By RICHIE HALL
ARCADIA – In its first game of the season, the Hamilton Heights boys basketball team had its best offensive performance in a while.
Unfortunately for the Huskies, so did their opponents from Mount Vernon. It was two high-flying offenses that got together in the Heights gymnasium Saturday, with the Marauders winning a truly back-and-forth contest 83-78.
The Huskies produced the most points in a single game since Jan. 11 2019, when they posted 85 against Lapel. Mount Vernon, meanwhile, last topped the 80-point mark when it scored 84 against Frankton on Feb. 1, 2018.
“I thought we were going to do a better job, but that might be the most athletic team we’ll play all year,” said Heights coach Chad Ballenger. “And we held our own. I thought we did a pretty good job. I thought kids handled their roles. There’s no excuses for us. We’re six days behind everybody because we got shut down. We didn’t get to start when everybody else got to practice. From that standpoint, I’m really pleased with the show that we put on tonight.”
The Marauders led for most of the first quarter, with a couple of exceptions. Lucas Letsinger scored the Huskies’ first basket of the season, a 3-pointer to put Heights up 3-2.
Back-to-back 3s gave Mount Vernon an 8-3 lead, but the Huskies stayed around, never letting the Marauders pull away. Finally, Gus Etchison tied the game with a basket, then drained a triple to put Heights up 17-14. This is still in the first quarter.
Mount Vernon got back in front with a quick six-point spurt, and began to pull away as the game went into the second quarter. The Marauders held their biggest lead midway through the period at 42-26, but the Huskies began to work their way back, cutting MV’s lead to 44-35 by halftime. Braden Kinder came off the bench to hit a basket, then Etchison nailed a 3 before scoring the last four points of the half.
Those four points turned out to be the beginning of an 11-0 run that stretched into the start of the second half. Noah Linville continued Heights’ run with a 3. Later, Letsinger tied the game at 46-46 with a free throw, and Etchison threw in another 3 to get the Huskies back in front.
Heights led by five points twice late in the third period, with another Linville triple putting the Huskies up 60-55. But the Marauders took over after that, going on a quick 13-2 run, which extended into the fourth period. Mount Vernon started the quarter with three straight baskets by Amhad Jarrard, and that moved the Marauders ahead 68-62.
Amhad’s twin brother Armon Jarrard got MV back up 74-64 with a layin. But then it was Heights’ turn to go on a fast run, and it did, tying the game at 74-74. Etchison drained three free throws after begin fouled on a 3-point attempt, Letsinger and Luke Carroll both hit a pair of foul shots, then Letsinger put in another 3 to tie the game.
That was as far as the Huskies got. A free throw by Avery Williams got Mount Vernon back in front, and the Marauders would stay in front until the buzzer. Etchison’s dunk kept Heights within 78-76 with 38 seconds left, but MV sealed the game with four straight foul shots.
“I thought we did a great job in that third quarter, but we gave up too many transition buckets early,” said Ballenger. “Made a great run to give us a chance and then late, we didn’t knock free throws down.”
Etchison began his senior season with 39 points, including five 3-pointers. Letsinger drained three 3s while scoring 16 points and Linville added 12 points. Etchison and Carroll both collected six rebounds, while Linville and Letsinger both pulled five.
“I thought Letsinger and Linville played really well,” said Ballenger. “I thought Kinder came off the bench and played well defensively. I thought Luke Carroll did a really good job defensively inside on the bigger guys and really held his own.”
The Huskies go on the road for the first time this season on Friday, traveling to New Castle.
MOUNT VERNON 83, HAMILTON HEIGHTS 78
Heights FG FT TP PF
Gus Etchison 13-24 8-11 39 3
Noah Linville 4-5 2-2 12 3
Luke Carroll 2-4 2-6 7 5
Isaac Wilson 0-3 2-2 2 3
Lucas Letsinger 4-10 5-6 16 2
Drew VanOeveren 0-1 0-0 0 0
Braden Kinder 1-2 0-0 2 1
Tillman Etchison 0-0 0-0 0 0
Blake Stevens 0-0 0-0 0 1
Totals 24-49 19-27 78 18
Score by Quarters
Mount Vernon 24 20 18 21 – 83
Heights 19 16 27 16 – 78
Heights 3-point shooting (11-23) G. Etchison 5-9, Letsinger 3-7, Linville 2-2, Carroll 1-1, Wilson 0-3, VanOeveren 0-1.
Heights rebounds (23) G. Etchison 6, Carroll 6, Linville 5, Letsinger 5, Wilson 1.