LEBANON — Hank Pikus’ lengthy, 3-point basket as overtime expired lifted the Hanover High boys basketball team to a 60-58 victory over arch-rival Lebanon on Monday, the Marauders’ first victory in the NHIAA Division II series in seven years. The Raiders had beaten their neighbors 15 consecutive times during that span.
After Lebanon’s Jon Willeman sank two free throws to give his team a 58-57 lead with eight seconds remaining in the four-minute extra session, Hanover’s Charlie Adams raced the ball upcourt before cutting right and dishing to a purposely trailing Pikus.
The junior let loose from well beyond the arc, the ball swishing through and improving the Marauders to 14-0 overall and 12-0 in state play before a vocal, standing-room crowd.
“That environment was the best it’s ever been here,” said 20th-year Hanover coach Tim Winslow, a longtime Lebanon High English teacher. “They kind of jumped at Charlie on that last chance and Hank hung out behind him. That’s not a fluke shot; we practice that and he can regularly make it.”
Lebanon coach Kieth Matte said his players had to protect against a drive into the lane and didn’t fault any of them for not challenging Pikus on the final heave.
“You have to stay back in a defensive stance,” Matte said. “If a kid’s going to take a shot from seven feet from behind the line… We didn’t make a mistake on that last play. He just hit a tough shot.”
After sinking the three-pointer, Pikus ran to the Lebanon student section and skipped laterally along the front of the bleachers, taunting Raiders fans, prompting Raiders football coach Chris Childs to step forward to keep the opposing student sections separated.
“We always want to win with class and sometimes when it’s exciting, things get the best of us,” Winslow said of the 6-foot-1 Pikus. “That was probably the biggest shot Hank’s made in his life, but after, that’s not what we want.”
Hanover’s Adams had 24 points, Pikus had 16 and Nolan Gantrish and Jai White each had 10. Lebanon’s Willeman had 18, followed by Caleb Smith with 12, Calvin Bates with 10, Logan Falzarano with five and Wade Rainey with three. The 6-3 Smith’s inside battles with the 6-4 White were intense and captivating.
“They really enjoyed competing against each other,” said Winslow, who estimated the chances of Smith, the son of former NBA player Jahidi White, returning to Hanover next season at 50%. “Caleb does everything the right way and Jai has improved a ton and I’ve really enjoyed working with him.”
Fifteen minutes after the final horn, Matte slumped against a wall in the Lebanon coaches locker room.
His team is 10-3 overall and 8-2 in state play.
“Anytime you lose at home, it hurts,” said the 22nd-year bench boss. “To lose to your rival, it really hurts. But there’s no shame in losing to that team and we can’t wait to play them again in a month.”
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com.
Clarification
At the conclusion of the Feb. 10 Hanover-Lebanon boys basketball game, Raiders football coach Chris Childs ran onto the court to keep students from the opposing schools separate. An earlier version of this story was unclear about the moments immediately after the game.