Hamilton Heights traveled to the Franklin County Tournament on Saturday and came home with the championship trophy. The Huskies beat East Central 57-53 in the first round and Irvington Prep Academy 80-64 in the championship, which included a huge performance from sophomore Gus Etchison.
Heights got off to a solid start against East Central, leading 24-12 after the first quarter. Issiac Hickok and Brent Pennington both had two 3-pointers in that period. The Trojans turned up their defense in the second quarter, allowing the Huskies just two points and cutting their lead to 26-24 by halftime.
The second half was much closer, but Heights was able to outscore East Central by one point in each quarter. Etchison scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, giving him a game-high total of 19. Pennington added 14, while Hickok threw in four 3s to score 12 points.
In the championship game, the Huskies led Irvington Prep 17-14 after the first period, then ran away with the second, pouring in 24 points to lead 41-24 at halftime. Etchison had an incredible game, scoring 43 points in total. In the second quarter alone, Etchison had 14 points.
AJ Field had 16 points and Hickok scored 11; both made three 3-pointers.
Heights is now 7-3 for the season and will be off until Friday, Jan. 4, when it travels to Northwestern for a Hoosier Conference East game.
FIRST GAME
Hamilton Heights 57, East Central 53
Heights FG FT TP PF
Gus Etchison 7 4-5 19 0
Issiac Hickok 4 0-0 12 4
Brent Pennington 5 2-2 14 2
AJ Field 0 0-1 0 2
Hudson Hochstedler 4 3-4 12 2
Cory Vonfeldt 0 0-0 0 0
Totals 20 9-12 57 10
Score by Quarters
East Central 12 12 12 17 – 53
Heights 24 2 13 18 – 57
Heights 3-pointers (8) Hickok 4, Pennington 2, Etchison 1, Hochstedler 1.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Hamilton Heights 80, Irvington Prep 64
Heights FG FT TP PF
Gus Etchison 18 6-10 43 1
Issiac Hickok 3 2-2 11 1
Brent Pennington 0 0-0 0 0
AJ Field 5 3-3 16 1
Hudson Hochstedler 2 2-3 6 4
Cory Vonfeldt 1 2-2 4 4
Jonny Cambron 0 0-0 0 2
Kray Leininger 0 0-0 0 0
Totals 29 15-20 80 13
Score by Quarters
Irvington Prep 14 10 22 18 – 64
Heights 17 24 19 20 – 80
Heights 3-pointers (7) Hickok 3, Field 3, Etchison 1.
The Hamilton Heights boys basketball team won the Franklin County Tournament on Saturday. The Huskies beat East Central in the first round and Irvington Prep in the championship; Gus Etchison scored 43 points in that game. (Photo provided)