HENDERSONVILLE - The lineup may have looked different, but the heart was there just the same. That heart for the game and for their teammates drove the Hendersonville Bearcats to the 65-58 win over East Lincoln in front of a packed home crowd Thursday night, in the second round of the NCHSAA 2A state playoffs.
Four Bearcats scored in double figures, a feature the team has been lacking in its last several games.
“These guys love each other, and they don’t want the run to end,” said HHS head coach Marvin Featherstone. “I’m proud of them. There was some ugliness, but in the playoffs you also have to have a little bit of luck.”
Alex Lemmens (14 points, eight rebounds), Joel Christner and Gavin Strickland knew they had to be a physical inside presence on both sides of the ball against East Lincoln’s size — especially 6’6 Justin Kuthan — and they delivered what was asked of them.
“Hats off to my bigs tonight. They played as tough as they could have, and they did an outstanding job,” Featherstone said of Lemmens, Christner and Strickland.
Kuthan, who averaged 20 points per game, was the only player on the court to nab a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Hendersonville limited the Mustangs’ two other players who also average double digits on the scoreboard to the single digit column, while Drew Bean was the dark horse for the team with 14 points and six rebounds.
The playoff foes battled it out in the first quarter, switching the lead a few times before Jake Ross set the screen for Keenan Wilkins (13 points, four steals) to sink a wide open 3 at the buzzer and give HHS the 14-12 edge.
The Bearcats normally reserve their high scoring quarter for the third quarter, but they poured it on in the second on Thursday night, with many baskets coming off steals and forced turnovers. The Mustangs had 18 total team turnovers to Hendersonville’s 11.
HHS leading scorer Dwight Canady (18 points, six rebounds, four assists) had back-to-back layups within seconds of each other to start the second period. Kuthan followed that with a three-point play to cut Hendersonville’s lead to 20-17.
The Bearcats had an answer for that. Canady sank a 3, East Lincoln turned the ball over on a traveling call, and Canady assisted Lemmens under the basket to pump the lead up to 25-17.
The Mustangs almost matched the Bearcats point-for-point from there, but HHS established enough of a gap to sit tight with the 37-27 halftime lead behind a solid 23-point quarter.
It was East Lincoln’s turn to outshine HHS in the third quarter. The Mustangs outscored the Bearcats, 16-11, as they effectively broke Hendersonville’s press several times to get the open basket. With East Lincoln down 46-40 with 1:24 to play in the third, Bean managed a three-point play to inch closer to leveling the game.
But Carson Redden’s block punched the ball to Canady who took it down the court and sent it to Lemmens who missed his jumper but made sure to get the putback just before the buzzer, for the 48-43 HHS lead.
Hendersonville fans held their breath as Bean drove in the lane and got the open look for the layup to cut the Bearcats’ lead to one point (55-54) with 2:30 to play.
But they all exhaled with deafening cheers when the freshman Wilkins made a poised 3 on a well-timed assist from Redden (15 points, four steals, three rebounds, two assists).
“Keenan’s shot gave me a breath of fresh air,” Featherstone said. “He caught the ball in rhythm and took his shot; he didn’t get rattled, and that’s huge for a freshman.”
Canady was sent to the foul line, made one free throw to make it 59-54, and came up with the ball after Kuthan missed his first free throw on a 1-and-1. Canady dribbled around to run the clock down, Featherstone called a timeout at 1:11 left on the clock, and it was a game of free throws from there.
Wilkins went 3-for-4 down the stretch and Ross added one foul shot of his own. On a last-ditch attempt, Kuthan sank a 3 with nine seconds remaining and HHS still holding the lead at 63-58.
A HHS steal and fast-break layup by Canady sealed the Bearcats’ trip to the third round of the playoffs. No. 7 seed Hendersonville, now 23-5, will travel to No. 2 seed West Stokes on Saturday.
East Lincoln, a 10-seed, finished its season at 24-5.
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February 28, 2020 at 11:20PM
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Team ball moves Hendersonville into third round - Citizen Times
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