Another nail-biter first round matchup found the Hornets of Eureka topping the Tornadoes of Abingdon-Avon by a score of 43-41. This game had so many peaks and valleys for both teams. Eureka led by as many as nine points and Abingdon-Avon led by as many as seven. There were four lead changes and three tie scores. This game featured good defense, charges taken, and a lot of missed shots (the two teams shot a combined 38% from the floor).
The Tornadoes stepped up and played better than one could’ve assumed based on their prior-tournament record. The Hornets played them step-for-step, however. Abingdon-Avon doubled up Eureka in the battle for the paint 24-12. However, Eureka had more steals, second chance points, and the tournament’s leading scorer (as of press time).
Eureka’s Tyler Heffren is the aforementioned current leading scorer for the tournament with 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting. Slater Wilcox had a team-high six rebounds. Trevor Heffren started the game shooting 0-for-10, but then nailed arguably the two largest baskets of the game with under two minutes left in the game.
Abingdon-Avon featured two double-digit scorers in Easten Schisler (18 points) and Parker Stoneking (11 points). Schisler also led the game in rebounds with seven grabs and his team in assists with three.
Eureka (8-3) advances to the quarterfinals to play in Game 16 at 9:30pm Tuesday, awaiting the winner of the Lewistown/West Hancock matchup. The loser of the Lewistown/West Hancock game will play Abingdon-Avon in Game 12 at 2:30pm Tuesday.
Box Score
Eureka Info
Abingdon-Avon Info
Chris Derry
December 27, 2021
