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Hennessey stuns No. 2 Vanoss

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Hennessey stuns No. 2 Vanoss

Career nights by Rodriguez, Villalobos lead Eagles into 2A semis

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When Hennessey coach Brady Page realized who his team was going to be playing in the first round of the Class 2A state tournament, he was understandably worried.

Vanoss was ranked at or near the top of the class all season and featured one of its most dynamic players in Sando Hill.

Turns out Page has a pretty good team himself.

Hennessey upset No. 2 Vanoss 69-60 Friday night at Edmond North High School to earn a spot in the state semifinals for the fourth time in school history.

“It was just a game where everyone played well for us,” Page said.

In fact, a couple of Eagles had career nights.

Hugo Rodriguez dominated the first and fourth quarters and Bryan Villalobos was hot throughout as the sixth-ranked Eagles improved to 25-2.

That duo combined for 49 points to help offset 22 points by Hill.

Rodriguez had 10 first-quarter points as Hennessey built up a 16-13 lead.

It grew to a 14-point advantage by halftime as Villalobos and Cooper Fuksa spurred an 18-7 run.

Villalobos scored eight in the quarter, including a pair of treys.

Fuksa added seven, making all five of his free throws.

Vanoss crept back into it in the second half - and got as close as three points, but the Eagles had Rodriguez and free throws in their quarter.

Rodriguez added 11 points in the final frame and although he missed 3 of 4 free throws, his teammates made all seven of theirs.

That included Villalobos going 4 for 4 from the line as he scored 22 points overall.

Rodriguez finished with 27.

Both were career highs.

Fuksa scored 11.

“They had great nights and I thought Angel (Rodriguez) handled their pressure really well, which helped set them up,” Page said.

After Hill made two first-quarter treys, he didn’t have another field goal until the fourth quarter.

Eleven of his points came at the charity stripe.

Hennessey played No. 7 Rock Creek in the semifinal Friday night at State Fair Arena (after press time).

Rock Creek made 14 3-pointers en route to knocking off No. 1 Hooker 61-48 in that quarterfinal.

This is Hennessey’s second semifinal appearance in Page’s eight seasons. The Eagles were also in the 2012 2A semifinals before being eliminated by Haworth, 67-58.