Hamilton Heights scored a dramatic comeback victory at Benton Central on Friday, as the Huskies came from way down to beat the Bison 66-64 in the fifth-place game of the Hoosier Conference tournament.
Heights trailed 56-38 going into the fourth quarter, but stunned Benton Central in that period, outscoring the Bison 28-8. The Huskies got the ball back with 48 seconds left and held it for the last shot. Heights set up a high ball screen, it went into the hands of Tillman Etchison, and he laid it in at the buzzer.
The Huskies led 14-12 after the first quarter, but Benton Central took over in the second quarter, pouring in 21 points for a 33-27 halftime lead. The Bison then outscored Heights 23-11 in the third period.
“They blitzed us in the third,” said Huskies coach Chad Ballenger. “We just regrouped, started picking the pace up and our defense did a great job turning them over in the fourth quarter. Total team effort.”
Etchison had a sensational game, scoring 33 points. Luke Carroll added 13 points. Isaac Tuma, Maddox Bohland and Etchison all collected four rebounds, with Bohland making four steals.
Heights is 10-9 and hosts Tri-West tonight.
HAMILTON HEIGHTS 66, BENTON CENTRAL 64
Heights FG FT TP PF
Luke Carroll 5-8 3-6 13 3
Cooper Vondersaar 3-5 0-0 6 2
Isaac Tuma 3-6 0-2 6 2
Tillman Etchison 10-14 12-13 33 0
Dean Mason 1-1 0-0 3 4
Maddox Bohland 0-2 0-0 0 3
Evan Williamson 1-2 0-0 3 1
Tanner Maynard 0-0 2-2 2 0
Totals 23-38 17-23 66 15
Score by Quarters
Heights 14 13 11 28 – 66
Benton Central 12 21 23 8 – 64
Heights 3-point shooting (3-9) Etchison 1-3, Williamson 1-2, Mason 1-1, Carroll 0-1, Tuma 0-1, Bohland 0-1.
Heights rebounds (19) Tuma 4, Bohland 4, Etchison 4, Carroll 3, Vondersaar 2, Williamson 2.