Boys basketball: Martin Ledbetter, Hinckley-Big Rock race past Ottawa in third quarter for 63-56 win

PLANO – It wasn’t until the third quarter of Wednesday’s opening-round victory over Ottawa in the 60th Plano Christmas Classic that the eighth-seeded Hinckley-Big Rock Royals really got going.

And going fast, right into the championship quarterfinals of the venerable holiday tournament for the first time since the early 2010s.

Sparked by a 20-point, fast break-led third quarter, the Royals defeated Ottawa 63-56 to move on to Thursday’s 5:30 p.m. quarterfinal against top-seeded Kaneland.

“We were just getting in passing lanes, running the floor,” Royals senior point guard Landon Roop said. “We excel [at that]. We’re all athletic, and our strong suit is just running the floor and getting open looks.

“Obviously, [the important thing is] that we moved on.”

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 5

Hinckley-Big Rock's Michael Murphy shoots past Ottawa in the Plano Christmas Classic on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023. (Katy Arnold for Shaw Local )

It’s been awhile for HBR, which last won an opening game at the Classic in 2012.

“It’s good to go that way instead of the other way,” Hinckley-Big Rock coach Seth Sanderson said.

“I thought we did a good job [with the tempo], and it started at the defensive end. We had a nice six- or eight-minute stretch there where we took control at the defensive end, and that let us get out and run.”

Ottawa, meanwhile, dropped to Thursday’s 9 a.m. consolation-bracket game against former Interstate 8 Conference rival Sandwich.

The Pirates (4-5) led Hinckley-Big Rock by a single point at the close of both the first and second quarters. That 30-29 halftime advantage gained on an Aric Threadgill bucket at the buzzer off a designed inbounds play didn’t last long into the third, however, as 6-foot-4 Royals junior Martin Ledbetter hit two shots, including a 3-pointer, in the opening minute of the second half to put the Royals (9-4) ahead to stay.

Two six-point mini-runs lifted the Royals’ advantage to 49-37 by the start of the fourth. One spurt was fueled entirely by fast-break points, the other by a pair of step-back 3-pointers from Ledbetter, who finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots before fouling out with 2:34 to play.

“We were poor defensively the entire [game],” Pirates coach Mark Cooper said, “and that’s a credit to Hinckley. We took some incredibly difficult shots at the rim in the third quarter that led to baskets at the other end, and for a stretch of the third quarter Ledbetter dominated play at both ends.

“In an even game, they jumped [the lead] put to double figures in a hurry.”

In addition to Ledbetter’s 19, Roop scored 16 points to go with six rebounds and three assists, Tyler Smith had 14 points, and Austin Albus scored seven points for HBR, which shot 56.5% (26 of 46) to overcome its 20 turnovers.

Huston Hart scored a career-high 19 points to lead Ottawa, which was held to 31.6% (18 of 57) shooting but climbed as close as six points in the closing seconds before running out of clock. Cooper Knoll’s 12-point, seven-rebound day, Threadgill’s 10 points and Evan Snook’s four-point, seven-rebound, five-assist, three-steal showing also paced the Pirates.

“We have to be better tomorrow, and it starts with me,” Cooper said.