 3-point shooting (3-14) Moistner 1-6, Buckner 1-5, Cork 1-1, Eden 0-1, Zachery 0-1.
Sheridan rebounds (18) DeVaney 6, Moistner 5, Buckner 3, Roberts 2, Murray 1, Cork 1.
Score by Quarters
Heights 18 26 15 12 – 71
Sheridan 13 7 9 15 – 44
Hamilton Heights’ Gus Etchison scored 25 points for the Huskies during their 71-44 win over Sheridan Saturday night at Hobbs Memorial Gymnasium. (Kent Graham)
Sheridan’s Ethan Moistner scored 16 points to lead the Blackhawks. (Kent Graham)
CORRECTION
Due to technical difficulties, incorrect scoring information was listed in the Sheridan basketball story in Saturday’s edition. The correct scoring is as follows:
Ethan Moistner 20 points, Kyle Eden 16, Nolan Buckner 8, Silas De- Vaney 7, Nick Roberts 6, Corbin Murray 5.