The Eastern Hancock Royals put another one in the bag on Tuesday to keep their perfect season alive. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 55-53 win over North Decatur. Given Eastern Hancock's advantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 30th, while North Decatur is ranked 138th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Eastern Hancock found their leader in underclassman McKenzie Koch, who scored 21 points along with 4 steals. That makes it three consecutive games in which Koch has scored at least 25% of Eastern Hancock's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Makenzie O'Neal, who scored 8 points along with 5 rebounds.
Despite the loss, North Decatur still got an impressive performance from Ella Kunz, who dropped a double-double on 24 points and 14 rebounds. Another player making a difference was Clare Kinker, who scored 8 points along with 4 steals.
Eastern Hancock's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-0. As for North Decatur, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-4.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Eastern Hancock's homestand continues as they prepare to take on Cathedral at 2:30 p.m. on December 9th. North Decatur will take on Franklin County at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Hopefully Franklin County focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 13 on Saturday.
