Things weren't looking too good for Eastern Hancock midway through the third quarter Friday, as the Royal boys trailed Knightstown by 15 points and were struggling to develop much offense.
Then, Dustin Smith got loose.
He squared up and hit a 3. Then another. Then another. Suddenly, the Royals were making a comeback at Knightstown. They cut the deficit to 42-36 by the end of the third, and then Smith went to work with another 3 and a driving shot ... then the dagger, a pull-up NBA-range triple with a hand in his face that gave EH the lead at 44-42. They never trailed from there and won 63-52.
Smith led a 16-2 run, and scored 40 points on the night, hitting 7-of-9 from 3-point range and 11-of-12 from the line. He also had 10 rebounds and two blocked shots. But equally big was the play of Jared Pyle, who had six big second-half points. Or Zach Kissick, whose pickpocket and layup in the backcourt gave the Royals a late cushion and took the wind out of Knightstown's sails late.
The Panthers had three players in double figures, but this night belonged to Dustin Smith. EH is now 5-1 heading into Saturday's game against Cambridge City Lincoln.
Knightstown did win the girls game by double-figures, with Kaelee Kuhn scoring 17 points after the Panthers lost Megan Hiner early to injury.
It was also a good night for the rest of the Hancock County boys teams. Greenfield-Central won its second straight, knocking off Yorktown 53-42. Mt. Vernon won its first of the year, winning at Shelbyville 43-39. And New Palestine beat Morristown, a team led by one of the nation's top players in Dylan Langkabel, 84-69.
Also, of interest in the HHC, Rushville beat Delta 66-44, Pendleton Heights beat Shenandoah 61-28. PH's girls also beat Shenandoah 61-17.
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