Basketball Recap: Eastern Hancock Starts Season with Loss at Home

Eastern Hancock unfortunately couldn't capitalize on their home-court advantage in their season opener. They fell 70-63 to the Centerville Bulldogs on Wednesday. If the Royals were looking for revenge after losing 64-39 to the Bulldogs when the teams met back in November of 2024, then they'll just have to keep looking.

Eastern Hancock's loss came despite strong showings from Luke Manship and Caden Powers. Manship dropped a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Powers shot 42% from the field on his way to 18 points and five assists. The team also got some help courtesy of Caleb Retherford, who posted 11 points.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Centerville to victory, but perhaps none more so than Shea Hollendonner, who went 10-for-13 to rack up 28 points. Another player making a difference was Ethan Vecera, who shot 67% from the field en route to 14 points in addition to seven assists and four steals.

Coming up, Eastern Hancock will face off against New Palestine at 7:30 p.m. on December 5. As for Centerville, they didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next matchup, a 99-39 victory against Seton Catholic on the 29th.