For the Daily Reporter
CHARLOTTESVILLE — The Eastern Hancock Royals played the defending champs even for three quarters on Friday night.
Unfortunately, the one bad quarter turned out to be the difference against Class 1A No. 7 (and defending state champion) Morristown, as the Royals fell 77-61 at home.
The game started fortuitously for the Royals, as multiple first-quarter shots by Morristown were seemingly half-way down before bouncing out. And, after a corner 3-pointer by freshman Landon O’Neal, the Royals had an early 9-7 lead near the end of the quarter.
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The Yellow Jackets didn’t seem fazed however, as they ramped up the offense in the second quarter, scoring 21 straight points before the Royals could find the basket again. It was the usual suspects for Morristown, as Logan Laster (19 points) and Kyle Crim (26 points) fueled their offense as key returners from last year’s title team.
The third quarter would prove to be the Royals’ quarter, though. Brady Smith calmly sank two 3-pointers and then O’Neal nailed three more himself. After being behind 24 points at halftime, the Royals had cut the lead to 13, which forced an exasperated timeout from Morristown coach Scott McClelland.
Smith and O’Neal lead the Royals in scoring with 18 and 14 points respectively. Royals big men Brady Stephens (nine points, six rebounds) and Peyton Gray (14 points, 12 rebounds) also were able to cause problems for the undersized Yellow Jackets.
Morristown was able to weather the storm from there on out however, as the Royals were never able to get the deficit back into single digits.
The loss drops the Royals record to .500 (9-9) on the season. The Royals next take the floor Tuesday at home against Blue River Valley at 7:30 p.m., as they look to solidify a top-three finish in the Mid-Eastern Conference.
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No. 7 Morristown 77, Eastern Hancock 61
MHS;12;27;15;23;-;77
EH;9;6;27;19;-;61
Morristown (17-3) – Ky. Crim 8 6-6 26, Laster 7 3-5 19, Carlton 4 2-5 10, Theobald 4 2-3 10, Livezey 3 2-2 8, Ky. Crim 1 0-0 2. Totals: 27 15-21 77.
Eastern Hancock (9-9) – Smith 7 0-0 18, Gray 6 2-3 14, O’Neal 5 0-0 14, Stephens 3 2-2 9, Starett 1 2-2 4, Schrope 1 0-0 2. Totals: 23 6-7 61.
3-pointers: Eastern Hancock 9 (O’Neal, Smith 4, Stephens 1), Morristown 6 (Ky. Crim 4, Laster 2).
Rebounds: Eastern Hancock 30 (Gray 12, Stephens 6, Schrope 4, Smith, Starett 3, O’Neal 2), Morristown 18 (Laster 5, Carlton, Theobald 4, Ky. Crim 2, Ka. Crim, Jones, Livezey 1).
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