Hockenberry, Unionville make statement with road win at West Chester Rustin

WESTTOWN >> Thursday night at West Chester Rustin, the Unionville boys basketball team opened up Ches-Mont American Division play against the tough Golden Knights.

If Thursday night’s result is any indication of things to come, the Indians are going to be a handful for the rest of the Ches-Mont.

Unionville broke open a tight game in the third quarter and outscored the host Golden Knights, 14-8, in the fourth quarter, and came away with a decisive 47-37 Ches-Mont League American Division win.

Wyatt Hockenberry led Unionville (1-0 Ches-Mont, 5-1 overall) with 16 points and Bo Furey-Bastian chipped in with 11 points as the Indians shot a torrid 10 for 15 from the field in the second half, getting great looks off their half court offense.

“The first half was a defensive, wild type of game,” Hockenberry said. “In the second half we started running our offense and getting some backdoor looks, and that was the difference. We have a special group of guys here that have been playing together for a while and this was a good win for us.”

With the score tied at 27-27 late in the third quarter, Logan Shanahan scored on a follow for Unionville to give the Indians a 29-27 lead. After a Rustin turnover, one of 14 on the night for the Golden Knights, Drew Lenkitis scored in tight again as the Indians were getting inside the whole second half.

“We started to commit to the backdoor looks in the second half,” Unionville coach Chris Cowles said. “And Rustin was starting to gamble on defense and it is a little like a high risk high reward type of thing and we got the ball inside for some good looks.”

The only real offensive threat on the night for the Golden Knights (0-2, 2-3) was 6-foot-7 senior Jake Nelson. Nelson led all scorers with 19 points and every time the ball went down low to Nelson, the Indians doubled him and battled for every inch on the floor. Nelson had eight of the Golden Knights’ 10 third-quarter points, and the only other Rustin player who helped out was freshman Ivy Pettit, who ended the game with 10 points.

“The gameplan going in was to double Nelson every time he got the ball and try to deny Pettit the basketball,” Furey-Bastian said. “We did a good job defensively in the second half and we got some good looks close to the basket. We have a lot of talent on this team and we don’t have to rely on one guy to score.”

Unionville put the game away right from the start of the fourth quarter. Furey-Bastian went down the lane for a layup and a 35-29 Unionvile lead. After a Taj Asparagus miss, Hockenberry took a pass from Drew Lenkitis and scored in tight to make it a 37-30. Hockenberry then buried a 3-pointer for a 40-30 lead after another Golden Knights turnover.

Rustin did not quit. The Golden Knights came back and scored back-to-back baskets, one by Nelson and one by Pettit, to make it a 43-37 game with 2:41 to play. But, Unionville held the basketball and made the Golden Knights come to them, and the Indians got some easy layups late in the game, serving notice to the rest of the American Division that they mean business this season.

“We have a a lot of guys who play hard and play well,” Hockenberry said. “Tonight was a real big win for us because Rustin is always at the the top of the league.”

Unionvile 47, West Chester Rustin 37

Unionville 12 7 14 14 – 47
W.C. Rustin 8 11 10 8 – 37

UNIONVILLE (47): Furey-Bastian 4 3-4 11, Hockenberry 6 2-2 16, Kurcharczuk 0 0-0 0, Ash 1 0-0 2, Rafferty 2 2-2 6, Whitlock 0 0-0 0, Shanahan 2 0-0 4, Penn 0  0-2 0, Lenkitis 4 0-0 8. Totals  19 5-7 47.

W.C. RUSTIN (37): Nelson 8 3-6 19, Asparagus 2 0-0 4, Wethey 2 0-0 4, Pettit 3 2-5 10, Hickson 0 0-0 0, DeMarco 0 0-0 0, Pew 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 5-11 37.

3-point goals: Hockenberry 2, Pettit 2.