Braves trounce Trojans in home tourney

The Hamilton High boys basketball team put up a stellar effort on Saturday evening, thrashing Quincy 63-40 in the last game of the Marty Passaglia Tournament in Hamilton City.

Hamilton coach Brian Erickson was pleased with his team's victory, saying, "We hadn't put four quarters in together before, and we did that tonight. We've been concentrating on keeping the intensity up and competing everyday, in practice and in games. We have high expectations for this season, and we are setting our goals high."

The action started from the very beginning as both teams hit the net, with Quincy grabbing the first three points of the game when Brady Rick hit a trey. The Braves answered back as Ricky Pompa and Joseph Bass put up hard-earned points off of rebounds.

The tempo of the game remained high until the end of the first quarter, with the home team maintaining the 14-11 lead.

The second quarter started off right where the first period had ended, but this time the Braves got the early jump on Quincy and didn't let up. Pompa continued his suburb defensive form, while Theron Fumasi dished the ball to his teammates.

A 3-point shot from Leland Prior sealed the first half domination from the Braves, as they went into halftime with a 35-25 lead over the Trojans.

The Braves wasted no time in the third quarter, as Shea Shull lit it up with a long 3-pointer to set the pace for the third quarter, and the Braves kept it up.

As the fourth quarter began, Prior and Bass continued to pour in the points for the Braves, while Andrew Whitsett also scored from under the basket, along with a huge jump shot, stretching the Hamilton lead.

The Trojans found difficulty competing with the collective effort of the Braves, who were able to sub in from their deep bench while maintaining the lead.

In the Braves' other games, they fell to Mt. Shasta (52-41) on Thursday, but defeated Etna (55-33) on Friday.

Hamilton (6-4 overall) hosts rivals Pierce on Wednesday evening.

CONTACT Emily Saint-Evens at 824-7990 or esaintevens@tcnpress.com.