Hornets Overcome Early Deficit To Sting Cougars
Austin Hamilton was unstoppable on Thursday night against the Oakton Cougars especially in the second half. Hamilton had 30 points which included three 3-point buckets and 7-8 from the free throw line...
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Herndon's Abi-Dre Totow was key in helping Austin Hamilton and the Hornet's offense come from behind an early game deficit against the Oakton Cougars. Totow put up 8 points as well as playing strong defense in the win...
Photo By: Yvette Gagnon / GamedayMagazine | VIEW GALLERY
Oakton's Andrew Daniels had a team high 17 points credited to him in the tough loss against Herndon on Thursday night in Concorde District action...
Photo By: Yvette Gagnon / GamedayMagazine | VIEW GALLERY
OAKTON, VA - Led by Austin Hamilton's second half assault in which he tallied 19 of his game high 30 points, the Herndon Hornets outscored the host Oakton Cougars 45-21 in the final two quarters en route to a convincing 68-50 victory. The Hornets remain undefeated (5-0) in the Concorde District, raising its record to 13-2 while Cougars dropped to 9-8 (2-4).
Before the visitors unleashed their second half blitzkrieg, Oakton had taken a 29-23 lead into the halftime locker room. They were able to minimize turnovers in the first half, make good passes and hit their open shots. The second half was an entirely different story.
The Hornets play an unrelenting trapping man-to-man defense that tends to wear teams out as the game progresses. It is not unusual for them to find themselves behind early in the game and this game was no exception as Oakton cruised to 13-7 first quarter lead. But two quarters of battling the pesky Hornets took a toll on the home team and quicker than you say, "Watch out for that hornets' nest," Herndon had taken a double digit lead and were seriously threatened for the final 12 minutes of play.
Jonathon Beltran and Abi-Dre Totow each scored 8 points in support of the unstoppable Hamilton whose 30 points included three 3-point buckets and 7-8 from the free throw line. For Oakton Andrew Daniels scored 17 points and Kris McNeil had nine. But only six of those 26 points came after halftime as the Hornets turned what looked to be a highly competitive game into an easy victory.
BEST BUY PLAYER OF THE GAME:
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AUSTIN HAMILTON - HERNDON GUARD
The outstanding performance of the night was put in by Herndon's Austin Hamilton, who scored 11 first half points, then poured in 19 in the final two quarters to help the Hornets pull away for a 68-50 win. Hamilton is the real deal, and his leadership and poise is what will give Herndon a chance to go somewhere in the post-season.
ANDREW DANIELS - OAKTON GUARD
Daniels was on fire in the first half, scoring 13 points before the intermission. However, the Herndon defense held him in check in the second half, which was a major reason why the Hornets pulled away. With that said, Daniels easily had the best night of any Cougar player, and he is a fun guy to watch shoot the basketball.
COACH HAYES ANALYSIS:
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I've seen Herndon play 4 times now in person, and each time, I come away impressed with their ability to rally from behind. However, Chris Whelan's team has to start getting on track earlier in games, because they may not be able to rally against a quality upper-echelon team in the Northern Region playoffs. This Hornet team has enough firepower to make a run deep into the tournament, but their lack of size in the middle is still a concern. Jordan McMullen put in another solid performance against Oakton, but the Hornets were outmatched in the pain with the Cougar big men dominating the boards.
Great shooting from the outside can always lessen the lack of size disadvantage, but Herndon will need to keep up their touch in order to stay out front in the Concorde District. They have several big games looming, and if they can continue their amazing run, they could be the story of the post-season.
