By Carl Holcomb
Moorefield Examiner
A tail of two cats: Class A No. 6 East Hardy Boys Basketball grabbed the Class A No. 5 Wildcats by the tail for a swift 17-nil entrapment commencing the game in the Baker Den en route to a 57-28 declawing.
It was a full Den as the girls teams commenced this doubleheader and the noise was electrifying.
The Cougars rattled off five perimeter buckets during the opening run and finished with nine total to slash Pendleton County.
East Hardy (11-4) was led in scoring by Evan Hamilton with 20 points including four trifectas, followed by twin brother Mason Hamilton with 18 points and two beyond-the-arc baskets.
Defensively, the Cougars crafty defense kept Pendleton County stumbling with no player getting into single digits.
The Wildcats (11-4) were paced by Travis Owens with 8 markers and Chase Owens notched 7 points.
After turnovers in both directions, East Hardy’s Gideon Good blocked a shot and the packed house went wild.
Evan Hamilton drilled a 3-pointer and the Cougars student section was on their feet on that initial lead.
Evan Hamilton swiped the ball, but missed the ensuing layup with Joseph Price snatching the carom keeping play alive and dishing out to Mason Hamilton knocking down a trey for a 6-nil edge at 5:13.
The Cougars defense was relentless as Evan Hamilton stole the ball and passed to Mason Hamilton, who reciprocated with Price for a jumper.
The Wildcats hit the rim, then Evan Hamilton nailed a perimeter shot to extend the lead to 11-0 at 3:45.
East Hardy’s full court press wreaked havoc as Trevor Roof intercepted a pass and located Evan Hamilton for another 3-pointer making it 14-0.
Pendleton County drew iron twice, then Evan Hamilton and Roof created a turnover on a trap leading to Evan Hamilton’s beyond-the-arc basket capping the 17-0 run at 2:25.
The Wildcats closed out the first period on a 7-0 run as Travis Owens hit a jumper, then the Cougars hit the rim twice.
A steal by East Hardy’s Aubrey McCullough led to two more missed shots.
Chase Owens recorded an old-fashioned three-point play for the Wildcats with 27 seconds left.
Travis Owens stole the ball and connected with Jaydon Hess for a long range buzzer beating jumper, 17-7.
“We came out fired up and ready to play tonight. We got some open looks and were able to knock them downed that put a lot of pressure on them. I got here and didn’t have a place to park, so I knew this was going to be a big one tonight,” East Hardy Boys Basketball coach Chris Hahn commented.
“The crowd was real energetic and loud, we gave them something to cheer for today. Chase Owens is as good as it gets offensively, so we knew to respect him. We just tried to give him the respect he deserved and basically chased him around the court. All the guys did a good job with the scouting report and knew each player and took it personal. When you hold a team to 28 points, that’s incredible. [Hamilton twins] They are seniors now and they play so well together. They complement each other. They spread the floor and make good decisions and on defense they wreak havoc. They are peaking at the right time this season. Pendleton County was ranked ahead of us, so this was a good regional win.”
Pendleton County’s lone quarter on the plus side scoring was the second frame outscoring the Cougars 10-8 to slice the deficit to 25-17 at halftime.
Ty Heavner led Pendleton County with six points in the second period.
Good paced the Cougars with three markers in that frame.
There were a combined 10 errant shots, 9 turnovers and 9 fouls in the second period as the pace slowed down.
East Hardy turned up the heat again in the third period garnering a 23-7 advantage to double up on the Wildcats 48-24 entering the final stanza.
Starting the third period with some fireworks exciting the crowd was Good with a rim rocker, then the Cougars forced a turnover with Joseph Price scoring and seconds later making a steal which would eventually result in a 3-pointer by Mason Hamilton.
Evan Hamilton made a leaping save for a steal, then the Cougars netted a jumper by Mason Hamilton.
Good swatted the ball into the student section the noise rocked the Den.
The Wildcats struggled to maintain control under pressure and went beyond mid-court for a turnover, then East Hardy was called for a flying elbow.
The Wildcats sandwiched two bricks around a steal by Hess.
Good was fouled on a rebound and made both markers on the line at 4:29, 36-17.
A full minute passed with a block and snatch by Levi Price and two more Wildcats blunders, but the Cougars would come up empty thrice.
A steal by Mason Hamilton after making one free throw resulted in a 3-pointer by Evan Hamilton for a 40-17 lead.
Hess knocked down a 3-pointer, then a double foul occurred prior to a response at the arch by McCullough for a 43-22 lead with two minutes left in the third period.
Opening the first two minutes of the fourth period, Pendleton County’s Chase Owens made two jumpers surrounding a shot by Good.
The Cougars slowed the tempo and Mason Hamilton added seven free throws down the stretch to help seal the win, while Good and Levi Price garnered ball smashing denials.
The Cougars triumphed in this battle of the cats 57-28 and will have a rematch in Franklin on February 23.
East Hardy visited Paw Paw on Monday and travels to Hampshire tonight before returning home for senior night this Friday against Northern Garrett.
