Westfield won a hard-fought game with county rival Hamilton Heights Friday at The Rock, by the score of 57-56.
The Shamrocks clinched the game with 0.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter when Nic DePasquale made two free throws. That moved Westfield ahead by one and gave the ‘Rocks a second consecutive win.
It was a back-and-forth contest. The Huskies led 18-13 after the first quarter, with Issiac Hickok pouring in 13 points for Heights, including three 3-pointers. Westfield came back to tie the game at 35-35 by halftime; Cam Haffner hit two 3s and Benji Welch also had six points. Camron Knott, meanwhile, threw in three triples for the Huskies.
Heights jumped ahead 50-45 after three periods, with Gus Etchison scoring eight points, including a pair of 3s. But the Shamrocks’ defense held the Huskies to six points in the fourth. DePasquale scored eight points in that quarter, going 6-of-6 from the line, including those important final two free throws.
DePasquale finished with 18 points and was 8-of-8 from the line. Westfield, in fact, was 12-of-12 in free-throw shooting as a team, with Braden Smith and Welch both going 2-for-2. Smith finished with 13 points, while Haffner scored 10.
Smith collected eight rebounds, followed by DePasquale with seven and Haffner with five. Smith also handed out six assists.
Etchison led Heights with 19 points, while Hickok scored 15. Heights had 13 3-pointers as a team; Etchison made four triples, with Knott and Hickok both draining three. Hickok, Brent Pennington and Luke Carroll all collected six rebounds, with Etchison pulling five. Hudson Hochstedler dished out five assists.
The Shamrocks are 12-6 and play at Western Boone on Tuesday. The Huskies are also 12-6 and go back on the road tonight to play at Frankfort.
WESTFIELD 57, HAMILTON HEIGHTS 56
Heights FG FT TP PF
Gus Etchison 6-15 3-4 19 0
Issiac Hickok 6-8 0-0 15 1
Brent Pennington 0-4 0-0 0 2
Luke Carroll 1-6 2-2 4 3
Hudson Hochstedler 2-6 0-0 6 2
Camron Knott 3-11 0-0 9 2
Lucas Letsinger 1-5 0-0 3 0
Jonny Cambron 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 19-55 5-6 56 10
Heights 3-point shooting (13-33) Etchison 4-9, Knott 3-9, Hickok 3-4, Hochstedler 2-3, Letsinger 1-5, Pennington 0-3.
Heights rebounds (29) Hickok 6, Pennington 6, Carroll 6, Etchison 5, Hochstedler 3, Knott 2, Letsinger 1.
Westfield FG FT TP PF
Braden Smith 5-14 2-2 13 2
Cam Haffner 4-12 0-0 10 1
Benji Welch 2-4 2-2 6 2
Nic DePasquale 5-14 8-8 18 2
Camden Simons 1-2 0-0 2 1
Eli Patchett 1-3 0-0 3 0
Matthew Penley 2-4 0-0 5 1
Zach Byrer 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 20-53 12-12 57 9
Westfield 3-point shooting (5-19) Haffner 2-8, Smith 1-6, Patchett 1-3, Penley 1-1, Welch 0-1.
Westfield rebounds (34) Smith 8, DePasquale 7, Haffner 5, Welch 4, Patchett 4, Penley 3, Simons 2, Byrer 1.
Score by Quarters
Heights 18 17 15 6 – 56
Westfield 13 22 10 12 – 57
Westfield’s Nic DePasquale (23) scored 18 points, including the game-winning free throws, for the Shamrocks in their Friday win over Hamilton Heights. Pictured for the Huskies is Brent Pennington (14). (Kent Graham)