Hornets over Trenton for 3rd Time
The Hamilton Hornets played the Trenton Bulldogs for the 3rd time this season, and they could see each other again at the semi-finals of the District Tournament if both teams take care of business in the first round.
Although the results were the same in each of the three contests, all were decided in the final seconds. Latroy Harper scored 10 points in the opening quarter to lead Penney to a 19-11 advantage at the end of the first 8 minutes. The visitors closed the gap by halftime, trailing 29-26.
Early in the 3rd quarter, Trenton tied the score at 31, and eventually took the lead 33-31. Jaran Richman hit a 3-pointer putting Hamilton back up 34-33, but the Bulldogs would again take the lead 40-36 with 2:59 on the 3rd quarter clock. With 1:52 left, Richman made 2 free throws to tie the score at 40.
The Hornets took a 42-40 lead into the final quarter. Harper would steal the ball and lay it in for a 44-40 lead and 4:37 to go. With 3:11 remaining, Harper was fouled in the act of shooting, hitting both the field goal and the free throw for a 47-40 lead. Trenton would hit 3 free throws to cut the lead to 4 with 1:59 on the time piece. Latroy's free throw at the 1:38 mark upped the lead to 48-43. The Bulldogs scored their final 2 points of the game to reduce the lead to 48-45. With 1:06 to go, Richman made 2 free shots, giving the Hornets a 50-45 advantage. Cale Whitt hit a free throw, Derek Dixon made both of his free shot attempts, and Richman made 2 more free throws as Penney won a hard fought 55-45 non-conference victory.
Harper led all scorers with 22 points, including two 3-pointers and 2 of 3 free shots, a team leading 6 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 deflections, plus assisted on 1 basket and blocked 1 shot. Jaran Richman scored 19, including 3 treys and 6 of 6 charity shots, led the team with 3 assists and 2 blocked shots, rebounded the ball 4 times, deflected the ball once and took a charge. Derek Dixon made 3 of 4 free throws on the way to 7 points, and assisted on a made bucket. Whitt made 3 of 4 free throws for 3 points, and grabbed 3 rebounds. Logan Potts and Thane Ward each scored 2. Potts also secured 4 rebounds and dished out 1 assist. Wes Pratt was credited with 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 blocked shot and 1 deflection. Andy Ernat recorded 3 steals and 2 rebounds.
Connor Cotton, Spencer Harris, and Corbyn Guile scored all of the Bulldog points with 17, 14, and 14 respectively. Hamilton made five 3-pointers in 17 attempts, 14 of 17 free throws, stole the ball 8 times, handed out 8 assists, turned the ball over 13 times, and were called for 16 fouls. Trenton also made 5 treys, hit 10 of 14 free shots, and were whistled for 14 fouls.
Coach Rick Ross and his Hornets enter District play with a record of 20-5.