At home throughout the early part of February, the Hamilton boys basketball team intended to build some momentum with the Section III Class D playoffs looming. The Emerald Knights hosted Waterville last Monday night and mostly turned to its defense to pull out a 49-40 victory over the Indians, improving its record to 11-5. Only once did Hamilton put together an offensive surge — in the first quarter, hitting with some regularity as it raced out to a 16-6 lead. Even though Waterville’s production would improve from there, it never got into a consistent groove in the face of the Emerald Knights’ pressure as that margin remained relatively stable the rest of the night. Derrick Cenicola led both sides with 17 points, with Matt Broedel adding 12 points. Nate Stewart (eight points) and Coley Graham (seven points) also had productive outings. For Waterville, R.J. Baumgartner led with 12 points.