HAGERSTOWN, Ind. – Friday’s semifinals in the Class 2A boys basketball sectional are set after Union County and Hagerstown both survived first round games on Tuesday night to advance.
Defense was the key for the victors as Union County defeated Centerville 38-25 and Hagerstown won 65-50 over Winchester.
“I thought we did a good job on the defensive end of the floor,” Union County coach Mark Detweiler said. “If you defend, you have a chance every night.”
Union County (12-12) plays Lincoln (14-7) at 6 p.m., while the Tigers (17-7) meet fourth-ranked Northeastern (19-5) in the second contest. The championship game is slated for Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
“Our guys played with a lot of poise,” Detweiler said. “We drilled on kicking guys off better and making sure we were covering things. We closed down gaps because they can really hurt you.”
The Patriots led 12-6 after the first period and from that point they were able to hold off the Bulldogs as Union County was on top 19-13 at halftime and 26-20 at the end of the third.
Logan Sanford led Union County with 15 points. Mason Miller finished with eight points. Cameron Donovan and Derek Dearth both tossed in six.
For Centerville (13-10), Justin DuPree led the way with eight points. Michael Brewer had seven and Matt Stamper six.
Tigers Take Control
Leading 34-28 at the intermission, Hagerstown took control of the contest in the third quarter as the Tigers ended with a 49-38 advantage.
“I see a totally different team on defense when we are scoring,” Hagerstown coach Bobby Jones said. “Energy, enthusiasm and everybody is moving when the ball moves.”
“The defense for most of the night was pretty good except for right there before the end,” Jones added. “We’ve got to tighten our “D” up. That may come back to haunt us.”
Jalen Oliver led the Tigers with 24 points, while Isaiah Neal finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. Jared Andis tossed in 11 points.
“We did a better job of attacking the basket,” Jones said. “It was a good team effort. We’ve got a tough task ahead of us. Northeastern is a very good basketball team.
Winchester (11-11) was led by Austin Lawrence, who had 15 points. Boo Enis and Michael Georgi both added 13 points with Georgi grabbing a game-high eight rebounds.
Box score
UNION COUNTY (12-12) – Cameron Sanford 0 1-2 1, Cameron Donovan 3 0-0 6, Mason Miller 3 0-0 8, Logan Sanford 5 3-4 15, Derek Dearth 3 0-0 6, Preston Scott 0 2-2 2, Mook Shepler 0 0-0 0, Joey Weller 0 0-0 0, Trevor Rieboldt 0 0-0 0, Tyler Osborne 0 0-0 0, Luke Haas 0 0-0 0, Leighton Schulte 0 0-0 0. Team – 14 6-8 38.
CENTERVILLE (13-10) – Matt Stamper 2 0-0 6, Alex Brandon 1 0-0 2, Justin DuPree 4 0-0 8, Michael Brewer 2 1-2 7, Kody Witham 0 0-0 0, Myles Cunningham 0 0-0 0, Dante Torres 1 0-0 2, Blake Shook 0 0-0 0, Nolan Witte 0 0-0 0, Tommy Fordonski 0 0-0 0, Dalton Stevens 0 0-0 0. Team – 10 1-2 25.
Union County 12 19 26 38
Centerville 6 13 20 25
3-pointers – Union County 4 (Miller 2, L. Sanford 2), Centerville 4 (Stamper 2, Brewer 2). Rebounds – Union County 29 (Dononan 7), Centerville 26 (Brandon 7, DuPree 7). Turnovers – Union County 10, Centerville 10. Fouls – Union County 10, Centerville 13. Fouled out – Torres.
Box score
WINCHESTER (11-11) – Boo Enis 5 2-2 13, Michael Georgi 4 5-8 13, Jordan Key 0 0-0 0, Isaiah Jordan-Miller 2 1-1 5, Austin Lawrence 5 2-3 15, Lukas Mills 0 1-2 1, Aaron Wallace 0 0-0 0, Justin McAllister 1 0-0 3, Josh Lowe 0 0-0 0, Trey Graft 0 0-0 0. Team – 17 11-16 50.
HAGERSTOWN (17-7) – Jared Andis 3 2-3 11, Trent Weiss 0 0-1 0, Isaiah Neal 7 3-5 17, Jalen Oliver 10 0-0 24, Evan Hoover 3 0-0 7, Trey Kelley 1 2-2 5, Matt Parson 0 0-2 0, Drew Pyle 0 0-0 0, Silas Parsons 0 1-2 0, Caleb Neal 0 0-0 0, Dustin Allen 0 0-0 0, Mason Hicks 0 0-0 0. Team – 24 8-15 65.
Winchester 13 28 38 50
Hagerstown 8 34 49 65
3-pointers – Winchester 5 (Lawrence 3, Enis, McAllister), Hagerstown 9 (Oliver 4, Andis 3, Hoover, Kelley). Rebounds – Winchester 28 (Georgi 8), Hagerstown 22 (I. Neal 7). Turnovers – Winchester 11, Hagerstown 6. Fouls – Winchester 18, Hagerstown 17. Fouled out – Georgi, Weiss.