HAGERSTOWN, Ind. – Winning is a team thing for the Union County boys basketball team.
“They are great teammates,” Union County Head Coach Jesse Moses said of his Patriots after they defeated Northeastern 56-32 on Saturday to win the Class 2A Hagerstown Sectional.
“They believe in each other,” Moses added. “They don’t care who gets the glory because they know we all get the glory.”
Cameron Donovan recorded a double-double to lead the Patriots with 19 points and a dozen rebounds they won their first sectional crown since 2013.
“All four years we’ve been trying to get into this championship game and beat Northeastern,” Donovan said. “We worked hard all the way up to this point. We deserve this win.”
The victory puts the Patriots (20-6) in next Saturday’s regional at Greenfield-Central against Indianapolis Scecina (17-9) at 10 a.m.
The Crusaders beat Heritage Christian 54-47 in the championship affair at the Speedway Sectional.
Shenandoah (21-4) and Cloverdale (20-6) meet in the other semifinal at noon. The regional championship contest is scheduled to get underway at 8 p.m.
The sectional title was the sixth for the Patriots, who also won in 1976, 1977, 1979, 2012 and 2013.
In Control Early
Union County scored the first seven points of Saturday’s game and eventually led 7-3 in a defensive battle during the first period.
“We take pride in stopping people,” Moses said of his team’s stifling defense.
As the second quarter began, the game would never be that close again as the Patriots worked their way to a 25-11 advantage by the intermission.
“Stay on them,” said Moses of his message to the Patriots. “Northeastern is too good of a team. We respect their program so much and we know what they are capable of doing.”
But it just didn’t happen for the Knights, who finish the season at 15-11.
“They played hungry, which is what I was worried about,” Northeastern Head Coach Brent Ross said referring to the Knights regular season 65-47 win over Union County. “They had more energy and they played at a higher level than what we did.”
Moses agreed that loss to Northeastern helped the Patriots, who have won six in a row since falling to the Knights on Feb. 9.
“That was fuel for us,” the Patriot leader said. “They gave it to us on their own floor. (We) dug in deeper because they knew they didn’t want to feel that way again.”
Donovan had a simple point of view of the situation.
“We’ve gotten better since then,” the senior said. “They hit last time and we didn’t. This time we hit.”
The Patriots hit so much that they led the four-time defending sectional champs 41-13 by the end of the third stanza.
“It was our team effort and all of us working together,” Donovan said.
Cam Sanford and Preston Scott added nine points apiece for the Patriots, while Mason Miller finished with eight points.
Carter Lumpkin and Alex Reynolds led the Knights with six points each with Freeman Brou tossing in five points.
“They packed in the zone and they weren’t going to let Freeman beat them,” Ross said. “We just couldn’t get a shot to fall and it just kind of snowballed.”
“They deserved to win,” Ross continued. “They played great defense. I give them all of the credit. Sometimes it just doesn’t go your way.”
For Brou and Reynolds, it was the final game in their high school careers.
“I’m proud of them,” Ross said. “We won 15 games. They were part of something and sometimes the outcome is not the way you want it.”