The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
On Tuesday, Jan. 15th, the La Harpe Eagles traveled to Sciota to play what could be their last basketball against their friends from Northwestern, as the two plan to co-op next season. The Eagles defeated the Huskies, 63-50, in a game that saw La Harpe take a big lead only to see Northwestern close to within four points with three minutes to play. La Harpe held on and pulled away with tough defense and hitting their free throws down the stretch. Justin Sickles led La Harpe with 19 points, with A.J. Huston and Jason Siegworth each tallying 16 points. Ben Hitz added 5 points, Kyle Duffie 3 points, Josh Phillips and Jason Apt each finish with 2 points to round out the scoring. Hittz led the Eagles with 12 rebounds, followed by Sickles and Huston with 5 each. Duffie, Sickles, and Huston each hit a 3-point basket. The Huskies were led in scoring by Tim Royer, who scored 21 points, including four from 3-point land. Chase DeCounter had 14, Kyle Hainline 6,Tyler Dihle 5, Steven Butterfield 3, and Matt Zaehringer 1.
In the JV game, both squads played a very tight ball game that was won on a three point shot with 3 seconds left by Brittian Daudelin. Trailing by 5 points with less than two minutes to play, the JV Eagles rallied for their first win of the season. Jason Poulter led all scorers with 21, including 5 three pointers, followed by Brittian Daudelin with 18 points and 4 three pointers. Chris McConnell added 8 points, Matt Swanson 7 points, and Brian Covert 1 point.
On Friday, Jan. 18th, the Eagles headed up north to take on Yorkwood and came away with an exciting come from behind 67-62 victory. Tailing by seven points with less than 3 minutes to play, the Eagles dug in and refused to lose. With excellent defense and great teamwork, the Eagles closed to within one point with less than a minute to play. Some great passing saw the ball kicked inside and then back out for a game leading 3 pointer, followed by another nicely executed series of passes that led to a lay-up and foul to put the game away.
Jensen Jones led the way with 23 points, including the big three pointer to put the game away. Kyle Duffie had 14 points and hit three crucial free throws in the 4th quarter. Jason Siegworth finished with 10 points, eight coming in the fourth period, A.J. Huston had 9 points, Justin Sickles 6 points, and Ben Hitz 5 points. Hitz also tallied 8 rebounds, while Siegworth, Duffie, and Sickles each had 7 boards. Grant James made some excellent passes and tallied 5 assists, as Duffie and Jones finished with 4 assists.
On Saturday, Jan. 19th, the Eagles had to again travel to Yorkwood for a first round game with the Golden Bears in the Bi-County Tournament. Trailing by as many as 13 points late into the third quarter, the Eagles rallied to send the game into overtime. With the Eagles leading by one point and playing great defense, the Golden Bears were helped out by a very questionable call at the buzzer to defeat La Harpe 68-67.
The Eagles were led in scoring by Jason Siegworth with 19, with Kyle Duffie adding 16. Jensen Jones had 13 points, Justin Sickles 8, Grant James 4, Ben Hitz 4, and A. J. Huston 3. Siegworth and Duffie pulled down 7 boards, with several other players pitching in with one, and Hitz tallying 5. The team had several nice passes and were led in assists by Grant James, who made a beautiful pass to Jensen Jones to put the Eagles ahead late in the game.
The Eagles have shown much improvement since the beginning of the season and have shown the ability to play with some of the best teams around, losing to Carthage earlier in the Hancock County Tournament in double overtime. A few break's here and there, and the Eagles could have won several close games this year. With continued hard work and dedication, the Eagles have a chance to be very competitive by the time regionals begin. Come out and support these fine young men and coaches Scott Bacon and Tim Lafferty.