CHARLOTTESVILLE — Riding a 10-game losing streak entering Tuesday’s Mid-Hoosier Conference battle at Eastern Hancock, Edinburgh basketball coach Drew Glentzer was searching for any sign of positive momentum entering the final stretch of his team’s season.
However, behind a smooth-shooting third quarter from Eastern Hancock, the Lancers could not snap their streak and lost 63-54.
Eastern Hancock sophomore A.J. Muegge, who scored a season-high 21 points in a loss to Indian Creek on Saturday, continued to shoot it well, scoring seven unanswered points at the beginning of the second quarter to finish with 11 in the game. He also grabbed eight rebounds.
Sophomore guard Addison True led the team in scoring, though, netting 16 points in the second half to finish with 23. Senior guard Bobby Simpson led Edinburgh with 21 points while sophomore Jacob Atha added 13.
“I thought they came out and hit some shots,” Glentzer said. “We hit some early, and then they came out in the third and hit some. We had some turnovers in the third, too.
“He (Simpson) played hard. I thought we settled for some bad shots at times. He is someone we expect to make plays.”
Simpson would open the third quarter with a basket, but the Lancers would go scoreless for nearly three minutes, allowing the Royals to go on a game-changing 13-0 run.
Nine points from True and five points from senior guard Ryan Speas, who added 15 points in the win, helped Eastern Hancock take a lead into the final quarter (48-41) it would never surrender.
With 5:50 remaining in the opening period, True connected on a 3-pointer to make the score seven-all. From there, Edinburgh would close the quarter on a 12-5 run, with 3-pointers from Simpson and freshman Bryce Burton, to take a 19-12 advantage.
Then Muegge caught fire.
The 5-foot-10 guard opened the second quarter with a drive to the hoop and followed it with a 3-pointer to pull the Royals within two, 19-17.
Another Muegge drive would tie the score at 19-all as both teams would trade baskets the rest of the way until Eastern Hancock took a 29-28 lead into the break after a True drive and score.
The Royals finished 24 of 41 (59 percent) from the field for the game while the Lancers finished 22-for-55 (40 percent).
Eastern Hancock returns to the court on Friday at Morristown while Edinburgh returns home for a matchup with South Decatur. Both games are scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
