Patriots go 2-1 on the week, defeating Clovers, Mustangs

Amanda York, Evening World
·4 min read

The Owen Valley boys' basketball team had a very eventful week, ending with a record of 2-1, including come from behind wins over both Cloverdale and Edgewood.

The Patriots took on the Clovers early last week, earning a 58-55 win.

OV led 13-12 after one quarter of play, but the Clovers rallied back in the second frame to lead 29-22 at halftime. The Patriots started to come back in the third, outscoring the Clovers 14-10 to trail by just three heading into the final frame. The two teams battled back and forth, with the Clovers leading by one late in the game. Sophomore Caden Gonser hit a three point basket and was fouled with just seven-tenths of a second left in the game. Gonser hit the ensuring free throw to give OV the three point win.

Zack Hamilton led OV in scoring with 19 points, followed by Caden Gonser with 16, Eli Wood 14, Cayden Paquette seven and Nate Goss two.

Eli Wood glides to the basket for two of his 20 points Friday night.
Eli Wood glides to the basket for two of his 20 points Friday night.

On Friday night, Owen Valley welcomed Edgewood to Patriot Hall where again, the Patriots found themselves trailing much of the game.

The Mustangs seemingly could not miss, especially from long range, hitting five from beyond the arc.

Edgewood led 13-9 after one quarter of play and 37-26 at the halftime buzzer. The Patriots started coming back in the third, outscoring the Mustangs 22-16. Edgewood led 53-48 to begin the fourth quarter.

In the fourth, the two teams continued to battle. The Patriots found themselves in the lead when Mustang guard Caden Huttenlocker fouled out of the game with just under four minutes remaining. With just 30 second left on the clock, the Patriots led 65-64 when senior guard Zack Hamilton was fouled intentionally. Hamilton stepped to the line, calm and collected and knocked down the foul shots, to give OV a 67-64 lead. The Mustangs quickly scored, and again fouled intentionally, this time sending Cayden Paquette to the line with just 13.9 ticks on the clock. Paquette knocked down his two from the charity stripe, again giving OV a three-point lead. After a timeout, the Mustangs took the floor and hoisted up a three from the left wing which was short, hitting the outside of the rim. Edgewood threw up another shot which went long and into the hands of another Mustang who connected with a two at the buzzer. In was not enough however and the Patriot faithful stormed the floor as Owen Valley defeated their rival, 69-68.

The aftermath... Eli Wood pumps his fist, knowing that the Mustangs leading scorer, Caden Huttenlocker, fouled out of the game with four minutes left. Huttenlocker is helped off the floor while his teammates grimace, knowing what his fifth foul means.
The aftermath... Eli Wood pumps his fist, knowing that the Mustangs leading scorer, Caden Huttenlocker, fouled out of the game with four minutes left. Huttenlocker is helped off the floor while his teammates grimace, knowing what his fifth foul means.

"Those wins are a blast," OV head coach Jon Neill said after the game. "In the first half, you always want to do some of the things better that we struggled with. But, I'm extremely proud of how our guys responded after halftime. I think we've got good shooters and we showed that we can shoot it well in the second half. Another guy that I can't say enough about tonight is Dylan Herbert. We had some conversations at halftime to make sure he understood what his role and job was and he did a phenomenal job in the second half. We don't win that game without him. I can't say enough about the way he played in the second half."

Herbert only contributed one point in the scorebook, but was an all over the floor, collecting eight rebounds, one assist, two deflections and a steal while playing excellent defense.

OV senior Zack Hamilton drives to the hoop for two.
OV senior Zack Hamilton drives to the hoop for two.

The Patriots had three in double figures in scoring with Hamilton leading the way with 22 points. Wood and Paquette each had 20 points while Gonser finished with five, Goss one and Herbert one.

Coming off the huge win Friday night, the Patriots had to travel to Northview Saturday to take on the host Knights, falling 73-46.

"After a hugely emotional win on Friday, there was always a worry of a letdown on Saturday. I didn't feel like we had that early, but felt like we eventually hit a wall," Coach Neill said. "We lead 23-21 with around three minutes to go in the first half. From that point on it felt like we were done physically, mentally and emotionally. That is absolutely understandable with what out team has dealt with. Coming off of a week where we couldn't practice, then winning on a buzzer beater Tuesday, and a come from behind win over edgewood on Friday. We saw some good things Saturday, and learned lessons about what it takes to win three in a week. We will learn lessons from a challenging week like this to help us prepare for the sectional."

Cayden Paquette drives past Edgewood's Zach Sims for the bucket.
Cayden Paquette drives past Edgewood's Zach Sims for the bucket.

Paquette led OV in scoring with 13, followed by Wood and Hamilton each with eight, Rhett Heckman and Herbert finished with five points each, Goss had four and Drew Kristoff three.

The Patriots will travel to North Putnam on Friday for a junior varsity/varsity doubleheader. JV starts at 6 p.m. with varsity to follow. OV will turn around and travel to Southmont on Friday for another JV/varsity doubleheader, beginning at 6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Evening World: Patriots go 2-1 on the week, defeating Clovers, Mustangs