MIDDLETOWN — Already with a comfortable 22-point halftime lead, Eastern Hancock head coach Aaron Spaulding challenged his team to keep their foot on the gas in Friday’s Class 2A Sectional 41 semifinal game against Union County at Shenandoah High School.
It was a March evening in Middletown, but in terms of putting foot on gas, it was like a May afternoon at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Royals would not be denied, nor challenged, in getting their first trip to a sectional championship game since 2012.
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Leading by as much as 37 points in the second half, Eastern Hancock stomped Union County 84-56 earning a trip to today’s 7:30 p.m. championship game against Shenandoah, on the Raiders home floor.
Shenandoah (23-3), ranked No. 2 in the The Associated Press Class 2A poll, beat No. 10 Northeastern, 68-39, in Friday’s second semifinal game.
“(Coach Spaulding’s) halftime speech was to keep pushing,” Eastern Hancock senior Cameron Wise said. “The score starts over 0-0. It’s a new half. Play the second half like you played the first and continue shooting the ball.”
After hitting 10 of 15 field goal attempts (the Royals missed their first two shots of the period) in the second quarter, Eastern Hancock’s seven-point first-quarter lead ballooned to 22, outscoring Union County 27-12 to take a 44-22 halftime lead.
In the first half, the Royals made 8 of 16 3-pointers and got 3’s from five different players.
In the third quarter, the Royals went 6 of 6 from behind the 3-point line, again hitting 10 of 15 overall from the field.
For the game, five different players scored in double figures and another had eight. Six different players hit treys.
Jacob Spaulding, who got the Royals rolling early with 10 first-quarter points, led the way with 15.
Off the bench, Wise had 14, one point shy of his career high set in a regular season win over Union (Modoc) earlier this season. He had 12 points, including two 3s in the second quarter.
Junior Landon O’Neal had 14 points. He hit two 3s that were near the big ‘S’ logo at center court.
Senior Drew White tied his career high with 13 points, which he had in a regular season game against Union County on Jan. 30. White scored 11 points in the third quarter.
Cole Rainbolt added 10 and Silas Spaulding scored eight. Nine different players scored.
“We had five in double figures and one with eight, that’s pretty hard to guard,” coach Spaulding said. “When you only have to concentrate on one or two people it’s a lot easier.”
For the game, the Royals went 14-of-29 (48.3 percent) from 3-point land. It was the 12th time this season the Royals have had double figures in 3-point makes. They hit 18 against Hauser and 15 versus Lapel. The 14 successful shots tied for third most in game.
Coach Spaulding knows his club can shoot it, but on Friday, he was just as happy or happier with how his team rebounded. They won the battle of the boards 33-19. White, Wise and Cyrus Burton each had five.
It wasn’t expected to be this easy.
The two teams played Jan. 30 at Eastern Hancock. The Royals won 71-59, but Union County led 21-15 after the first quarter. The game was tied, 35-35, at halftime.
On Friday, the Royals made sure they would not need a second-half surge to beat the Patriots.
“We knew last time we played them we came out flat-footed and with not a lot of energy,” White said. “We knew we had to step it up from last time.
It was energy from the start. Less than two minutes into the game, the Royals led 7-0.
“We had a lot of energy from the start. We came out and gave it our all knowing that it could have been some of our last games ever played,” White said. “I, for sure, came out and thought this could be the last day. None of us wanted this to be our last game of the season or for me and Cam.”
“I tell the guys all the time it’s amazing how the ball goes in the basket more when you’re playing energetic and get after it,” coach Spaulding added. “I thought that’s what we did tonight, played with energy from the get-go and did some nice things offensively and defensively. I was most pleased with how we rebounded.”
Union County was led by Keaghan Coyle with 22. Alex Van Winkle had 12.
The Royals know they will have to come back tonight with that same kind of determination. They lost 69-30 at Shenandoah on Jan. 23.
Eastern Hancock improved to 19-5 with the win. The 19 wins are the most for the program since winning 20 games in the 2002-03 season. They are looking for their first sectional title since 2008.
“I’m thrilled with the effort (Friday),” coach Spaulding said. “The first thing I told them was the job’s not done. All we have done so far is hold chalk. We’ve beaten the people we’re supposed to beat. (Saturday) we’re going to be the underdog so we’ll see how we handle that role.”
