MERKEL — The Hamlin boys basketball team trailed 27-14 at halftime and was outscored in three of the four quarters Thursday in its Region II-1A area-round matchup with Eula. But a huge third period was enough to lift the Pied Pipers to a thrilling 50-48 victory over the Pirates at Badger Gym.
Coming out of the break on a mission, coach Christopher Harvey’s squad needed less than two minutes to erase the 13-point gap. And after pulling ahead by as many as nine points (39-30 with 2:31 remaining in the third quarter), HHS took a 39-34 lead into the final period.
Eula, which trailed by eight on two occasions in the fourth quarter, rallied to tie the game twice in the final two minutes — the last time with just under 40 seconds remaining. But a putback layup by Kyson McGee with about four seconds to play allowed the Pipers to escape with the hard-fought win and earn a region semifinal matchup with the winner of Friday’s contest between Garden City and Rankin.
“It was a breath-taking moment — something that we had already talked about,” Harvey said. “We just never give up. No matter what the situation is, anytime adversity comes in, we will stand up to adversity.”
Fueled by a big first half by Ethan Peacock, one of four freshmen on the Eula roster, the Pirates raced out to a 10-5 lead after one quarter and stretched that advantage to double digits by the break thanks to a 17-9 run through the second.
But after struggling to make shots in the first half — both from the field and the free-throw line — Hamlin saw the lid come off the basket in the third quarter.
The Pied Pipers (21-8) hit three of their eight 3-pointers during a 13-0 run to start the third quarter and answered a Eula bucket with another 12-0 spurt to turn the 13-point halftime disadvantage into a nine-point lead by the 2:31 mark of the third quarter.
By the end of the period, HHS had outscored Eula by a 25-7 margin, allowing the Pipers to play with a lead for all but about a minute of the final quarter.
“It was very important to go back to our style of basketball, where we put pressure on guys and guys turn the ball over,” Harvey said. “We told them (at halftime) if they keep shooting, eventually they’ll fall. The more we get to the hole, the more we get to the goal, the ball would eventually start falling. The more we shoot, the better it’s going to get.”
Eula (18-18) didn’t wilt after Hamlin’s 25-2 start to the second half. Instead, the Pirates fought back to pull within three (39-36) with 7:24 remaining in the game. And even after Harvey’s squad countered with a 5-0 run to go back up by eight with 6:16 to play, EHS went back to work chipping away at the deficit.
Still trailing 46-38 with with four minutes remaining, coach Travis Dawson’s team rallied to tie the game at 46-all with 1:51 to go and answered a Hamlin bucket with one of their own to pull back even with 36.8 on the clock. But with time ticking down, McGee pulled down a contested rebound on a missed jumper by Ian Gruben and laid it back in for what proved to be the winning points when Eula couldn’t get a shot off on the other end.
“I was really proud of our guys. We had a really rough third quarter and we could have folded and packed it in,” Dawson said. “But we kept battling and kept battling and fought our way all the way back. We were just one play short.
“Credit them for making the plays and making the comeback in the third quarter. They deserve all the credit, but I’m proud of the effort our guys gave.”
McGee, who had 10 points in the second half, finished with 15, tying Gruben for the team scoring lead.
Zane Leonard also reached double figures with 11 points — hitting three big 3-pointers in the second half, including two during the Pied Pipers’ pivotal run out of halftime.
“(Leonard is) a great shooter,” Harvey said. “He’s one of our best 3-point shooters, and usually when he comes out, he’s on fire. He did a great job tonight.”
Eula was led by Peacock with 24 points, followed by Elijah Torres with seven (all in the fourth quarter) and Caysen Smith and Colton Gray with six apiece.
While the Pirates weren’t ready to see their season end — especially in such a gut-wrenching way — Dawson said his young squad, which will return eight of its 13 players next season, has plenty to be proud of.
“I’ll always remember the work they put in to get to the point they got to,” Dawson said. “There was a lot of growth (this season). We lost a lot off last year’s team and were very inexperienced this year, but they came to work every day, and I think it showed in the way they played and, ultimately, where we got to at the end of the year.”
Hamlin, meanwhile, will turn its attention to the region semifinals and a chance to keep this dream season going.
And with just two seniors on their roster, the Pied Pipers are working to lay the foundation for even more success in the future.
“We’re going to build on this,” Harvey said. “Everyone’s seen what God has done here, and we thank God for this moment that we’ve got here. We could not do this without God. He’s made doors open up and now these boys see that we’re going to be better next year at the same time.”
REGION II-1A DIV. I AREA ROUND
HAMLIN 50, EULA 48
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | ||
| Hamlin | 5 | 9 | 25 | 11 | — | 50 |
| Eula | 10 | 17 | 7 | 14 | — | 48 |
Hamlin (21-8) — Luke White 0 0-2 0, Zane Leonard 3 2-2 11, Jantz Botos 0 0-2 0, Kyson McGee 5 4-8 15, Ian Gruben 5 1-2 15, Hudson Smith 2 0-0 4, Landen Freeland 0 1-2 1, Daniel Malone 1 0-0 2, Collin Ryan 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 8-14 50.
Eula (18-18) — Ethan Peacock 9 2-3 24, Elijah Torres 2 3-5 7, Caysen Smith 2 2-4 6, Patrick Orozco 2 0-0 5, Colton Gray 2 2-6 6, Riley Johnson 0 0-0 0, Elias Ramirez 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 9-18 48.
3-Point Goals — Hamlin 8 (Leonard 3, McGee 1, Gruben 4); Eula 5 (Peacock 4, Orozco 1). Fouled Out — Botos. Technical Fouls — Hamlin bench, Botos. Total Fouls — Hamlin 15; Eula 17.