KNIGHTSTOWN — In the first half, Eastern Hancock had the patience and hot-shooting needed to upset No. 2 Shenandoah in Friday’s Class 2A Boys Basketball Sectional 42 semifinal at Knightstown High School.
In the second half, the Royals had the patience, but weren’t able to match the shooting.
The Royals’ season came to an end with a 43-30 loss to the Raiders. Eastern Hancock finishes 11-12 on the year. Shenandoah is 23-1 and will play Indianapolis Howe in tonight’s 7 p.m. championship game.
Just 10 days ago, Shenandoah defeated Eastern Hancock 64-34. On Friday, the Royals held a 17-15 lead at the half and a 23-21 advantage with 6:12 remaining in the third quarter.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
“We just slowed it down and were patient,” freshman guard Landon O’Neal said. “When they blew us out, they sped us up and we forced a lot of stuff. We followed our game plan, but they had a couple of runs and we weren’t able to counter back.”
After Brady Smith’s trey gave Eastern Hancock the 23-21 lead early in the third, the highly-ranked Raiders started looking like a highly-ranked team.
They scored 15 of the next 16 points. Twelve came on 3-point field goals and the other three was on a conventional three-point play. The Eastern Hancock lead had not only evaporated, but the Royals found themselves trailing by 12 points, 36-24 with 5:35 left in the contest.
“In the third quarter they hit some shots and got some separation,” Eastern Hancock coach Aaron Spaulding said. “We really needed to keep the game close into the last four minutes and let them feel the pressure. All the pressure would have been on them, but they got a three-possession lead and never let us get back.
“There’s a reason they have only lost one game.”
The Royals had a glimmer in the fourth. Two Peyton Gray free throws had cut it to 36-28 with 4:14 left. The Royals got the ball back with the eight-point deficit, but weren’t able to get any closer.
“I’m really proud of our guys,” Spaulding added. “They executed the game plan. I’ve got no complaints about our guys. Shenandoah is a good team.”
Eastern Hancock shot 50 percent in the first half. The Royals were 7-of-14 from the field, including 3-of-7 from 3-point range. After 3-pointers from O’Neal and Smith early in the third quarter, the Royals were scoreless from beyond the arc the remainder of the night. Eastern hit just 3-of-14 field goals in the second half.
The first-half game plan worked to perfection. Along with their shooting prowess, the Royals were getting it done on the defensive end, too. Shenandoah shot just 22.7 percent in the first 16 minutes. The Raiders were 2-of-12 in the first quarter (16.7 percent) and 3-of-10 in the second (30 percent).
“We showed toughness and fixed our mistakes from the last time we played them,” Gray said. “Coach said, they’re a really good team and they were going to make runs, we just had to keep our poise. I thought we did. They just hit some big shots and it just didn’t go for us the way we wanted.”
In the third quarter, the Raiders hit five 3-pointers on nine attempts. They finished the game off by hitting 7-of-8 fourth-quarter free throws.
It was the final game for four Eastern Hancock senior players: Gray, Cameron Denis, Skyler Schrope and Brady Stephens. Gray, Schrope and Stephens are starters.
“This has been a fantastic group to coach,” said Spaulding, who added his senior manager Sam Murphy to that group. “They got better all year long and I’m going to miss them. We’ve got a lot of young kids and a bright future, but we’re going to miss the seniors.”
Gray and O’Neal led the Royals with nine points apiece. Gray had a team-high six rebounds and Stephens dished out an impressive five assists to go with four points and four rebounds. Smith hit a pair of threes and had six points.
Kaden McCollough, who hit three third-quarter treys, led Shenandoah and all scorers with 17. Evan Coers and Jakeb Kinsey each had 10 for the Raiders.
The win is Shenandoah’s 17th in a row. It is the second year in a row the Royals were eliminated by the Raiders. Shenandoah won last year’s tournament matchup 53-40.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”box score” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Shenandoah 43, Eastern Hancock 30
Eastern Hancock;7;10;7;6;—;30
Shenandoah;6;9;18;10;—;43
Eastern Hancock (11-12): Peyton Gray 2 5-6 9, Brady Smith 2 0-0 6, Brady Stephens 2 0-0 4, Landon O’Neal 3 0-0 9 Skyler Schrope 0 0-0 0, Drew White 0 0-0 0, Cole Rainbolt 0 0-0 0, Cameron Denis 0 0-0 0, Zach Arnold 1 0-1 2, Cameron Wise 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 5-7 30.
Shenandoah (23-1): Evan Coers 3 2-2 10, Jakeb Kinsey 2 5-5 10, Kaden McCollough 5 3-4 17, Andrew Bennett 0 2-2 2, Peyton Starks 2 0-0 4, Jackson Campbell 0 0-0 0, Nate Kimball 0 0-0 0, Kameron Graddy 0 0-0 0, Jasper Campbell 0 0-0 0, Colton Monday 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 12-13 43.
3-point goals: Eastern Hancock 5 (O’Neal 3, Smith 2), Shenandoah 7 (McCollough 4, Coers 2, Kinsey).
[sc:pullout-text-end]
