The Hagerstown Tigers traveled to Knightstown on Saturday, Feb. 21, for a Tri-Eastern Conference game against the Panthers. Centerville has already clinched the TEC championship, but there is a log jam to see which school will finish second and Hagerstown remains on the hunt.
The game appeared to be a tossup on paper. Hagerstown entered the game with a better overall record, but the Panthers held wins over two teams that defeated Hagerstown this season.
Tiger leading scorer Jayke Troutwine sat the game out with an injury, so the Tigers had to find players to step in to fill the scoring void.
The game was very physical, with both teams playing disruptive defense. With five minutes remaining in the third quarter, the game was tied at 21-21 before the Tigers went on a 9-0 run to take a 30-21 lead, then pushed their advantage to 36-25 at the end of the third.
The sophomore duo of Graham Vinson and Kaden Hall combined to score 13 third-quarter points. Vinson and Hall then combined to score 11 points in the fourth quarter to keep the Panthers at arm’s length in a 52-40 Tiger win.
Vinson led the Tigers and all game scorers with 21 points. Hall scored 14 points. Billy Stein led the Panthers with 20 points and Brody Adams scored 10 points.
Tigers head coach Tyler Stotler said he was proud of his team’s effort. “To win this game, we knew that we would have to play great defense and find others who could step up to replace Troutwine’s scoring and we did both. I am proud of them.”
With one TEC game to play, the Tigers are tied for second in the TEC standings with Winchester.
Hagerstown (12-7, 5-2 TEC) 12 8 16 16 52
Knightstown (8-11, 4-4 TEC) 7 13 5 15 40
Hagerstown (52)
Vinson 21, Isaac Schmitz 9, Braydon Sanders 0, Lincoln Small 3, Hall 14, Ben Hokey 1, Jonny Howard 4, Elijah French 0
Knightstown (40)
Devin Kincade 0, Stein 20, Aaron Meffort 2, Carson Bonham 2, Adams 10, Brantt Ellis 6
JV results: Hagerstown 62 (Preston Allred 11, Nick Hileman 10), Knightstown 34
A version of this article will appear in the February 25 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.