Federal Hocking 60 Eastern Pike 59 a final

[pfloyd]

Federal Hocking 60
Eastern Pike 59 a final

... Coach Thompson/Coach Tolson's Federal Hocking Lancers had not made it to the District Finals since 1970 ... 53 years ... Eastern Pike entered the game sporting a 12-11 record ... EP is young, starting 1 sophomore/2 juniors/1 freshmen and 1 senior - anytime youth leads it's a flip of the coin as to which team will show up - a team that knocks off Valley scoring over 90 points and hitting double digit three pointers or a team that wins vs Ripley going 0 for 9 from beyond the arc ... McAfee Gymnasium was packed! loud ... what high school basketball in the postseason is all about ... BOTH teams looking to punch their ticket to Basketball :30 at the Convo on Thursday night ... the Lancers looked to make this one a cakewalk to the Convo as they opened the game on fire - sr. guard Caden Chapman hit a mid-range jumper ... followed by a trey to spot the Lancers a 5-0 lead ... Fed Hock would hit 5 straight three-pointers 5/5 in the opening period from beyond the arc ... leading the barrage was Andrew Airhart's 3/3 triples (9pts) ... Tariq Cottrill 1 three ball ... at 1:50 on the clock FH held a 17-6 lead ... in the final almost 2 minutes the Eagles went on a 6-0 run to close out the qtr. Tucker Leist 2 pts/ Jace White 2 pts/ sr Neil Leist 2pts / Teagan Werner added 2pts and TJ Richards off the bench 4 pts ... Federal Hocking 17 Eastern 12 after 1 ... Eastern is a solid TEAM - size/length ... 3 point scorers on the perimeter in T. Leist/Jace White/Neil Leist ... quickness on defense ... the Eagles had absorbed the Lancers long range aerial attack ... settled into running their offense while applying defensive pressure on the perimeter as they turned FH over 6 times in the opening quarter ... by 5:23 in the 2nd period Eastern had closed to be within 1 possession 18-21 ... EP outscored FH in the 2nd 19-17 ... turning FH over 4 times while taking care of the ball on their own end - no turnovers for the Eagles ... sophomore Tucker Leist knocked down 3 triples (9pts) ... jr White added 6pts including 2/3 from the line/ Neil Leist 4pts ... Eastern looked like they were getting comfortable in the game ... turning up the offensive pressure by scoring the ball - the Lancers took the blows and continued to be consistent with their own weapons - solid period 17 points , Caden Chapman hit for 8 pts with nice mid-range jumpers and a transition bucket ... jr PG Tariq Cottrill was kept out of the paint for most of the 1st quarter by solid Eastern man2man D and quickness at the guard position to match the speed of Cottrill ... TC IS one of the best PG's in SEO - so many parts to his game offensively - hits the 3, handles the ball, looks to pass, looks to penetrate and get to the rim - in the 2nd Cottrill's persistence got him to the rim for 2 fgs and to the line for 2/2 FTs (6pts) ... Andrew Airhart stayed a threat from deep knocking down his 4th triple of the half ... what looked to be a cakewalk to the Convo for FH was now a game ... a game between 2 excellent TEAMS with weapons all over the floor ... game on ... Federal Hocking 34 Eastern Pike 31 at the half ... pressure man to man defense by both teams - guaranteed to keep the tempo from both sides at Daytona levels as both teams pushed the ball in transition ... coming out of the locker rooms both teams let their floor leaders takeover - Federal Hocking put the ball in the hands of Tariq Cottrill while Eastern looked and found Jace White ... White seemed to be able to get to the rim anytime he wanted - the the junior took the ball down low on the baseline for 8 pts ... freshman 6-4 big man Brewer Tomlison used his strength in the paint for 2 fgs/4pts while the quick a foot Teagan Werner got to the rim for 2 more fgs (4pts) at the rim ... in all EP scored 16 points in the qtr 12 points at the rim in the paint ... when the opposition looks to have found "the key" to getting the Gold Ticket to the Convo - what do you do? give the ball to your floor leader - Tariq Cottrill ... TC kept the Lancers in charge - dropping 12 points on his own ball in the period including an NBA three ball to go with drives into the paint finishing at the rim ... Iden Miller added a putback bucket plus 1/2 from the FT line (3pts) ... with the ball going inside on TC drives ... Airhart took a pass from Cottrill deep on the left wing - a catch on the move and shoot - splash! - 3 from deep - his 5th triple of the game - if you can shoot the 3 and your opponent KNOWS you can shoot the 3 ball - you take it to the rim ... Airhart to the paint, fouled, 2/2 from the line (5pts in the qtr) ... Federal Hocking 54 Eastern Pike 47 after 3 ... Eastern after taking the shots from Fed Hock in the opening quarter had battled the next 2 quarters to get in position to "take the lead" ... get it to a one possession game to tie or take the lead ... the entire game it felt like IF EP could/would "get the ball down low, in the paint" to White/Tomlison - they could put together a run of fgs ... in the 4th period period it was defense - on both sides - missed opportunities on both sides that stood out ... Eastern with jr Jace White leading the charge with 7 pts a trey and a midrange jumper along the baseline ... Tomlison used his size on the blocks - 2pts in the paint ... Cottrill for FH took it among the bigs in the paint for 2pts at the rim ... Eastern had gotten into position, made the mini run to get within one possession ... at 4:30 on the game clock the Lancers led 57-56 ... the basketball gods must have said 53 years was enough ... empty trip after empty trip by both teams ... missed open looks, missed passes that could have/would have given FH separation ... turnovers by Eastern in the qtr (7 turnovers in the 4th) ... 3:30 57-56 Fed Hock ... 1:41 57-56 Lancers held on ... with 45.5 on the clock Chapman went to the line for 2 big FTs ... 1/2 ... 58-56 Lancers ... with :30 on the clock Andrew Airhart took a fast break pass to the house for 2 ... 60-56 Federal Hocking :27 sec on the clock, time out FH to set the D ... at 14.7 seconds on the clock a moving pick on EP ! FH up by 4 ... a Lancer turnover, Neil Leist for Eastern drained a deep 3 ... 60-59 Fed Hocking ... inbounds pass ... Federal Hocking had punched their ticket to the Convo and Basketball:30 ... the Lancers had paid their dues over 53 years ... welcome to the Round House on Richland Lancers ... Federal Hocking 60 Eastern Pike 59 a final ...

...Pfloyd's official UN-official Napkin Stats - Eastern Pike ...

Scoring... Jace White 23, Tucker Leist 11, Neil Leist 9, Brewer Tomlison 6, Teagan Werner 6, TJ Richards 4
3 Pointers ... 5/14 ... Tucker Leist 3, Jace White 1, Neil Leist 1
FTs ... 6/10
TOs ... 16
PnP ... 14 fgs/ 28 points in the paint
PnT ... 1 fg/ 2 points in transition
Pbk ... 1 fg/ 2 points on putback buckets

... Eastern Pike , young , finishing at 12-12 on the season ... remember the names come next season Tucker Leist,TJ Richards, Jace White, Brewer Tomlison, Teagan Werner - they all return for the Eagles ... don't be surprised when EP enters this same game in 2023-24 with an 18+ win season in tow ...

... Pfloyd's official UN-official Napkin Stats - Federal Hocking ...

Scoring ... Tariq Cottrill 24, Andrew Airhart 19, Caden Chapman 14, Iden Miller 3
3 Pointers ... 8/17... Andrew Airhart 5, Tariq Cottrill 2, Caden Chapman 1
FTs ... 8/12
TOs ... 16 ... 10 in the opening half/6 in the 2nd
PnP ... 8 fgs/ 16 points in the paint
PnT ... 2 fgs/ 4 points in transition
Pbk ... 1 fg/ 2 points on putback buckets

... what can you say ... the storyline had to be - could the Lancers finally break through and get to a district final ... sometimes knowing what you know is your own worst enemy ... the added pressure of being THAT TEAM that gets you past THAT wall ... pressure that shouldn't be there - BUT YOU KNOW! ... the Lancers KNEW, and got the job done - the big 3 got it done offensively - Chapman 14, Airhart 19 (5 treys) with his last one a moving, catch and shoot in one motion deep ball - I told the gentleman beside me "Oh my!!! he did NOT just do that !!!" - great shot ... and then you have the floor general - Tariq Cottrill - 24 points ... nothing easy ... doing what he HAD to do to move the Lancers "down the road" literally and figuratively "to the Convo" ... there was a thread on SEOPs asking about floor generals ... I named Tariq Cottrill Fed Hock and Myles Montgomery of Minford ... there was some blowback about without the bigs or surrounding cast - they weren't generals - sorry but Tariq Cottrill literally does it all - offense, defense, sets the tempo of both ... and CARRIES his TEAM on his back IF/WHEN needed ... without a Cottrill or Montgomery to step up IN the moment their respective teams don't win some of those "tough games when the rest of the team is struggling or has their games taken away or guarded" too many areas that a Cottrill or Montgomery contribute to, to take away - they find ways to MAKE their respective TEAMS win ... best of luck vs Notre Dame Thursday - at the Convo ...

[93Bulldog]

Great rundown, Floyd.

That was one helluva basketball game. It had everything you want to see. Fans got their money's worth that's for sure.

[bball30]

"tempo....at Daytona levels" Now that's a pfloyd signature descriptive phrase!!! Well done.

[pfloyd]

"tempo....at Daytona levels" Now that's a pfloyd signature descriptive phrase!!! Well done.

LOL , bball30! I get that "stuff" from sitting at the scorers table at the Convo LOL ... it's contagious LOL ... just got my "gold ticket" this morning to get into the Convo for District and Regional action ... life is good ...

[GoIrish]

Great synopsis pfloyd, thank you! It was an awesome game and atmosphere. Excited to see what the future holds for the young Eagles!

[pfloyd]

Great synopsis pfloyd, thank you! It was an awesome game and atmosphere. Excited to see what the future holds for the young Eagles!

GoIrish - THAT Eagles team was NOT a .500 ballclub ! they could/can play with anyone ... looking forward to seeing them next season as they will definitely be a TEAM to watch - I already marked them down as a "must see" team/stop on the pfloyd regular season tour for next year ...

[pfloyd]

... 53 years ... 1970 since Federal Hocking had won a district semi final game ... Pink Floyd released The Dark Side of the Moon studio album 50 years ago on March 1, 1973 ... just a a little trivia from pfloyd ... carry on ...

[Red&BlackDog]

Tremendous rundown of this very good game. Always enjoy reading your play by play type of recap. The Fed Hock Lancers will be well represented at the Convo with fans of basketball from all corners of Athens county. GO Lancers!!!

[pfloyd]

Tremendous rundown of this very good game. Always enjoy reading your play by play type of recap. The Fed Hock Lancers will be well represented at the Convo with fans of basketball from all corners of Athens county. GO Lancers!!!

… thank you Red&BlackDog … I appreciate the kind words AND THE READ!

[Jason Vorhees]

PFloyd,
That 1969-70 year, Federal Hocking won their District and made it to Regionals. Back then, only two Divisions, A and AA. What’s interesting is that they were in the Oxford Regional while Zane Trace and Skyvue (now Monroe Central) was in a different Regional Bracket.
I’m genuinely shocked that Federal Hocking hasn’t been in more district championship games over the course of their school history. Besides about a 3 year stretch where they were going 0-20, 2-18, etc., they’ve always put out a pretty decent basketball team. That’s something else that has been remarkable. Thompson and Tolson have put a pretty darn good basketball team and program together in a very short time.

[Sweater poorly knit]

PFloyd,
That 1969-70 year, Federal Hocking won their District and made it to Regionals. Back then, only two Divisions, A and AA. What’s interesting is that they were in the Oxford Regional while Zane Trace and Skyvue (now Monroe Central) was in a different Regional Bracket.
I’m genuinely shocked that Federal Hocking hasn’t been in more district championship games over the course of their school history. Besides about a 3 year stretch where they were going 0-20, 2-18, etc., they’ve always put out a pretty decent basketball team. That’s something else that has been remarkable. Thompson and Tolson have put a pretty darn good basketball team and program together in a very short time.

Fed was DIII for the longest time and DIII was an absolute gauntlet in the 90s/2000s. The road to a district title generally ran through Wheelersburg/Chesapeake/North Adams/Ironton etc. A few teams had potential, 2005/2007, Hornsby and Garrett teams had some great talent. Coach Tolson played with Mark Whiting, that team had to have been a handful. The 91 team was a potential State contender and fell victim to stall tactics in the sectionals.

Great to see the Lancers return to pumping out some quality basketball teams.

[The Ultimate Lancer]

PFloyd,
That 1969-70 year, Federal Hocking won their District and made it to Regionals. Back then, only two Divisions, A and AA. What’s interesting is that they were in the Oxford Regional while Zane Trace and Skyvue (now Monroe Central) was in a different Regional Bracket.
I’m genuinely shocked that Federal Hocking hasn’t been in more district championship games over the course of their school history. Besides about a 3 year stretch where they were going 0-20, 2-18, etc., they’ve always put out a pretty decent basketball team. That’s something else that has been remarkable. Thompson and Tolson have put a pretty darn good basketball team and program together in a very short time.

Yes, Thompson is the top coach in the TVC now. He has the Lancers dominating.

[OHHS old timer]

... 53 years ... 1970 since Federal Hocking had won a district semi final game ... Pink Floyd released The Dark Side of the Moon studio album 50 years ago on March 1, 1973 ... just a a little trivia from pfloyd ... carry on ...

Good trivia pfloyd!!! My favorite album!!