The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Hoban breaks Lake in fourth
Lake Catholic owned a narrow lead headed into the fourth quarter Jan. 4 against visiting Akron Hoban. The Knights proceeded to execute in the fashion that’s earned TK Griffith’s team a reputation as one of Northeast Ohio’s most dangerous on an annual basis.
Hoban hit five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, deployed a zone defense to siphon energy from the Cougars’ offense and left Reynolds Road with a 6154 victory over Lake Catholic. The Knights outscored the Cougars, 21-12, in the final period.
Improved penetration sparked Hoban’s offense, behind Matt Salopek’s ability to beat his man off the dribble. When Lake Catholic’s defenders sagged off shooters to help near the basket, the Knights found their teammates for clean 3-point chances.
“I thought we started throwing the extra pass,” Griffith said. “A lot of those were inside-out, or skip passes. Matt facilitated, a couple of other guys facilitated.”
Jacob Snyder made three 3-pointers and led the Knights with 17 points. Quan Easterling finished with 15 and Darryl Peterson scored 13 off the bench. Hoban improved to 5-2, and the Cougars dropped to 5-2.
Luka Eller led all scorers with 21 points. Lake Catholic’s Ryan Boruszkowski and Sean Fitzgerald chipped in 12 apiece. Hoban kept Eller scoreless in the fourth quarter when it adjusted to a zone defense. Multiple defenders met Eller when he received the ball, and the Cougars were unable to generate enough offense away from him to counteract the Knights’ momentum-swinging 3-pointers.
“We weren’t being aggressive,” Lake Catholic coach Matt Moran said. “When you don’t do those type of things, especially against a good team like Hoban, you’re not going to win those games. You’re not going to win those games if you aren’t playing with any urgency, or any energy, or any effort.”
Hoban opened an 8-2 lead early before the Cougars pulled within 1513 after a quarter. Lake Catholic led, 25-19, after Eller’s layup before the Knights scored seven unanswered points to take a 26-25 edge into halftime.
Boruszkowski provided a jolt in the third quarter when he helped the Cougars build a 3832 lead midway through the period. Hoban pulled within a basket headed to the fourth, 42-40, before the Knights made three 3-pointers and took control of the contest.
Moran lamented Lake Catholic’s many missed layups, not only for points they would’ve added to the scoreboard but their transitive impact on defense and future offensive possessions.
Lake Catholic’s entered its contest Jan. 4 with a four-game winning streak in tow following its loss at South on Dec. 4. The Cougars play Solon on Jan. 6 as part of the Play by Play Classic at Elyria Catholic, where Moran hopes to see improved mental toughness.
“We missed some easy opportunities,” Moran said. “I felt, for some of our guys, when we missed those easy opportunities, it kind of took them out of the game. We just, mentally, have to get through that and have a shortterm memory.”
“We missed some easy opportunities.”