Eisenhower’s Austin Hanson goes up for a shot during Monday’s nonregion game against Brookville in Russell. Times Observer photo by Steve Younger

RUSSELL — Eisenhower beat District 9 Brookville 60-57 in a thrilling boys basketball game Monday.

The Knights jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the first quarter behind an aggressive defense that caught the Raiders off-guard.

The Knights continued their hot hand in the second quarter and at one point led the visitors by 22 points. Derek Guiher hit a pair of 3-pointers and Gavin Lindemuth added one to pace Eisenhower to a 33-17 halftime lead.

Brookville came out of the locker room on fire and outscored the Knights 27-11 in the third quarter. Luke Burton hit three 3-pointers to help knot the score at 44 at the end of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair. The Raiders’ Kellen Haines hit a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to put the visitors up by 5 points with five minutes to play.

With the Knights down, Guiher hit a 3-pointer to pull within a point, but it was Eisenhower’s free-throw shooting down the stretch that was the difference in the game. Lindemuth hit a pair of free throws with 1:08 left to give the knights a three-point lead. Hanson, who was 8 for 10 from the charity stripe, hit two free throws with 11.8 seconds remaining to give the Knights a five-point lead, which was enough.

“That was a good test for our guys with the playoffs coming up,” Eisenhower head coach Ryan Mangini said. “We always talk about basketball being a game of runs and that you need to respond. The whole third quarter was a run for Brookville and our guys were able to play smart and pull out a win over the final five minutes.”

The Knights were led by Hanson, who had a game-high 20 points. The visitors were led by Kellen Harris, who finished with 17 points.

Eisenhower is back in action tonight when it travels to Youngsville.

BROOKVILLE (57)

Lucas 2 0 4, Lucas 1 1 3, Taylor 0 0 0, Marrara 3 0 6, Burkett 1 1 3, Mackins 1 0 2, Miller 0 2 2, Haines 6 2 17, Burton 6 0 16, JoSeymeyn 2 0 4, JaSemeyn 0 0 0. Totals 22 6 57.

EISENHOWER (60)

Hanson 6 8 20, Seymour 4 1 9, Lindemuth 3 3 11, Chase 2 0 4, Guiher 5 0 14, Gigliotti 0 0 0, Mandeville 1 0 2. Totals 21 12 60.

3-point goals–Haines 3, Burton 4, Lindemuth 2, Guiher 4.

Brookville 4 13 27 13 — 57

Eisenhower 14 19 11 16 — 60