With Eastern View trailing by nine points at halftime of Tuesday night’s Region 4B boys basketball semifinal at top-seeded Hanover, all D’Aze Hunter could think about was how much he wanted to keep playing.

A senior, Hunter wasn’t ready for his high school basketball career to come to an end. And when he saw an opportunity to keep his team’s championship dreams alive, he made the most of it.

Hunter scored 11 of his game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of big 3-pointers that gave the Cyclones an advantage they never relinquished in a 57-49 victory over the Hawks.

The come-from-behind win advanced Eastern View (12-2) to this afternoon’s 2 p.m. regional title game at Battlefield District rival Courtland (13-2), which defeated Monacan 64-58 in Tuesday’s other semifinal matchup.

The Cyclones and Cougars split their two regular-season meetings, with each squad winning on the other’s home floor.

“I didn’t want to go home,” Hunter said. “I just didn’t want to go home, so I felt like I had to do something.”

With Eastern View trailing 38-37 midway through the final period, Hunter did, in fact, do something.

The first of Hunter’s two enormous treys came with just under four minutes left to play, and it gave the Cyclones their first lead since late in the opening stanza.

On the next possession, the point guard drained another 3 from almost the same spot on the left wing, putting them up 43-38 with 3:05 to go.

“I was feeling it,” a smiling Hunter said. “I knew the ball was going in as soon as I released it both times. It felt good.”

Eastern View cruised from there, converting 11 of 14 free-throw attempts over the final 1:47 to earn its first regional championship berth since 2017. Among those totals, Hunter contributed a 5-for-6 effort.

“He was awesome,” Cyclones head coach Patrick Thornhill said of Hunter, who also contributed five assists, three rebounds and three steals on the evening. “It wasn’t just the big 3s at the end; his on-ball pressure [on defense] really set the tone for us tonight.”

Eastern View’s high-pressure man-to-man defense rarely afforded Hanover (7-3) any opportunities to get comfortable offensively. While the taller Hawks led for much of the contest, they struggled to create separation against the more athletic Cyclones and committed 19 turnovers—11 of which came in the second half. Their woes reached a nadir in the third quarter, when they managed just four points.

Junior guard Charlie Rohr paced Hanover with 13 points, though nine of those came before intermission when he helped his team build a 29-20 advantage. His classmate, 6-foot-7 forward Owen DeShazo, contributed 12 points and 10 boards.

DeShazo was one of five players to see action on the Hawks front line that measured 6-foot-4 or taller. Senior forwards Trevor Brooks (6-4) and Grant Belcher, senior center Miles Peoples (6-8) and junior center Micah Dabney (6-5) combined for just six points and eight rebounds though, with Brooks accounting four and five of those, respectively.

Meanwhile, Eastern View got 16 points and 11 boards from 6-foot-5 junior forward Corey Long, while fellow 6-foot-5 junior Rickey Butler chipped in seven points and six rebounds. Their efforts helped the Cyclones post a 31-26 edge on the glass.

“Rebounding always comes down to boxing out, and the guys did a fantastic job with that,” Thornhill remarked. “That’s a matter of fundamentals and pure toughness on their part.”

Eastern View will need its fundamentals when it faces Courtland Wednesday afternoon. The No. 6 Cougars took it to the Cyclones 69-51 on Jan. 29—a result which enabled Courtland to claim the district title and the No. 1 seed in Region 4B North.

“You always have to be ready to play for 32 minutes when you face [Courtland],” Thornhill said. “They’re always so well-coached, so you have to bring plenty of energy and limit your mistakes to have a chance against them.”

Eastern View (12-2): Amaree Robinson 0, Rickey Butler 7, Gio Maxie 9, D’Aze Hunter 21, Corey Long 16, D’Myo Hunter 2, Taharka Siaca Bey 2. Totals: 20 13-18 57.

Hanover (7-3): Beau Sahnow 5, Charlie Rohr 13, Braniel Santos 8, Owen DeShazo 12, Trent Turpin 0, Grant Belcher 2, Michael Patrick 2, Trevor Brooks 4, Brandon Elrod 3, Miles Peoples 0, Micah Dabney 0. Totals: 19 10-14 49.

3-pointers: Eastern View 4 (D’Aze Hunter 4). Hanover 1 (Rohr).