KNIGHTS MAKE A SEMIFINAL STATEMENT

TWINSBURG OH- One of the best things about postseason basketball, especially in the high school realm, are the storylines created from the games. Sometimes it’s an intriguing third matchup between conference teams, other times it’s a renewed matchup of squads that have not met in years and then there are the revenge games! You may have heard of these right? The regular season non-conference battle that may not go one team’s way, but it always leaves you wondering “what if….what if they matched up just one more time?”
Twinsburg high school was the site and a Division 1 Region 2 district semi final was the fight between two Northeastern Ohio powerhouse squads this season. Of course we are talking about #4 seeded Archbishop Hoban Knights going to battle with #7 seeded GlenOak Golden Eagles! The previous encounter happened back in December of last year when GlenOak snuck away with the 60-59 victory over The Knights, contributing to just one of Hoban’s three losses this season. Many players at Hoban felt like they did not put forth their best outing, while GlenOak rolled with confidence already knowing they own a victory over their district semi opponent.

Like you would expect from most Division 1 schools, from the opening tip, they were off to the races! Scoring at will, both sides exchanged shots trying to set the temp early. Ja’Corey Lipkings defines every bit of the word “athlete” and more, as the junior created a distraction on the court as someone you have to keep eyes on at all times. However, The Knights had their own #0 to turn to, Jonas Nichols, who looked like he sewed a “23” on his back instead with the number of crisp mid-rangers he was able to swish through in the opening quarter. Both teams held a lead in the first, but The Knights pulled away in the final moments to hold an 18-10 lead after one. The second quarter played fairly similar to the first, with both teams finding buckets from different spots on the floor, that was, until the final two minutes of play in the first half. That is when The Knights kicked it into high gear and it was foot on the gas pedal time for Hoban. Striking quickly and often, The Knights started unleashing a barrage of threes that started raining down on The Golden Eagles! Thus helping Hoban hold a halftime lead 42-28.

If you may have thought a ten minute intermission would slow down The Knights offense, guess again! Picking up essentially where they left off, Hoban kept up with the distance shots while also turning defense into offense with their live ball turnovers converting directly into fastbreak buckets! Guys like Will Scott, Logan Vowles and Joey Hardman all contributed double-digit scoring efforts on the evening, while in a blink of an eye, Hoban held a 35+ point lead and the running clock began by the waning moments of the third. Six different Knights hit a three pointer on the impressive run, totaling a baker’s dozen made threes on the night in a big 81-46 district semi win!
Congratulations are in order to the members of The GlenOak basketball team as well as Coach Hairston for another phenomenal season of Golden Eagles basketball! As we here at the network wish the GlenOak seniors nothing but the best in their future endeavors!

The win for Hoban (21-3) will seat up a “fight knight!” with #3 seeded Macedonia Nordonia (19-5) in a battle for a district championship! Interviews with winning Head Coach, T.K. Griffith and Player of The Game Jonas Nichols can be found below!

Scoring (Hoban)
Jonas Nichols: 27 PTS.
Will Scott: 15 PTS.
Logan Vowles: 12 PTS.
Joey Hardman: 11 PTS.
Sam Greer: 7 PTS.
Colin Coyne: 3 PTS.
Lamar Sperling: 2 PTS.
Andrew Griffith: 2 PTS.
Nate Korwin: 2 PTS.

Scoring (GlenOak)
Ja’Corey Lipkins: 16 PTS.
Jalen McElroy: 11 PTS.
Reese Zerger: 6 PTS.
Roman Woods: 4 PTS.
Elliott DeVan: 2 PTS.
Kenny Scott: 2 PTS.
Robert Brown: 2 PTS.
Lisbon James: 1 PT.
Dai’John Robinson: 1 PT.
Bryson Hill: 1 PT.

Scoring by Quarter:
Q1: Hoban 18 – 10 GlenOak
Q2: Hoban 24 – 18 GlenOak
Q3: Hoban 34 – 11 GlenOak
Q4: Hoban 5 – 7 GlenOak
Final: Hoban 81 – 46 GlenOak

*Contributed By YSN’s Ty Bartell