The anticipated showdown between Red Bank and East Hamilton was all it was hyped up to be. The two squads met Friday night in Susan Ingram Thurman gymnasium and battled for the top spot in District 6-AAA. In a game of runs, deep balls, and defense before the Lions emerged victorious, 64-53.
Right from the jump, it was obvious Red Bank had nothing but a “W” in mind..
The Lions came out energized and hopped out to an 8-0 lead in the first two minutes to force an East Hamilton timeout.
Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, that timeout did nothing and the Red Bank squad continued to physically dominate them for almost the entirety of the first quarter. The Lions’ defense was suffocating, and they forced East Hamilton into all the quick, tough shots that they wanted.
With 30 seconds left, Red Bank held a dominant 15-1 lead, but two huge threes by Colby Mason in the final two East Hamilton possessions made it a game at15-7.
In the second period, the Canes settled down on offense and did more of what they wanted to, but the Lions’ energy was still electric. Haden Spurgeon made his impact felt as he locked up on defense and let it fly from deep. Like most games, Reco Trimble was the main factor as he was everywhere on both ends and had a whopping 17 points at the half. His elite skill to go along with his motor made him the obvious best player on the court at all times. His efforts put the halftime score at 31-17 or Trimble 17, East Hamilton 17.
“We have had this game circled on our calendar since they forfeited. We have been ready since then to play them. I came out ready to go. This is my last year, so I had to give everything I got,” said Trimble
After the break, both offenses came out on fire, a trend that would hold for the rest of the quarter. In the first minute and a half alone, Spurgeon hit two threes for Red Bank and the East Hamilton guards matched them with two of their own. The quarter was almost a three-point contest and the teams traded deep range shots back and forth. In a game as high-paced, as this one was, the teams were certain to go on runs and East Hamilton finally did. They cut the lead to just 5 points with three minutes left but were unable to get it any lower as Red Bank fought back with their own run. In a quarter when the Hurricanes did almost all they could, they trailed 37-50 at the end of three. It was a game of runs, but every East Hamilton run was in catch-up mode, while the Red Bank runs were to cushion their lead.
To start the fourth, the game flipped as Red Bank started to slow down their offensive possessions. They looked as if they were trying to run the clock, and East Hamilton, who was in desperation mode took advantage of that. Instead of pushing out every rebound to try to get fast breaks, Red Bank walked it up the cour and the Canes successfully began trapping on defense.
With just four minutes left, a Cade Pendleton three followed by a steal and layup cut the Red Bank lead to just five, and all the momentum was with the Hurricanes. Once again though, after head coach Nick Fike called a timeout, the Lions renewed their earlier maturity and poise. The lead would never get lower as Red Bank matched every basket and then some the rest of the way. A huge Kaleb Sewell and one layup with a minute left to make the lead 10 was the final nail in the coffin as Red Bank walked away at the top of district 6-AAA, 64-53.
“I told them, good teams go on runs. We have to withstand those runs and then counter those runs. We knew they would do that. I had to call a time out and say ‘Hey, it’s time to come together. This is the most important time.’ And we did that,” said Fike.
At the top of the standings now, Red Bank seems poised to take home the District 6-AAA crown, a crown they couldn’t get without this win tonight.
We’ve been wanting this one. This group is not one you have to tell much to. They enjoy playing with each other. They play hard for each other. They are on a mission like they have something to prove. They knew if we came out and took the first few swings that we could get this one, and we did,” said Fike.
Red Bank and East Hamilton have two and three district games remaining, respectively. If the two finish as they should, they will most certainly see each other again come tournament time.
East Hamilton Girls 85, Red Bank 13: In the first contest of the night, East Hamilton beat Red Bank in convincing fashion, 85-13. East Hamilton was clearly bigger, stronger, faster, and more skilled than Red Bank.
The East Hamilton starters are a talented bunch and had they played even their regular minutes, they would have won by an even larger margin.
The Lady Canes were impressive. Their defense was smothering, and they forced turnovers and bad shots in almost every possession. On the glass, especially the offensive glass, they were dominant. Early on the Lady Hurricanes missed tons of easy looks, however, all of their misses turned into offensive boards and those into layups.
McKenna Hayes was dominant on the glass and finished with a game-high 21 points. Her running mate, freshman point guard Christal Collins ran the show with the ball in her hands. She had only 12 points, but like every time she plays, her impact on the offensive end was much greater than individual points. Etaliah Laboo added 16 and Niya McGhee had 14 for the Lady Canes.
East Hamilton improved to 13-9 and 9-0 in district play.
BOYS SUMMARY
EAST HAMILTON 7 10 20 16 - 53
RED BANK 15 16 19 14 - 64
EAST HAMILTON (53) – Colby Mason 14, Cade Pendleton 11, Ashton Munson 10, Bulland 7, Laboo 5, Harris 4, Griffin 2.
RED BANK (64) – Reco Trimble 19, Haden Spurgeon 15, Smith 9, Sewell 9, Clay 5, Salazar 4, Alex 2, Kendrick 1.
3-POINT GOALS: East Hamilton 9 (Mason 4, Munson 2, Pendleton 2, Harris); Red Bank 11 (Spurgeon 4, Trimble 3, Sewell 2, Smith, Clay).
GIRLS SUMMARY
EAST HAMILTON 25 19 23 18 - 85
RED BANK 4 1 8 0 - 13
EAST HAMILTON (83) – McKenna Hayes 21, Etaliah LaBoo 16, Niya McGhee 14, Christal Collins 12, Crittenden 2, Morgan Bone 8, A. Sutton 5, Calhoun 4, Moore 2, HuffakerT. Sutton 1, Rickerd, Kelman.
RED BANK (13) – Guye 6, Loher 3, Ervin 2, Wade 2.
3-POINT GOALS: East Hamilton 4 (Collins 2, McGhee, Calhoun); Red Bank 3 ( Guye 2, Loher).
(Contact Jack Gold at joldj2002@yahoo.com)