McQueen's late points help Hanover secure win

Will McQueen has done the little things for Hanover all season.

Not only does the senior point guard facilitate much of the Nighthawks offense, he's also one of their best rebounders and defenders. On Tuesday night against York County Tech, he came through with some big baskets for Hanover as well.

Against the Spartans, McQueen scored eight points down the stretch to help a clinch a 57-44 win for the Nighthawks. He finished the night with 14 points, including a 7-for-11 mark from the free throw line.

"He's been facilitating everything we do all season long," Hanover coach Nathan Myers said. "A lot of things he does may not show up in the box score, but we see them. His importance is huge."

McQueen only made one shot in the first half, but he began to get to the foul line in the third quarter and hit four free throws. But he was still saving his best for the fourth quarter.

With the Nighthawks leading by just three heading into the final quarter, McQueen hit two field goals and three free throws to put the Spartans' rally to rest. His biggest shot came with just under five minutes to play, when he nailed a 3-pointer to give Hanover an eight-point lead.

"It really helped us out on offense when they came out of their zone (in the fourth quarter), " McQueen said. "Once they did that I was able to look for my shots. I didn't have to work against as much and I was able to attack."

As usual, Kyle Krout carried much of Hanover's scoring load and finished with 19 points. Senior Hunter Martz also hit two 3-pointers and scored 12.

It was Krout and Martz who got the Nighthawks off to a fast start in the fourth quarter with back-to-back layups on the team's first two possessions. That came after a third quarter in which the Spartans outscored Hanover 15-10 to cut a eight-point halftime deficit to just three.

"Credit (York County Tech), they made some very good plays at the end of the third quarter to close the gap," Myers said. "We could have gotten rattled, but we were able to hold together, got the ball to the rim, got the ball to the foul line. And Will made that huge shot in the corner to get us moving."

The Spartans tried jumping Hanover's passing lanes all night, and while they generated some steals, the Nighthawks were able to take advantage of their aggressiveness with easy layups in the first half.

According to Myers, Tuesday was a good test for the Nighthawks because it gave them experience dealing with an athletic team that could shoot from three.

"I thought we did a decent job, we were flat-footed at times but when we needed we held it together," Myers said. "We have leaders in Will and Kyle with a lot of varsity experience and their the glue holding us together."

Hanover 57, York County Tech 44

York County Tech (44)

Ty Brown 6 0-0 16, Savory 3 2-7 8, Smith 3 0-0 8, Baldwin 1 0-0 2, Porter 1 1-2 3, Wehler 1 1-2 3, DeLeon  2 0-0 4 Totals — 17 4-11 44

Hanover (57) 

Kyle Krout 6 4-4 19, Will McQueen 3 7-11 14, Hunter Martz  6 0-0 12, Hart 2 2-6 6, Hill 0 2-4 2, Williams 1 0-0 2, Bowman 1 0-0 2 Totals — 19 15-25 57

York County Tech _ 9 _ 11 _ 15_ 9 _ — _ 44

Hanover _ 12 _ 16 _ 10 _ 19 _ — _ 57

3-point goals — Hanover 6 (Krout 3, Martz 2, McQueen) York County Tech 5 (Brown 3, Smith 2)