By RICHIE HALL
ARCADIA – Hamilton Heights was up to the tall task of beating Jay County.
The Huskies hosted the Patriots on Tuesday and used a fast start to win 72-64. Heights quickly got a double-digit lead late in the first quarter, then stayed ahead by that margin for most of the game, holding off a late surge by Jay County in the fourth quarter.
It was an important victory for the Huskies, as they are in the same sectional as the Patriots. Both teams compete in Class 3A Sectional 24 at New Castle, which begins in two weeks.
“We didn’t want to show all of our hand, because we could play them again,” said Heights coach Chad Ballenger. “There’s still stuff that we felt like we could do against them, because they play a lot of zone.”
Ballenger said the Patriots are talented. “They can shoot it well, they’re big,” said the coach.
Jay County showed off its height to start the game, as 6-foot-9 junior Cole Forthofer scored the first basket of the game with a layin. That would be the only lead for the Patriots, however, as the Huskies skipped off on a 10-0 run.
Gavin Saunders hit two 3-pointers, with a Tyler Champion basket in between. Rees Knapp finished the run with a jumper, then nailed a triple seconds later to give Heights a 14-3 lead. A steal and basket by Saunders gave the Huskies a double-digit advantage for the first time at 15-4.
Champion made a three-point play to finish the quarter, with Heights up 22-11. The Huskies kept rolling in the second period, using a 9-0 spurt to lead 33-15. Carson Felger scored four points in that run, including a basket off a steal. Heights picked up 16 steals for the game.
“We try to press as much as we can against certain teams,” said Ballenger. “There are some we can’t, but we felt tonight that we could definitely take advantage, and we did. We turned them over 27 times.”
Jack Kakasuleff scored Heights’ final points of the half with an and-1, putting the Huskies up 39-19 with 1:08 left. Forthofer scored to make the halftime score 39-21, but Saunders opened the third quarter with a 3. A free throw from Knapp gave Heights 43-21 advantage.
The Huskies’ lead stayed around 20 points during the third quarter, which finished with Heights ahead 58-40. Dreydin Serna started a 6-0 run with a basket midway through the period, and Kakasuleff made four free throws to continue the spurt.
Jay County made its move in the fourth quarter, cutting the Huskies’ lead to 66-56 with around three minutes left to go. Knapp kept Heights ahead with eight points, including two 3s. Champion turned a steal into a basket to push the Huskies ahead 69-56.
A Tucker Griffin 3 and Eli Dirksen layin got the Patriots within single digits at 69-61, but there was under a minute to go by then. Kakasuleff made two free throws with 13.4 seconds left to clinch the win.
Knapp had an exceptional night, scoring 25 points and making all four of his 3-point attempts. Kakasuleff had 14 points and Saunders scored 13. Felger did a little by of everything, with seven rebounds, six points and four assists. Champion led the steals with five.
Heights is 12-8 and hosts Twin Lakes on Friday for the Hoosier Conference third-place game. The junior varsity game starts at 6:30 p.m., with the varsity to follow around 8 p.m.
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