New Hope dropped its two most-recent contests falling to Eastern 65-64 over the weekend and to Horizon Science Academy 71-62 Tuesday night.
The Statesmen got out to a slow start against Eastern in falling behind 15-6 but fought back to trail 24-20 after the first quarter and 35-33 at the half.
“We lacked energy and focus in the first three minutes, but we were able to bounce back,” New Hope coach Shane Roese said.
Eastern had its lead to seven early in the third and that held throughout as the period ended 54-47 in favor of the visitors.
New Hope battled back and had the difference to 63-62 in the final minute.
Coming out of a timeout with 30 seconds left, New Hope ran a backdoor play to Hunter Cavanaugh who scored for a 64-63 New Hope lead.
After an Eastern timeout, New Hope got the ball back on a held ball only to have the Eagles make a steal and convert a layup to get back on top.
A potential game-winning three for New Hope bounced three times in the cylinder before falling off.
Nathaniel Ames had a career-best 20 to lead New Hope and Hunter Cavanaugh had 18.
“It was a great ballgame to be a part of,” Roese said. “It was two teams that played well on both ends of the floor. We played from behind all night and really had the game won with 10 seconds to go but we did not take care of the ball.
“They locked Lane (Bruning) down with double teams all night and Nate Ames and Hunter Cavanaugh kept us in the game in the second half with their scoring.”
Bruning was limited to 12 points but pulled down 15 rebounds and had six assists. Xander Rink had five assists and five rebounds to go with 10 points.
Tuesday’s game against Horizon Science saw a lot of action as 149 shots were attempted.
The visiting Hawks put up 79 attempts while the Statesmen had 70.
A back-and-forth game most of the night, New Hope was up 53-52 with six minutes left but missed on its next six possessions as Horizon Science got out in front 61-53 to get control of the game.
The Hawks hit 12 three-pointers on the night to five for New Hope.
“They’ve always been a fast-paced team and they shot the three in high volume,” Roese said. “We simply were trading twos for threes, and, in the end, that doesn’t add up.”
Landen Parker led New Hope with 15 points, Lane Bruning had 13 points and 14 rebounds and Xander Rink had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
“Lane Bruning and Xander Rink were both in foul trouble most of the night and probably only played about two quarters together. We need those guys to be on the floor for us to be successful,” Roese said. “Tyler Cook (eight points, eight rebounds) had his most complete game this season. He did a solid job on the boards tonight.”
Next up on the schedule for New Hope (10-6) is a trip to Waverly Saturday night.
Eastern 65, New Hope 64
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Eastern 24 11 19 11 65
New Hope 20 13 14 17 64
Horizon Science 71, New Hope 62
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Horizon Science 19 13 13 26 71
New Hope 18 14 17 13 62
