SUNBURY, Ohio -- In game involving two teams that don’t receive much coverage in Central Ohio, Big Walnut outlasted a hungry Lancaster team on Tuesday night, winning 49-44.

With Lancaster coming out in a 2-3 zone, the game started out very, very slow. Both teams exchanged missed shots early on and the first points did not come until Big Walnut senior Carson Becker hit a floater with 5:22 to go in the first.

Both teams went back-and-forth throughout the first half, but Lancaster junior Jacob Davenport knocked down two big three-pointers on two straight possessions to force a Big Walnut timeout as they trailed 29-20 with 1:40 to go in the half.

Big Walnut scored two key unanswered baskets before the break, and a long two from sophomore guard Jagger Barnett cut the Lancaster lead to just 29-24 at the break.

The Golden Eagles carried this momentum over to the second half.

Senior Brody Lawhun knocked down one of his big three’s with 3:40 remaining in the quarter to give them the 35-33 lead that they had been searching for. This sparked a 9-1 run to end the third and Big Walnut took a 41-34 lead into the final quarter.

Junior point guard Deven Savage opened up the fourth with a big three for Lancaster and an and-one from junior forward Tanner Roush on the next possession cut the deficit to just 41-40 with 6:01 to go in the game.

After both teams traded free throws and baskets back-and-forth, Big Walnut had the ball with a little over a minute left leading 48-42. Lancaster refused to come out of their 2-3 zone, wasting quite a bit of time, but they eventually came up with a big steal.

The Golden Gales missed out on several opportunities late to send it to overtime, ultimately falling to Big Walnut in a tough loss. Roush led them off the bench with 11 points and seven rebounds followed up by Davenport with 10 points. Savage also had a solid stat line of nine points, three assists and three steals at the point guard spot.

Lancaster is back in action on Friday at Pickerington North.

Big Walnut was led by Hienton who finished with 14 points, five rebounds and two steals. Lawhun also had nine points on three triples and Becker added eight points and seven rebounds. Junior wing Jackson Podraza proved to be a solid option off of the bench as well with eight points, four rebounds and two steals.

The Golden Eagles have a tough test this Friday at Newark.

Kegan Hienton (6’4 WF / Big Walnut / 2020): The most promising prospect on an intriguing Big Walnut roster, Hienton provided his team with the second half boost that they needed to win tonight. He scored eight points in the half and grabbed a huge offensive rebound late to contribute to his final stat line of 14 points, five rebounds and two steals. He operated out of the high post for most of the night when Lancaster ran a zone, and showed off good vision in finding teammates open on the perimeter and the block. He also knocked down a pair of nice floaters which he used when catching the ball immediately in the middle of the zone or off of the offensive glass. Though his rebounding numbers were not through the roof tonight, the junior did a good job of putting himself in the right spot several times to get big offensive rebounds against the Gales zone. Look for Hienton to continue to develop as he has already put up some very impressive outings earlier this season.

Jacob Davenport (6’3 WF / Lancaster / 2020): Davenport had an excellent first half showing tonight despite going scoreless in the final two quarters. He showed good inside out post game as he knocked down shots in the mid-range area and showed good moves and potential on the block. He also knocked down two three-pointers and looked very confident with his stroke. He was the clear vocal leader of the Golden Gales tonight and put on an exceptional effort to try and come out on top.

Brody Lawhun (6’0 WG / Big Walnut / 2019): Lawhun put together nine points tonight and did so with very timely perimeter shooting. He has a confident flip from the outside and the stroke looks very natural. He knocked down these three’s at an efficient rate and did not take any bad shots despite being limited to doing much against the Gales zone. With another viewing of Lawhun, it will be interesting to see what he does against a team that plays man-to-man.

Deven Savage (5’9 PG / Lancaster / 2020): Savage finished with an impressive stat line of nine points, three assists and three steals while running the show for the Gales. He showed off good poise and ball handling when breaking the Big Walnut press and displayed excellent vision to find open teammates under the hoop multiple times in jailbreak situations. He knocked down one contested three pointer with a smooth stroke that he was not shy to put to the test. He also showed good instincts on defense at the top of the Gales 2-3 zone and came away with several steals. Despite being slightly undersized at 5-foot-9 Savage is an intriguing prospect for Lancaster.

Carson Thomas (6’8 C / Lancaster / 2019): Another interesting prospect on the Lancaster roster, Thomas shows great size and a good build standing at 6-foot-8. He got the start tonight and played in several different types of time situations, being forced to sit out for decent chunks at a time. He is extremely raw and does not have the greatest basketball development, but shows a lot of potential when operating on the block and in the pick-and-roll. On defense, he prevented Big Walnut from coming inside when he was in the middle of the 2-3 and also came up with a nice block. Thomas could be a definite look for a JUCO who is willing to take a year to develop a big before really putting him fully to the test.