Eagles advance to semifinals

The shots weren’t falling and Hennessey’s season was fading away.

But the Eagles kept their faith in one another…and the season came back to life.

Using a game-turning 14-2 run in the late third and early fourth quarters, the Hennessey Eagles downed Merritt 59-50 Wednesday in the Class 2A state quarterfi nals at State Fair Arena.

The victory put Hennessey into the semifinals for the fifth time in program history and first since 2019 when it was the 2A state runner-up.

Thefourth-rankedEagles played two-time defending champion and top-ranked Dale Pirates at 7:30 p.m. Friday (after press time) in that semifinal round.

Merritt entered the quarterfi nals unranked, but was an area champion after knocking off No. 3 Hooker in a regional and then beating two unranked foes to clinch a spot at state.

Though facing a deficit as big as eight points in the first half, it was the Oilers who had Hennessey on the ropes late in the third quarter.

They were on a 10-3 run and had Hennessey down 33-28.

And then - finally - it clicked.

Jael Torres sparked the run with a move in the paint to get Hennessey within three points.

That led to a Garret Vinson 3-pointer and then a James Sims trey.

Those two - which came in the span of 28 seconds - doubled Hennessey’s 3-point production to that point.

Sims’ 3-pointer found the net with 21 seconds left in the quarter.

Merritt tried to answer, but an air-balled 3-pointer started a Hennessey fast break that saw Hunter Weber feed Vinson for a layup as the buzzer sounded.

Hennessey’s five-point deficit had turned into a three-point lead entering the fourth…and in a span of just 1:17.

Though the ending was strong, the belief for the Eagles to have the ability to make the comeback started just before they fell down by the five points.

Merritt had scored six straight and Hennessey’s offense had yet to produce anything in the half-court in the third quarter.

Coach Brady Page called a timeout when the Oilers’ Luke Peffer scored to make it 29-25 with 3:26 left in the quarter.

The Eagles had made just one 3-pointer in the game and that was midway through the first quarter.

Soon after that timeout, however, Vinson was finally able to connect on a 3-pointer.

Two minutes later, the Eagles made the decisive run as it seemingly took the lid off the basket on that end of the floor.

“We just had to pick our teammates up and push through it,” said Torres. “But that’s what gave us the momentum. We just kept supporting our teammates.”

Page said Vinson’s teammates continuing to feed him was important.

“He’d been missing them, but everyone had the patience and made sure he kept getting his looks,” Page said.

His first trey was the start of four over the span of seven minutes for Hennessey. Two were by Vinson.

“Those were big 3-pointers for us,” Page said.

Torres started the fourth quarter with a basket and then Camdyn Richardson picked off a pass and turned it into a layup to give Hennessey a 42-35 lead with 6:31 to play.

Weber later added his first 3-pointer of the game.

Then Torres followed up with two more baskets in the paint, which was the true driving factor throughout the game.

“They’ve got a big kid and I think they felt he could guard Jael,” Page said.

“And they played behind him, which allowed us to get him the ball. He kept scoring and they never really adjusted, so we kept going to it.”

Torres made it pay off from the start.

He scored the first basket of the game and had six points in the first quarter, one that saw the Eagles stake a 13-9 lead.

The senior post scored twice in the first 25 seconds of the second quarter, giving Hennessey a 17-9 advantage.

The long ball kept the Oilers in it.

Joshua Ligon made two and Caden Smith added another as Merritt kept within striking distance.

The Oilers struck at the end of the first half and beginning of the second.

An 8-0 run over a span of about four minutes saw them stake their first lead at 23-21 with 6:40 to play in the third quarter.

Hennessey momentarily took the lead back, but was in the midst of its offensive struggles.

The Oilers were paying more attention to Torres on the blocks, freeing up some outside looks that weren’t falling.

Finally…they did. After starting 1 of 10 from 3-point range, Hennessey went 4 of 6 in the final 12 minutes.

That, in turn, softened up the inside for Torres, who continued to punish the Oilers.

He finished with 22 points and also had 11 rebounds.

“When they play me oneon- one like that, it allows me to play more of my game,” he said. “And I knew it was important to rebound. If we don’t get those, there’s no telling how the game goes.”

His basket with 1:36 to play put Hennessey up 51-42.

Although the Eagles were never threatened, Merritt kept making enough shots - including two 3-pointers to not let the Eagles get too comfortable.

Richardson helped by making all four of his free throws in the final 48 seconds. Weber went 2 of 4 down the stretch.

Merritt made eight 3-pointers in the game.

That included three each from Ligon, who led the team with 17, and Caden Dunlap, who scored 11.

They also got two treys and 13 points from Smith.

Hennessey (25-4) saw Richardson finish with 13 points and five boards.

Weber scored nine, Vinson added eight and Sims scored seven.