Jared Andis
WINCHESTER, Ind. – The Hagerstown boys basketball team used some tight defense and then made free throws on Friday night as the Tigers defeated Winchester 49-41 in a Tri-Eastern Conference contest.
Trailing 25-23 at halftime, Hagerstown coach Bobby Jones made an adjustment with his team’s defense, which held the Falcons to just two points in the third period.
“In the second half, our defense fueled our offense,” Jones said. “We switched to zone and we felt like they would settle for outside shots. As a team, we came together and got the ball where it needed to be and made our free throws.”
On top of the TEC with a 4-0 mark, The Tigers made 15-of-18 free throws in the final frame to raise their overall record to 10-4.
“To be where we are at it at this point in the season is just a credit to our guys,” Jones said. “It seems like the tougher the opponent and the atmosphere and the situation gets, the tougher we get.”
Winchester (5-5, 1-2) started fast as the Falcons built a 21-13 lead after one period.
“We played a really good first quarter and I thought we scored in a lot of different ways,” Winchester coach Matt Fine said. “I thought we ran our break really well. We got a couple of offensive rebound buckets and a couple of post scores, which we have worked really hard on this week.
Arick Miller
Arick Miller led the charge for the Falcons as he scored 14 of his game-high 19 points in the opening eight minutes.
“Arick was phenomenal tonight on both ends of the floor,” Fine said. “He was really active in the paint. He stepped out and knocked a couple of shots down.”
Despite falling behind, Jones wasn’t too worried about the Tigers.
“I thought our defense coming out was pretty good,” he said. “They hit some outside shots.
“That has to be a constant for us. We have got to guard every single possession.”
However, the shots stopped falling as the Falcons went cold with just four points in the second period.
“We just made some bad decisions with the basketball in the second and third quarters,” Fine said. “We have really look at what is happening when we are successful and then what we are doing when we are not successful and learn from that.
“We haven’t played nearly the way we are capable of playing. At some point, I hope it clicks. We just have to stay after it.”
In the lowest scoring period of the night with both teams combining for nine points, Hagerstown was able to gain a 30-27 advantage heading into to fourth quarter. From there, the Tigers were able to hang on thanks to their their free throws.
Jared Andis led Hagerstown with 15 points, while Evan Hoover tossed in 10. Isaiah Neal and Nate Combs finished with nine points and eight rebounds each.
Miller was the only player in double digits for Winchester as Cullen Hall ended the contest with eight. Michael Georgi led the Falcons with seven rebounds.
Hagerstown also won the JV contest 45-42 as Caleb Neal led the way with 21 points for the Tigers, while teammate Dylan Napier added nine.
Jordan Key led Winchester with 14 points with Trestan Enis, Trey Graft and Lukas Mills finishing with seven each.
The Falcons play at Blackford on Saturday. Hagerstown returns to action next Friday at home against Blue River.
Box Score
HAGERSTOWN (10-4, 4-0) – Mason Stitt 0 2-2 2, Jared Andis 3 7-8 15, Bret Templin 1 2-2 4, Isaiah Neal 3 3-4 9, Nate Combs 4 1-2 9, Evan Hoover 3 4-6 10, Jordan Auker 0 0-0 0. Team – 14 19-24 49.
WINCHESTER (5-5, 1-2) – Michael Georgi 1 1-2 3, Cullen Hall 3 0-0 8, Austin Lawrence 1 0-0 2, Elias Gates 2 0-0 5, Arick Miller 8 1-2 19, Kiante Enis 2 0-0 4, Isaiah Jordan-Miller 0 0-0 0. Team – 17 2-4 41.
Hagerstown 13 23 30 49
Winchester 21 25 27 41
3-pointers – Hagerstown 2 (Andis 2), Winchester 5 (Hall 2, Miller 2, Gates 1). Rebounds – Hagerstown 25 (Neal 8, Combs 8), Winchester 19 (Georgi 7). Turnovers – Hagerstown 9, Winchester 15. Fouls – Hagerstown 9, Winchester 16.