Early spurt carries Spartans over T-Birds

Ethan Helton (10) blocks out as Caleb Hamilton (40) watches his shot hit the rim.

By Kelly Slaven

LITTLE CINCINNATI - The South Knox Spartans got off to a fast start Tuesday night at Eastern Greene.

South Knox took off on an 11-0 run to take a 13-3 lead over the Eastern Greene Thunderbirds with two minutes remaining in the first quarter.

And once the Spartans were up by double digits, they stayed there.

J.W. Howard (42) and other players listen to Eastern coach Jon Neill.

By Kelly Slaven

South Knox stretched it lead to as much as 18 early in the fourth quarter, pulling away for a 56-40 win over the thunderbirds in the opening round of Class 2A Sectional 47.

“I wanted us to be more aggressive than we were earlier and get to the rim,” Eastern Greene coach Jon Neill said. “That set the tone early. We can’t get out to that start against a team like South Knox.”

Ethan Helton’s triple off a feed from Collin Campbell gave Eastern Greene its only lead of the night, 3-2.

Colin Campbell shoots a long jumper over Luke Marchino of South Knox.

By Kelly Slaven

Brandon Fickling and Sam Downen each scored on strong moves inside for the Spartans. Gannon Bobe sank a long two-pointer and Nick Johnson knocked down a three off a dish from Fickling.

Bobe knocked down a pair at the stripe and canned a pullup in the lane to give South Knox a 15-6 advantage after one period.

Luke Marchino’s corner three and Downen’s putback got the Spartans on top by a dozen, 20-8.

Caleb Hamilton hits a layup against the Spartans. He led Eastern with 13 points.

By Kelly Slaven

Ethan Helton took it coast-to-coast for a hoop. Caleb Hamilton sank a pair of free throws and scored inside to get the T-Birds within eight before Downen bagged a midrange jumper to close out the half.

Hamilton and Helton each scored 13 to pace the Thunderbirds.

The South Knox lead grew to 15 three minutes into the third quarter.

Ethan Helton (10), Caleb Hamilton (40), and Colin Campbell (14) try to check the Spartans on defense. South Knox whipped Eastern 56-40.

By Kelly Slaven

Downen scored on a hesitation move and converted the old-fashioned 3-point play. Bobe came up with a steal, was fouled and swished a pair putting the Spartans ahead 31-16.

Helton again went the length of the floor for a transition bucket and Hamilton nabbed a steal for a 3-point play to trim the deficit to a dozen.

But the T-Birds could draw no closer.

Ethan Helton drives down the court for Eastern.

By Kelly Slaven

Johnson and Bobe answered with bombs. Zach Welage finished the quarter on a stickback and Marchino’s free throws in the opening seconds of the fourth extended the margin to 18, 45-27.

“I thought we defended well on their first attempts,” Neill said. “But we gave up too many second chance opportunities.

“We didn’t come up with any loose balls. They had multiple offensive rebounds the second half that bounced.”

Eastern Greene finished the season 13-11.

SPARTANS 56, THUNDERBIRDS 40

Eastern Greene 6 8 13 13 -- 40

South Knox 15 9 19 13 -- 56

EASTERN GREENE (13-11) -- Caleb Hamilton 3-8 7-9 13, J.W. Howard 0-1 0-0 0, Ethan Helton 5-11 1-1 13, Deric French 2-4 0-2 4, Jeff Graham 3-6 2-3 8, Collin Campbell 1-4 0-0 2, Matt Sanders 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 14-36 10-15 40.

3-point shooting: 2-14 (Helton 2-4, Graham 0-3, Campbell 0-3, Sanders 0-2, Hamilton 0-2). Rebounds 15 (Helton 5). Steals 3 (Hamilton 2). Turnovers 11. Personal fouls 16. Fouled out: French.

SOUTH KNOX (17-7) -- Brandon Fickling 4-6 0-0 8, Sam Downen 4-6 3-3 11, Zach Welage 2-3 1-2 5, Gannon Bobe 3-8 10-11 17, Luke Marchino 2-6 2-2 7, Nick Johnson 3-4 0-0 8, Gage Bobe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-33 16-18 56.

3-point shooting: 4-8 (Johnson 2-3, Gan. Bobe 1-1, Marchino 1-3). Rebounds 26 (Downen 8, Welage 8). Assists 7 (Fickling 3). Steals 7 (Gan. Bobe 3). Turnovers 14. Personal fouls 13. Fouled out: None.