Hunter Ferris
Bret Templin
HAGERSTOWN, Ind. – It may have taken longer than Hagerstown boys basketball team wanted, but the host Tigers finally got past Lincoln on Tuesday night as they advanced to the Class 2A sectional semifinals with a 45-28 win over the Golden Eagles.
The Tigers (16-8) face Centerville (6-14) in Friday’s opener.
On Tuesday, defense made the difference for the Tigers as they beat Lincoln for the second time this season.
“We defended, rebounded and got the thing going up and down a little bit and probably wore them out a little,” Hagerstown Head Coach Bobby Jones said. “It was a good grind it out win.”
Hagerstown led 11-4 after one period and then 24-12 at halftime before being on top 35-19 heading into the final stanza.
“Late in the game, we started to drive the ball more,” Jones said. “I just did feel like our guys were driving the ball. We were kind of passive on the offensive end.”
That changed in the last quarter.
“It was just a matter of attacking on offense,” Jones said. “I felt like for three quarters, we didn’t do a very good job of attacking on offense. To Lincoln’s credit, they did a really good job of guarding us.”
Lincoln Head Coach Rodney Klein was pleased with his team’s ability to slow down the Tigers on offense.
“Defensively, we were solid tonight,” Klein said.
At the other end of the floor however, the Golden Eagles couldn’t get the ball in the basket.
“We just didn’t make shots,” Klein said. “We had some point-blank, wide-open looks in the first half.”
Hunter Ferris led Lincoln with a game-high 14 points as the Golden Eagles finish the season at 8-14.
Hagerstown also had just one player in double digits with Bret Templin tossing in 11 points. Nate Combs and Jalen Oliver both finished with nine points.
Box Score
HAGERSTOWN (16-8) – Mason Stitt 1 0-0 2, Jared Andis 2 0-0 6, Bret Templin 3 4-5 11, Isaiah Neal 3 2-2 8, Nate Combs 4 0-0 9, Jalen Oliver 4 1-2 9, Evan Hoover 0 0-0 0, Drew Pyle 0 0-0 0, Jordan Auker 0 0-0 0, Trent Weiss 0 0-0 0, Dylan Napier 0 0-0 0, Caleb Neal 0 0-0 0. Team – 17 7-9 45.
LINCOLN (8-14) – Ben Bertsch 0 1-4 1, Caleb Craig 1 0-0 3, Chase Southerland 0 3-4 3, Hunter Ferris 3 7-9 14, Garrett Pumphrey 0 2-4 2, Austin Wampler 0 0-0 0, Austin Lanich 0 0-0 0, Skyler McCray 0 0-0 0, Bryant Hilbert 0 0-0 0, Justin Black 0 2-2 2, Luke Isaacs 1 0-0 3, Peyton Renforth 0 0-0 0. Team 5 15-23 28.
Hagerstown 11 24 35 45
Lincoln 4 12 19 28
3-pointers – Hagerstown 4 (Andis 2, Templin 1, Combs 1), Lincoln 3 (Craig 1, Ferris 1, Isaacs 1). Rebounds – Hagerstown 32 (Neal 8, Combs 8), Lincoln 17 (Pumphrey 5). Turnovers – Hagerstown 12, Lincoln 17. Fouls – Hagerstown 18, Lincoln 11.