CHARLOTTESVILLE — It was a typical Eastern Hancock Mid-Eastern Conference boys basketball game. There were 16 ties and 11 lead changes, but most importantly for the Royals, it was a 56-53 win against Blue River Valley on Tuesday.
The Royals snapped a two-game losing streak, improved to 10-9 overall and 5-2 in the MEC. It was their sixth conference game decided by five points or less. Blue River Valley lost its third straight, dropping to 10-9 overall and 3-4 in the conference.
Close conference games have been the norm. Four of the Royals six previous league contests had been decided by three points or less and another was a five-point loss to Wapahani, currently in second place. Eastern Hancock’s conference wins include a two-point overtime victory against Monroe Central, a three-point triumph against Cowan and a one-point nail-biter over Wes-Del.
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“I think we understand the importance of conference games and we come out more confident,” Royals’ senior guard Skyler Schrope said.
Schrope had not taken a shot the entire game, but he went coast-to-coast after a defensive rebound and scored to give Eastern Hancock a 53-51 lead with 1:21 to go.
Typical conference game. Typical Schrope. He doesn’t score often, but when he does it is usually at a crucial time in the contest. His only bucket of the Monroe Central overtime victory was the game-winner. He also hit game-winning free-throws in a 54-50 victory early this season at Northeastern.
The last thing the Vikings expected was Schrope. Center Peyton Gray, who stands 6-foot-7, had 28 points, and 3-point specialist Landon O’Neal had 18, including five 3-pointers.
“I got the rebound and Landon was in the corner, like he should be. The defense went to him and Peyton had sealed down low and I had a wide open shot,” Schrope said.
“He usually is directing traffic, but he’s smart when they quit paying attention to him,” Eastern Hancock coach Aaron Spaulding said.
Schrope’s bucket was big, but more work needed to be done. Blue River Valley’s Brevin Hallatt scored to tie the game for the 16th time.
It was back to the go-to-guy, Gray. He was fouled with 3.8 seconds remaining and the score still knotted at 53-53. He hit the first and missed the second, but an inadvertent whistle blew and the alternate possession went to the Royals with 2.5 seconds to go.
Brady Smith hit two free throws for the final margin.
“I’m really proud of the kids,” Spaulding said. “I thought, down the stretch, we executed. We got the ball inside a couple of times to Peyton. They over-extended on (Landon O’Neal) and let the post open. Skyler had a great read. They were concerned about everyone else and he laid it in.”
For the most part it was O’Neal on the outside and Gray on the inside. They combined for 18 of Eastern’s 20 first-half points. Gray had seven in the first quarter and O’Neal had eight in the second. They also had 16 of the Royals 20 third-quarter points.
Gray had 21 in the second half, and though he did most of his damage in the post, he stepped out and hit a big three to tie the game, 49-49, with 3:26 to go.
The Royals continue MEC play Friday, hosting Union (Modoc) at 7:30 p.m.
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Eastern Hancock 56, Blue River Valley 53
Blue River Valley;11;9;17;16;—;53
Eastern Hancock;10;10;20;16;—;56
Blue River Valley (10-9): Cole Cross 3 1-2 7, Bruce Klein 1 1-4 4, Jackson Thornburgh 6 2-3 15, Joey Liles 0 0-0 0, Andrew Froedge 4 4-5 12, Brevin Hallatt 5 4-7 15, Jacob Madden 0 0-2 0. Totals: 19 12-23 53.
Eastern Hancock (10-9): Skyler Schrope 1 0-0 2, Cole Rainbolt 0 0-0 0, Landon O’Neal 5 3-4 18, Brady Smith 0 2-2 2, Joey Starrett 1 0-0 2, Brady Stephens 2 0-0 4, Peyton Gray 11 5-11 28. Totals: 20 10-17 56.
3-point goals: Blue River Valley 3 (Klein, Thornburgh, Hallatt), Eastern Hancock 6 (O’Neal 5, Gray).
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While Mt. Vernon and Eastern Hancock hosted home games Tuesday, Greenfield-Central took to the road for a game against Roncalli.
Roncalli 66, Greenfield-Central 52
In the last game in Roncalli’s current gym, the hosts roared back from a five-point deficit after three quarters to top the Cougars.
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