Hornets Sting Mid Buchanan in a Close One
The Mid Buchanan Dragons made nine 3-pointers, but they fell one short as the Hamilton Hornets came away with a 3 point KCI road victory at Faucett last Friday night.
Penney High trailed 7-0 early, but found their mark soon enough to out score the Dragons 22-11 in the first 8 minutes, thanks in big part to 13 points by Latroy Harper. Hamilton was able to extend their lead by 1, ending the first half up 31-19. Mid Buch closed the deficit by the end of the 3rd period, trailing 49-42 entering the final quarter. The Dragons would take the lead 51 to 49 mid way through the period, but they wouldn't score the rest of the game. Cale Whitt would sink 2 free throws with 2:19 left to play to tie the score at 51. Harper made another free shot with 22 seconds on the clock to give Penney a 52-51 score. Latroy would steal the ball and pass it to Jaran Richman who was fouled with 8.9 seconds left in the game. Richman would hit both free throws for a 54-51 Hornet lead. A last attempt to tie the score from beyond the arc by Mid Buch failed giving Penney a hard fought conference win. All 5 of Hamilton's points in the 4th quarter came from the charity stripe.
Harper led all scorers with 29 points, including five 3-pointers in nine attempts, led the team in steals with 4 and blocks with 2, plus 7 rebounds, and 1 assist. Richman chipped in 11, including 5 of 5 free throws, grabbed 4 rebounds, assisted on 2 baskets, and took a charge. Andy Ernat and Logan Potts came off the bench to add 6 and 4 points, respectively. Ernat secured a team leading 8 rebounds and took a charge. Potts hit the boards for 6 rebounds, blocked a shot and assisted on 1 bucket. Cale Whitt and Derek Dixon each scored 2. Whitt was credited with 2 rebounds, while Dixon snared 3 boards, stole the ball twice and assisted on 1 basket. Thane Ward also saw action for the Hornets. Ryan Carpenter and Hunter Scaggs led the Dragons with 18 and 11. Coach Rick Ross's Hornets made 5 of 12 beyond the arc, 13 of 19 free shots, were called for 14 fouls, recorded 13 offensive rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocked shots, 6 steals, and turned the ball over 11 times. Mid Buchanan hit nine 3-pointers, 4 of 14 free throws, and were whistled for 15 fouls.
Penney will play their final KCI Conference game at West Platte this Tuesday, and end the regular season with a home game against the Trenton Bulldogs this Thursday.
