Royals fall to Jets; True reaches milestone

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HOPE

Eastern Hancock junior Addison True became the fifth player in the program’s history to achieve 1,000 points for his career Tuesday night at Hauser.

Unfortunately for True and the Royals, the milestone came in a losing effort. The Jets used a 13-0 run late in the first quarter to pull away on its way to a 74-53 win.

“It’s a great accomplishment for him,” Eastern Hancock coach Aaron Spaulding said. “We feel that is not only an accomplishment, but a team accomplishment. We are proud of him for that. We wish it could have happened on a little better circumstance but nevertheless, it’s a great accomplishment.”

The engines cooled a bit for the Jets (14-9) to start the second quarter, and that allowed the Royals (12-9) to climb back to cut it to 23-15. Hauser’s offense warmed back up, and the Jets finished the first half outscoring Eastern Hancock 7-1 to lead 30-16.

“I think Hauser came out with a better energy level,” Spaulding said. “I did not feel like we were ready to match their energy in the game, which put us in a hole. We have to do a better job at being ready to go from the get-go.”

The Jets’ unselfishness showed in the final boxscore. Alex Gross led Hauser with 19 points, while Sherman had 16 and Clayton Wilson and Connor Wilson finished with 13 and 12, respectively.

For the Royals, Brycen Napier led with 12 points. Duncan Cherry and A.J. Muegge each had 11.

Eastern Hancock closed the gap to 34-25, but a Connor Wilson 3, and later an Alex Gross 3-pointer extended the lead to 42-27. The Jets then closed out the third quarter on an 11-6 run.

Hauser made sure no fourth-quarter comeback was in store for the Royals when it went on a 17-7 to put away the game.