Hamilton Heights Middle School Athletics

On Saturday morning, the 8th grade boys basketball team took to the road for their first game of the season against the Lebanon Tigers. The Huskies missed some open shots to start the game, but picked up the defensive pressure and created some easy baskets with turnovers. The visitors jumped out to a first quarter lead of 14 – 6. The Dawgs continued with the full court pressure defense in the second period and cruised to a halftime lead of 29 – 8. The Huskies came out of the break with more defensive pressure and put the game away with a 14 – 5 run in the third quarter. The final score was Hamilton Heights 51 – Lebanon Tigers 20. It was a total team effort with 11 players making a contribution to the road win. The Dawgs were led offensively by Nolan Kakasuleff and Cooper Ballenger. Grayson Pickering played an outstanding floor game with defensive pressure and finding open teammates for easy baskets. Carter Berndt was strong on the boards and made multiple hustle plays. In the B game, the Huskies got off to a slow start, but played solid defense and led 5 – 2 after the first quarter. The defensive pressure continued for the remainder of the game allowing the Huskies to hold the Tigers to only two points over the next three quarters. So, the Dawgs finished the game on a 34 – 2 to run away with a 39 – 4 win. Jace Hilton & Ryder Holt led the visitors offensively while Taylor Hartman scored his first basket in middle school. Great start to the season for the Huskies!