BUNKER HILL — The monkey’s off Eastern’s back.
That statement was echoed from Eastern boys basketball coach Duane Keisling as the Comets fought off a late Maconaquah charge for a hard-fought 66-58 Mid-Indiana conference win here Friday night.
The “monkey” was in the form of a four-game Comet losing streak against the Braves. The last two meetings were close losses — 55-54 and 73-70 — but this time the Comets got the upper hand. The win also ended a 11-game road losing streak in MIC play that dated back to the 2004-05 season.
With the win, Eastern improved to 5-3 overall and 1-2 in conference play, while Maconaquah dropped to 2-6 and 0-1.
“This was a big win for our program,” Keisling said. “It’s been a couple of years since we have been able to beat Maconaquah and kids deserved [the win].”
Eastern opened the first quarter looking like a team that was well rested. Not competing in three weeks due to the holiday break, the Comets seemed to have the fresher legs. Eastern opened a 15-9 lead in the first quarter on a jumper by Jonathan Keith, but the Braves responded as reserve forward Nathan Shinn connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game at 15 with 1:40 left. Eastern guard Brandon Hainlen hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Comets a 21-20 lead through one quarter.
The second quarter saw the Comets open up offensively, outscoring the host Braves 17-6 to take a commanding 38-26 lead heading into halftime.
The Braves had no thoughts of going away however. Coach Luke Zartman employed a full-court press and forced six turnovers leading to eight Maconaquah points. The press helped Maconaquah get right back in the game and it was Brave guard Brennan Dexter’s jumper that tied the game at 50 heading into the fourth.
“I was really proud of how our kids came out after halftime and got us back in the game,” Zartman said. “We had some mental mistakes, but we found away to get back into the game.
Maconaquah took its first lead at 56-53 as guard Curtis Hyde hit a deep 3-pointer with 4:50 left in the game. Hyde fueled the Braves’ comeback in the third quarter scoring 11 points and the Braves looked to be in business.
That’s when Hainlen took over.
Hainlen accounted for eight of the last 10 Eastern points of the over the last 3:30, helping the Comets pull out the win.
“I give our kids a lot of credit, we could have easily lost our composure and folded,” Keisling said. “I think defensively, we forced them out of the 3-point shot and we found a way to win.”
The Braves shot 22 times from 3-point range, which was right on their average of 23, however they only connected on only six.
Eastern was led by Hainlen who finished with a career-high 17, while Wes Horner and Steve Boomershine finished with 15 and 10 each.
Hyde led the Braves with 14 points, while Nick George and David Carter added 11 each.
Sports
HOOPS: Eastern ends streaks at Maconaquah
Comets rally past Braves for fifth win
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Eastern netters fall to defending state champions
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Hursh silences Comets
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Kokomo withstands Eastern’s challenge to win boys track sectional
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