HENRYVILLE — After a 62-49 win over Clarksville at Furnish Gymnasium on Friday, the only things Henryville coach Perry Hunter could find to complain about were free throw shooting and turnovers.

Then the Henryville coach took a peek at the box score. His Hornets missed just five foul shots and turned the ball over only eight times — twice in each quarter.

“I guess you can never make a coach happy,” Hunter said with chuckle.

What has made Hunter happy is the way his team finished the regular season. Friday’s win was Henryville’s fifth straight victory and the Hornets are 8-2 in 2009.

“Last year, we ended the (regular) season horribly and it seemed to carry over (to a 70-46 loss to Borden in the first round of the sectional),” Hunter admitted. “I still don’t think we’ve played as well as we’re capable of playing, but we’ve beaten a couple of teams here who aren’t too bad.”

Henryville’s 2008-09 team is just the sixth since 1957 to win 15 regular-season games.

“This year, we want the end of the season to carry over, this time in a positive way,” Hunter said in anticipation of next Tuesday’s matchup against New Washington.

Henryville’s senior class has produced two straight Southern Indiana Conference championships and 24 wins over the past two seasons.

The class is led by Cory Munk and Skyler Brooks, but — as Friday showed — all of the Hornets are capable of contributing.

Munk led the way with 15 points Friday, scoring 12 in a 3:44 span in the second period. Clifton Bishaber added 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Brooks struggled from the field, but hit all six of his foul shots and finished with 11 points. Junior Steven Mayfield added 13 points, going 3-for-4 from the field and 5-for-5 from the line.

“Skyler and Cory have always been the best players in their class,” Hunter said. “But they’ve accepted that they can’t win on their own. They’ve done their part to make this a better team and the others have held up their end of the bargain and come through. Individuals don’t win championships, teams do.”

Henryville’s other senior — reserve Leo Liburd — started on Senior Night and had two early rebounds that gave the Hornets a spark, Hunter said.

“He always brings a lot of energy. He’s in there to rebound and play defense. He’s a kid who moved here in the middle of his sophomore season. I wish he’d been here a little longer, but he’s been a big contributor.”

Clarksville hung with the Hornets until late in the third quarter, when Henryville stretched a 40-36 lead midway through the period to 51-41 with :35 left with an 11-5 run.

Clarksville cut the lead back to 51-45 early in the fourth quarter, but another big run — this time 9-3 — sealed the win for the Hornets.

“Each time we made a run, it seemed that (Clarksville) hit a big shot and they’d get right back in it,” Hunter said.

Most of the time, the big shots came from General freshman Billy Edelen. Edelen had a career-high 15 points in just three quarters. His seven-point outburst in the second quarter gave Clarksville its last lead at 22-21 with three minutes remaining in the half.

He went 5-for-8 from the field and hit all four of his foul shots.

“He was kind of thrown into the fire this season,” Clarksville coach Scott Matthews said. “He played really well. He got into the lane and made some pull-up jumpers. He made his free throws and he made good decisions.”

Matthews liked the way his team played on Friday. The Generals did everything well, he said, except shoot. They went 15-for-48 from the field and 7-for-31 from inside the 3-point stripe.

“We played a clean game,” Matthews said. “We played well, but it’s hard when you struggle to get baskets.”

Clarksville (7-13) will face 12-8 West Washington on Wednesday in the first round of the Providence Sectional.

“We’re playing with good chemistry,” he said. “We’re going to go to Providence, guard West Washington and make sure we handle the ball.”



BOX SCORE

CLARKSVILLE 9 18 16 6—49

HENRYVILLE 10 23 18 11—62

Clarksville (7-13) — Merchant 6, Masters 5, Noe 13, Edelen 15, Bramer 6, Jenkins 1, St. Clair 3, Carver 0.

Henryville (15-7) — Munk 15, Weeks 7, Bishaber 13, Brooks 11, Mayfield 13, Robertson 3, Ky. Reed 0, Ka. Reed 0, Stone 0, Liburd 0.

3-Point Field Goals: — Clarksville 8 (Merchant 2, Bramer 2, St. Clair, Masters, Noe, Edelen); Henryville 7 (Mayfield 2, Munk, Weeks, Bishaber, Brooks, Robertson).

Rebounds — Clarksville 25 (Noe 8); Henryville 22 (Bishaber 9).

Turnovers — Clarksville 9, Henryville 8.