Brian Hagberg
RUSSELL, Pa. – An 8-0 run to start the third quarter doubled the lead and Eisenhower continued to pull away in the second half in an 81-52 win over visiting Titusville.
Rewatch the game:
The Knights held a 36-28 halftime advantage and the third-quarter run pushed the lead to 44-28. Eisenhower outscored Titusville 23-9 in the quarter to take a 22-point lead into the fourth. Five players scored in double figures for the Knights, with three scoring 15 or more points.
Gavin Lindemuth had a team-high 17 points, while Austin Hanson and Kris Bunk each had 15 points. Kyler Black had 12 points and Derek Guiher added 10.
“Huge credit to my teammates,” Hanson said during the Cole Orthodontic Associates postgame interview. “I would not have been able to do any of that without their ability to drive and kick to me. Then me being able to knock down the shots.”
See Hanson’s full Cole Orthodontic Associates interview:
While Eisenhower was scoring, the Knights’ defense held one of District 10’s top scorers in check early in the game.
Titusville’s Isaiah Colon came into the game averaging more than 25 points per game, and while he finished with a game-high 23, he was held to just a single point in the first quarter and eight for the first half.
“We played great help side defense,” Hanson said. “We know he’s a great player so you always gotta be watching him, seeing where he’s going, keeping an eye on him, and not letting him touch the ball.”
Eisenhower jumped out to a 12-2 lead to start the game and led by as many as 14 late in the first quarter. With two minutes left in the second quarter, the Knights led 36-20.
Titusville closed out the half with an 8-0 run to trim the deficit to 36-28. That was as close as the Rockets would get for the rest of the game.
Colon was the only Rocket to reach double figures, though David Leonard and Devon Kurschinske finished with eight points.
