Federal Hocking 64 Portsmouth Notre Dame 56 a D4 District Final

[pfloyd]

Federal Hocking 64
Portsmouth Notre Dame 56 a final

... I walked into the Convo through the Press Entrance last night, some things had changed, some of the familiar faces were not there ... but as the giant scoreboard read "Basketball :30" I knew I was in the right place ... Lou Horvath - the Voice of High School Basketball in SEO- was right where he has been for all of my years attending post season action at the Convo ... courtside, at the scorers table getting the "little things" taken care of - as with everyone who is involved with putting on the "greatest show in high school hoops" - the District/Regional action , Basketball :30 at the Convo - they ALL want the experience to be like no other for the teams, the coaches, the players, the fans, the school communities ... and so it is - getting TO the Convo is a TEAM goal for every one of the 71 teams Below the Lancaster-Dixon Line ... last night as I smiled just walking into what has become home for 3, now 2 weeks out of every year of following high school basketball I was not alone!... soon after I touched bases with the folks courtside I heard the almost 2000 fans for the Federal Hocking Lancers making their way into the stands surrounding the Convo floor - unbelievable , one those "whoever is the last one to leave Amesville, Coolville, Stewart please turnout the lights" crowds ... loud, supportive, trying to take in EVERY moment they were experiencing - memories for a lifetime ... Basketball :30 ...

... the Titans of Portsmouth Notre Dame entered the contest as a #6 seed having punched their Gold Ticket by knocking off #3 seed South Webster 34-30 ... Federal Hocking the #2 seed advancing out of the Athens High School District Semi getting by a very good matchup with Eastern Pike High School, the Lancers a 60-59 survivor ... Notre Dame - size that FH had not seen in 6-7 (looks bigger) big man senior Dominic Sparks for the Titans, 6-3 Carter Campbell at a forward spot and 2 guard with size/strength in jr Cody Metzler ... ND lives defensively out of the 2-3 zone, packing it in, make you beat them from the perimeter ... Federal Hocking - not big on the inside - not ND big with both size a strong, thick big body strength ... Iden Miller 6-2 , Scotty Balch 6-3 both with length, but not typical big man strength down low ... ND living in the zone defensively would love to make this one a 1/2 court , work the ball into the paint, lots of touches for the bigs in the paint at the rim type of game ... Fed Hock NEEDED to make shots, NEEDED to get the tempo up where the bigs would have to get up and down the bigger Convo floor for 32 minutes ... the Lancers have some of the best perimeter shooters in SEO - Drew Airhart, Tariq Cottrill, Scotty Balch, Caden Chapman, Billy Ward ... could the Lancers find the openings on the perimeter to get shots on goal? the size of the Titans in the paint was going to take away the penetration ... in the 2-3 zone the midrange jumper from the FT line is a key ... knock it down and the big center has to come out and guard ... big guy comes up, the baseline/backside is vulnerable ... all of this looks good on paper before the opening tip BUT how would the teams handle the "lights" of the Convo - being on the Convo court - big , open shooting background , and then there's the "black line" effect of the college 3 point line ... most teams/shooters shoot beyond the black line which is beyond college distance for the 3 ... shots altered, shooting further back than normal ... all questions to be answered in the 32 minutes of Basktetball :30 at the Convo ...

... Federal Hocking drew first blood as the Lancers speed/quickness forced 7 first quarter Notre Dame turnovers ... the first 3 went to the house with Lancer points going the other way ... ND knew about the FH quickness, but hadn't seen it in person - 3 transition buckets for FH ... the Lancers got scoring from 5 different players to open the game in the 1st led by Tariq Cottrill's 5 pts - a 2 pter at the rim, and an old fashion 3 pt play - 2 at the rim and 1 ... Caden Chapman did what he HAD to do - knocked down a midrange jumper from the FT line (2pts), Iden Miller 2pts in the paint, Drew Airhart 2 pts/ Scotty Balch off the bench for 2pts ... the stat that stood out was Fed Hocking went 0/5 from behind the arc/ all shots where beyond the college "black" 3 point line ... Notre Dame is a solid, well coached TEAM, half court offense with the 6-7 & length sr Sparks in the paint as the focal point was going to give FH a major challenge for 32 minutes ... Sparks made his presence felt in the paint picking up a putback bucket early and 3 more fgs on the blocks, 8pts in the qtr ... Aaryn Bradford added 2pts at the rim/ 6-3 Carter Campbell 2 pts in the paint along with 6-2 Cody Metzler taking it strong to the rim for 2pts ... Notre Dame absorbed the early display of quickness/their own 7 TOs/ to do what they wanted to do for the 32 minutes - put the ball in the paint ... in the opening quarter 7 fgs ALL in the paint at the rim ... Notre Dame 14 Federal Hocking 13 after 1 ... a BIG part of the Federal Hocking offensive attack is the 3 point shot ... 0/5 in the 1st quarter ... IF Notre Dame was going to be able to control the paint at both ends - getting the ball down low offensively to the bigs and then again due to their size in the paint forcing FH to shoot on the perimeter with the bigs clogging the paint ... the Lancers HAD TO score the 3 ball to offset the inside scoring of the Titans ... through quarter one & the start of quarter number 2 FH was kept in the ballpark ... opening the 2nd period Chapman and Miller matched buckets with ND ... Chapman with 4 points with his FT line jumper that was there to be had ... Miller at the rim down low for 2 pts ... Notre Dame continued to go to their strength in the paint Campbell with 4 pts /Sparks 6pts / Metzler adding 2 pts along with Myles Phillips off the bench 2pts ... at the 2:38 mark in the period FH was trying to match inside points but had missed its first 5 treys in the 2nd ... 0/10 in the game ... 2:56 the score stood ND 24-19... the Titans continued to look inside getting 2pts from the bigs seemingly each trip down court ... Cottrill went yard as Lou said "from the 3rd ring of Saturn" 24-22 ND at 2:38 on the clock ... 6-3 sr Scotty Balch connected for a deep 3 ... FH 25-24 ... Andrew Airhart - splash from Court Street for the 3rd straight FH triple 28-24 Lancers 1:09 on the game clock ... ND continued going into the bigs for 2 fgs ... 28-28 ... Airhart his 2nd triple of the period followed by a midrange FH jumper for 2pts ... 3 pointers - the great equalizer ... the FH weapon of choice had arrived in the Convo ... 4 straight treys in the final 3 minutes of the 2nd had given FH a 5 point lead going into the locker rooms ... Federal Hocking 33 Notre Dame 28 at the half ... the opening minutes coming out of the locker rooms - key points in the game - what adjustments were made - ND had to stop the 3 ball defensively ... the inside game was working as FH had no answer defensively in the paint for the bigs ... for Fed Hock - do you abandon trying to get inside? you made some noise from downtown to close out the 2nd qtr, opening up the 5 point lead ... Notre Dame came out attacking the paint , Sparks moved out to the high post and the guards Bradford/Phillips/Campbell worked off of the big man's picks getting into the paint/to the rim early and often ... by 3:15 in the qtr the Titans had moved out to a 45-40 advantage ... Myles Phillips 5pts/Cody Meztler 2pts/Campbell 3pts/Bradford 4pts - all on drives to the rim ... add 4pts from Sparks 2pts on a putback bucket ... for Federal Hocking, the Lancers came out putting up the 3 ball ... 9 treys taken in the qtr ... empty from deep to start the quarter - 2 putback buckets were the offense early in the 3rd one from Iden Miller and 1 from Scotty Balch ... just as the Lancers had done in the 2nd they found the range from deep as the qtr was closing out ... FH closed the gap on ND with 3 straight triples to finish the 3rd - 2 deep balls from Tariq Cottrill and a Scotty Balch 3 pointer ... the equalizer - offsetting the inside game of the Titans ... Federal Hocking 46 Notre Dame 46 after 3 ... if you have followed the Federal Hocking season , you know that the Lancers are 32 minutes of intensity on the defensive end of the floor ... vs Notre Dame the Lancers opened the game with 3 straight transition buckets off of steals ... the 4th quarter opened with sr Billy Ward with a pick and 2 at the rim to give FH the lead 48-46 ... big forced turnover and finish by Ward ... solid defense by FH kept ND off the board ... another big time play in the paint on a putback bucket by Iden Miller stretched the lead to 50-46 Lancers 6:08 to play ... a 3 pointer by Metzler 50-49 FH ... imo the turning point of the game : a 1 pt lead ... Notre Dame had stayed in their 2-3 zone the entire game ... for that matter, ND had stayed in their 2-3 zone in their 4 qtrs vs South Webster AND the 3 qtrs 3 minutes in THIS one ... the Lancers pulled the ball out to half court, Cottrill held the ball as the clock ran down ... after almost a minute off the game clock the guards for ND came out to pick up Cottrill and the ball - mismatch ... Tariq Cottrill one on one vs anyone is a defensive nightmare ... he couldn't get to the rim BUT he did get fouled ... and fouled ... 1 and 1 the bonus ... no defensive answer to stop Cottrill ... the 5-8 jr floor general had 14 pts entering the 4th period ... the PG went 11/14 from the FT line in the final qtr. at 3:06 left in the game Fed Hock led 54-49 ... 1:14 ... 59 52 following a Connie Thomas triple ... 1:02 ND's Metzler with a 3 ball to make the score 59-55 Lancers ... ND with no timeouts left could only foul, as the Lancers played keep away ... Cottrill's 11/14 from the line to go with Chapman 1/2 and Miller's 2/3 closed out the game as the final 14 points for FH were all from the line as the Lancers took the District 'ship and were "coming back to the Convo" for regional action Tuesday night ... Federal Hocking 64 Portsmouth Notre Dame 56 a final ...


... Pfloyd's official UN-official Napkin Stats - Portsmouth Notre Dame

Scoring ... Dominic Sparks 18, Myles Phillips 10, Carter Campbell 9, Cody Metzler 9, Aaryn Bradford 6, Connie Thomas 4
3 Pointers ... 2/9 ... Cody Metzler 1, Connie Thomas 1
FTs ... 6/13
TOs ... 18
PnP ... 20 fgs/ 40 points in the paint
PnT ... 2 fgs/ 4 points in transition
Pbk ... 4 fgs/ 8 points on putback buckets

... Portsmouth Notre Dame has/had a very nice team ... the loss of sophomore guard Landon Barbarits in the 1st qtr. on a hard foul trying to stop a transition layup by FH ... Barbarits suffered a broken arm or wrist ... we wish him the best and full/quick recovery ... not sure of the overall impact of that loss had on the outcome of the game - obviously a integral piece of the TEAM as a starter, hardnosed defender ( he had 5 pts vs South Webster earlier in the week) ... Notre Dame has lots of pieces returning Barbarits (soph)/ Bradford (soph)/Metzler (jr)/Phillips (soph) and Thomas (fr) ... ND will have a tough time replacing 6-7 Sparks in the paint and 6-3 Campbell - both quality players for Coach Mader ...

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

Scoring ... Tariq Cottrill 25, Iden Miller 12, Scotty Balch 10, Drew Airhart 8, Caden Chapman 7, Billy Ward 2
3 Pointers ... 7/26 ... Tariq Cottrill 3, Drew Airhart 2, Scotty Balch 2
FTs ... 15/20 ... 14/19 in the 4th quarter ... final 14 points of the game for FH all from the FT line
TOs ... 9
PnP ... 6 fgs/ 12 points in the paint
PnT ... 4 fgs/ 8 points in transition
Pbk ... 3 fgs/ 6 points on putback buckets

... this one was going to be a tempo game from the outset - Federal Hocking wanting to turn it up to offset the big size disadvantage in the paint ... Notre Dame wanting to slow it down, make it a half court contest ... ND did a great job as they were able to stay in their zone, able to get the ball inside to their strength - size - 40 points in the paint ... in the end ... it was STILL the strengths of Federal Hocking that were the difference - the Lancers hit enough 3 pointers to reel in the Titans and/or help offset the in the paint points by the bigs for ND ... great games all around - Caden Chapman doesn't get the press that Airhart and Cottrill get BUT this young man IS the heart of the Lancer TEAM - hardnosed defense, bangs in the paint with anyone, his ballhandling - the ability to handle the rock under pressure - he does it ... he has one the best midrange jump shots you will find ... a 32 minute guy who never let's up ... a guy EVERY contending team has to have and every wannabee contending team wishes they had ... Tariq Cottrill ... take away his ability to get to the rim (size does matter when you are talking 6-7 with length in the paint) - check ... he just finds another way to contribute/ involve the rest of the team to get it done ... vs ND - ballhandling ... he had 14 points on 3 triples and a couple 2 pointers entering the 4th ... 46-46 tie entering the final 8 minutes ... can't get into the paint - great coaching move to pull it out by FH - TC STILL couldn't get to the rim BUT he didn't have to ! his ability to handle the ball, quickness got him the step he needed to force the defensive players to foul him, put him at the line for "uncontested" - ain't no 6-7 defender at the FT line - foul shots... 11/14 ... the kid, the TEAM are winners ... best of luck Tuesday night vs either River or Hiland ... River is the #1 seed out of the East and Hiland is #3 - pick your poison ... no matter, as the Lancers are "coming back to the Convo!!!" ...

[VetteMan]

Pfloyd, very good rundown as always. Also, thanks to ( BMG- Media )

[pfloyd]

Pfloyd, very good rundown as always. Also, thanks to ( BMG- Media )

... they do a great job along with the SOSA broadcasts ... and they are FREE to us, stay on youtube forever so we can watch them anytime ... sadly the OHSAA takes over with pay per view broadcasts for regionals and state games ...

[pfloyd]

Federal Hocking 64
Portsmouth Notre Dame 56 a final

... I walked into the Convo through the Press Entrance last night, some things had changed, some of the familiar faces were not there ... but as the giant scoreboard read "Basketball :30" I knew I was in the right place ... Lou Horvath - the Voice of High School Basketball in SEO- was right where he has been for all of my years attending post season action at the Convo ... courtside, at the scorers table getting the "little things" taken care of - as with everyone who is involved with putting on the "greatest show in high school hoops" - the District/Regional action , Basketball :30 at the Convo - they ALL want the experience to be like no other for the teams, the coaches, the players, the fans, the school communities ... and so it is - getting TO the Convo is a TEAM goal for every one of the 71 teams Below the Lancaster-Dixon Line ... last night as I smiled just walking into what has become home for 3, now 2 weeks out of every year of following high school basketball I was not alone!... soon after I touched bases with the folks courtside I heard the almost 2000 fans for the Federal Hocking Lancers making their way into the stands surrounding the Convo floor - unbelievable , one those "whoever is the last one to leave Amesville, Coolville, Stewart please turnout the lights" crowds ... loud, supportive, trying to take in EVERY moment they were experiencing - memories for a lifetime ... Basketball :30 ...

... the Titans of Portsmouth Notre Dame entered the contest as a #6 seed having punched their Gold Ticket by knocking off #3 seed South Webster 34-30 ... Federal Hocking the #2 seed advancing out of the Athens High School District Semi getting by a very good matchup with Eastern Pike High School, the Lancers a 60-59 survivor ... Notre Dame - size that FH had not seen in 6-7 (looks bigger) big man senior Dominic Sparks for the Titans, 6-3 Carter Campbell at a forward spot and 2 guard with size/strength in jr Cody Metzler ... ND lives defensively out of the 2-3 zone, packing it in, make you beat them from the perimeter ... Federal Hocking - not big on the inside - not ND big with both size a strong, thick big body strength ... Iden Miller 6-2 , Scotty Balch 6-3 both with length, but not typical big man strength down low ... ND living in the zone defensively would love to make this one a 1/2 court , work the ball into the paint, lots of touches for the bigs in the paint at the rim type of game ... Fed Hock NEEDED to make shots, NEEDED to get the tempo up where the bigs would have to get up and down the bigger Convo floor for 32 minutes ... the Lancers have some of the best perimeter shooters in SEO - Drew Airhart, Tariq Cottrill, Scotty Balch, Caden Chapman, Billy Ward ... could the Lancers find the openings on the perimeter to get shots on goal? the size of the Titans in the paint was going to take away the penetration ... in the 2-3 zone the midrange jumper from the FT line is a key ... knock it down and the big center has to come out and guard ... big guy comes up, the baseline/backside is vulnerable ... all of this looks good on paper before the opening tip BUT how would the teams handle the "lights" of the Convo - being on the Convo court - big , open shooting background , and then there's the "black line" effect of the college 3 point line ... most teams/shooters shoot beyond the black line which is beyond college distance for the 3 ... shots altered, shooting further back than normal ... all questions to be answered in the 32 minutes of Basktetball :30 at the Convo ...

... Federal Hocking drew first blood as the Lancers speed/quickness forced 7 first quarter Notre Dame turnovers ... the first 3 went to the house with Lancer points going the other way ... ND knew about the FH quickness, but hadn't seen it in person - 3 transition buckets for FH ... the Lancers got scoring from 5 different players to open the game in the 1st led by Tariq Cottrill's 5 pts - a 2 pter at the rim, and an old fashion 3 pt play - 2 at the rim and 1 ... Caden Chapman did what he HAD to do - knocked down a midrange jumper from the FT line (2pts), Iden Miller 2pts in the paint, Drew Airhart 2 pts/ Scotty Balch off the bench for 2pts ... the stat that stood out was Fed Hocking went 0/5 from behind the arc/ all shots where beyond the college "black" 3 point line ... Notre Dame is a solid, well coached TEAM, half court offense with the 6-7 & length sr Sparks in the paint as the focal point was going to give FH a major challenge for 32 minutes ... Sparks made his presence felt in the paint picking up a putback bucket early and 3 more fgs on the blocks, 8pts in the qtr ... Aaryn Bradford added 2pts at the rim/ 6-3 Carter Campbell 2 pts in the paint along with 6-2 Cody Metzler taking it strong to the rim for 2pts ... Notre Dame absorbed the early display of quickness/their own 7 TOs/ to do what they wanted to do for the 32 minutes - put the ball in the paint ... in the opening quarter 7 fgs ALL in the paint at the rim ... Notre Dame 14 Federal Hocking 13 after 1 ... a BIG part of the Federal Hocking offensive attack is the 3 point shot ... 0/5 in the 1st quarter ... IF Notre Dame was going to be able to control the paint at both ends - getting the ball down low offensively to the bigs and then again due to their size in the paint forcing FH to shoot on the perimeter with the bigs clogging the paint ... the Lancers HAD TO score the 3 ball to offset the inside scoring of the Titans ... through quarter one & the start of quarter number 2 FH was kept in the ballpark ... opening the 2nd period Chapman and Miller matched buckets with ND ... Chapman with 4 points with his FT line jumper that was there to be had ... Miller at the rim down low for 2 pts ... Notre Dame continued to go to their strength in the paint Campbell with 4 pts /Sparks 6pts / Metzler adding 2 pts along with Myles Phillips off the bench 2pts ... at the 2:38 mark in the period FH was trying to match inside points but had missed its first 5 treys in the 2nd ... 0/10 in the game ... 2:56 the score stood ND 24-19... the Titans continued to look inside getting 2pts from the bigs seemingly each trip down court ... Cottrill went yard as Lou said "from the 3rd ring of Saturn" 24-22 ND at 2:38 on the clock ... 6-3 sr Scotty Balch connected for a deep 3 ... FH 25-24 ... Andrew Airhart - splash from Court Street for the 3rd straight FH triple 28-24 Lancers 1:09 on the game clock ... ND continued going into the bigs for 2 fgs ... 28-28 ... Airhart his 2nd triple of the period followed by a midrange FH jumper for 2pts ... 3 pointers - the great equalizer ... the FH weapon of choice had arrived in the Convo ... 4 straight treys in the final 3 minutes of the 2nd had given FH a 5 point lead going into the locker rooms ... Federal Hocking 33 Notre Dame 28 at the half ... the opening minutes coming out of the locker rooms - key points in the game - what adjustments were made - ND had to stop the 3 ball defensively ... the inside game was working as FH had no answer defensively in the paint for the bigs ... for Fed Hock - do you abandon trying to get inside? you made some noise from downtown to close out the 2nd qtr, opening up the 5 point lead ... Notre Dame came out attacking the paint , Sparks moved out to the high post and the guards Bradford/Phillips/Campbell worked off of the big man's picks getting into the paint/to the rim early and often ... by 3:15 in the qtr the Titans had moved out to a 45-40 advantage ... Myles Phillips 5pts/Cody Meztler 2pts/Campbell 3pts/Bradford 4pts - all on drives to the rim ... add 4pts from Sparks 2pts on a putback bucket ... for Federal Hocking, the Lancers came out putting up the 3 ball ... 9 treys taken in the qtr ... empty from deep to start the quarter - 2 putback buckets were the offense early in the 3rd one from Iden Miller and 1 from Scotty Balch ... just as the Lancers had done in the 2nd they found the range from deep as the qtr was closing out ... FH closed the gap on ND with 3 straight triples to finish the 3rd - 2 deep balls from Tariq Cottrill and a Scotty Balch 3 pointer ... the equalizer - offsetting the inside game of the Titans ... Federal Hocking 46 Notre Dame 46 after 3 ... if you have followed the Federal Hocking season , you know that the Lancers are 32 minutes of intensity on the defensive end of the floor ... vs Notre Dame the Lancers opened the game with 3 straight transition buckets off of steals ... the 4th quarter opened with sr Billy Ward with a pick and 2 at the rim to give FH the lead 48-46 ... big forced turnover and finish by Ward ... solid defense by FH kept ND off the board ... another big time play in the paint on a putback bucket by Iden Miller stretched the lead to 50-46 Lancers 6:08 to play ... a 3 pointer by Metzler 50-49 FH ... imo the turning point of the game : a 1 pt lead ... Notre Dame had stayed in their 2-3 zone the entire game ... for that matter, ND had stayed in their 2-3 zone in their 4 qtrs vs South Webster AND the 3 qtrs 3 minutes in THIS one ... the Lancers pulled the ball out to half court, Cottrill held the ball as the clock ran down ... after almost a minute off the game clock the guards for ND came out to pick up Cottrill and the ball - mismatch ... Tariq Cottrill one on one vs anyone is a defensive nightmare ... he couldn't get to the rim BUT he did get fouled ... and fouled ... 1 and 1 the bonus ... no defensive answer to stop Cottrill ... the 5-8 jr floor general had 14 pts entering the 4th period ... the PG went 11/14 from the FT line in the final qtr. at 3:06 left in the game Fed Hock led 54-49 ... 1:14 ... 59 52 following a Connie Thomas triple ... 1:02 ND's Metzler with a 3 ball to make the score 59-55 Lancers ... ND with no timeouts left could only foul, as the Lancers played keep away ... Cottrill's 11/14 from the line to go with Chapman 1/2 and Miller's 2/3 closed out the game as the final 14 points for FH were all from the line as the Lancers took the District 'ship and were "coming back to the Convo" for regional action Tuesday night ... Federal Hocking 64 Portsmouth Notre Dame 56 a final ...


... Pfloyd's official UN-official Napkin Stats - Portsmouth Notre Dame

Scoring ... Dominic Sparks 18, Myles Phillips 10, Carter Campbell 9, Cody Metzler 9, Aaryn Bradford 6, Connie Thomas 4
3 Pointers ... 2/9 ... Cody Metzler 1, Connie Thomas 1
FTs ... 6/13
TOs ... 18
PnP ... 20 fgs/ 40 points in the paint
PnT ... 2 fgs/ 4 points in transition
Pbk ... 4 fgs/ 8 points on putback buckets

... Portsmouth Notre Dame has/had a very nice team ... the loss of sophomore guard Landon Barbarits in the 1st qtr. on a hard foul trying to stop a transition layup by FH ... Barbarits suffered a broken arm or wrist ... we wish him the best and full/quick recovery ... not sure of the overall impact of that loss had on the outcome of the game - obviously a integral piece of the TEAM as a starter, hardnosed defender ( he had 5 pts vs South Webster earlier in the week) ... Notre Dame has lots of pieces returning Barbarits (soph)/ Bradford (soph)/Metzler (jr)/Phillips (soph) and Thomas (fr) ... ND will have a tough time replacing 6-7 Sparks in the paint and 6-3 Campbell - both quality players for Coach Mader ...

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

Scoring ... Tariq Cottrill 25, Iden Miller 12, Scotty Balch 10, Drew Airhart 8, Caden Chapman 7, Billy Ward 2
3 Pointers ... 7/26 ... Tariq Cottrill 3, Drew Airhart 2, Scotty Balch 2
FTs ... 15/20 ... 14/19 in the 4th quarter ... final 14 points of the game for FH all from the FT line
TOs ... 9
PnP ... 6 fgs/ 12 points in the paint
PnT ... 4 fgs/ 8 points in transition
Pbk ... 3 fgs/ 6 points on putback buckets

... this one was going to be a tempo game from the outset - Federal Hocking wanting to turn it up to offset the big size disadvantage in the paint ... Notre Dame wanting to slow it down, make it a half court contest ... ND did a great job as they were able to stay in their zone, able to get the ball inside to their strength - size - 40 points in the paint ... in the end ... it was STILL the strengths of Federal Hocking that were the difference - the Lancers hit enough 3 pointers to reel in the Titans and/or help offset the in the paint points by the bigs for ND ... great games all around - Caden Chapman doesn't get the press that Airhart and Cottrill get BUT this young man IS the heart of the Lancer TEAM - hardnosed defense, bangs in the paint with anyone, his ballhandling - the ability to handle the rock under pressure - he does it ... he has one the best midrange jump shots you will find ... a 32 minute guy who never let's up ... a guy EVERY contending team has to have and every wannabee contending team wishes they had ... Tariq Cottrill ... take away his ability to get to the rim (size does matter when you are talking 6-7 with length in the paint) - check ... he just finds another way to contribute/ involve the rest of the team to get it done ... vs ND - ballhandling ... he had 14 points on 3 triples and a couple 2 pointers entering the 4th ... 46-46 tie entering the final 8 minutes ... can't get into the paint - great coaching move to pull it out by FH - TC STILL couldn't get to the rim BUT he didn't have to ! his ability to handle the ball, quickness got him the step he needed to force the defensive players to foul him, put him at the line for "uncontested" - ain't no 6-7 defender at the FT line - foul shots... 11/14 ... the kid, the TEAM are winners ... best of luck Tuesday night vs either River or Hiland ... River is the #1 seed out of the East and Hiland is #3 - pick your poison ... no matter, as the Lancers are "coming back to the Convo!!!" ...

... was looking over my rundown ... I should have highlighted the play of senior Iden Miller too ... going up against a legit 6-7+ player in Sparks ... Sparks got 14 first half points in the paint then Miller literally "shut him down" in the 2nd half - 4 points in the 3rd and nada in crunch time in quarter number 4 ... while Miller had 12 points offensively for FH including the BIG TIME putback in the 4th ... great game for the senior post player ... he will see ANOTHER 6-7 big for Hiland Berlin on Tuesday ... hopefully a similar outcome ... I'm hoping the perimeter shooters for Fh adjust to that "college black 3 point line" ... the white line is the line they should be gauging their shots from not that black line ... we'll see if adjustments are made ...

[Jason Vorhees]

Something very interesting for Athens County basketball history if Federal Hocking is to make it to State is they would be in this select company:

Albany(now Alexander): 1965
Nelsonville (now Nelsonville-York): 1923, 1924, 1952 (Class B State Runner Up)
Stewart (now Federal Hocking): 1931, 1932

[pfloyd]

Something very interesting for Athens County basketball history if Federal Hocking is to make it to State is they would be in this select company:

Albany(now Alexander): 1965
Nelsonville (now Nelsonville-York): 1923, 1924, 1952 (Class B State Runner Up)
Stewart (now Federal Hocking): 1931, 1932

... I think they have a shot ! Hiland is ALWAYS outstanding BUT they weren't the #1 seed in the East - I know they beat the #1 seed lol - but they also almost coughed it up too ! there are chinks in the Hiland armor this season that can be exploited imo... good trivia stuff Jason V !!! thanks!!!

[93Bulldog]

BH wins 9 out of 10 times at least when they come to the Convo and face a SE district team, but if there was going to be that 1 team to finally break thru it's this year with FH vs this year Hiland team.

[pfloyd]

BH wins 9 out of 10 times at least when they come to the Convo and face a SE district team, but if there was going to be that 1 team to finally break thru it's this year with FH vs this year Hiland team.

... agreed ... IF the Lancers can get acclimated to where they are on the floor in relation to the "black 3 point line" factor ... they can win this one imo ... as I pointed out the 3 point shot is a great equalizer imo ... FH has THAT potential from Airhart, Cottrill, Chapman, Ward, Balch ... the defensive intensity is 2nd to none ... looking forward to Tuesday! ...

[redskinwitness]

I watched Caldwell play both of these teams this year, Fed Hock in game 1 and Hiland in game 25. Caldwell led Hiland until under the 2 minute mark and let it slip away. IMO Hiland is better but if Fed handles their ball pressure and makes shots they’ll have a chance.

[MetalheadGamer87]

River somehow allowed that big 19-0 run by Hiland and was forced to play catch up. Hiland doesn't have a huge lineup. Biggest is 6'3 maybe.
What River did to get back in game was pressure Hawks into 10 turnovers in 3rd to get back in it. Good luck F-H, but I'll say Hiland by 7.

[redskinwitness]

River somehow allowed that big 19-0 run by Hiland and was forced to play catch up. Hiland doesn't have a huge lineup. Biggest is 6'3 maybe.
What River did to get back in game was pressure Hawks into 10 turnovers in 3rd to get back in it. Good luck F-H, but I'll say Hiland by 7.

Hiland starts 6’7 junior Alex Yoder

[pfloyd]

River somehow allowed that big 19-0 run by Hiland and was forced to play catch up. Hiland doesn't have a huge lineup. Biggest is 6'3 maybe.
What River did to get back in game was pressure Hawks into 10 turnovers in 3rd to get back in it. Good luck F-H, but I'll say Hiland by 7.

Hiland starts 6’7 junior Alex Yoder

... thanks redskinwitness - I was getting ready to post that I SAW a 6-7 post player on the floor for Hiland when I watched the livestream LOL ... I'm not very bright, from SEOhio BUT when the game announcer says the kid is 6-7, and he LOOKS taller than 6-7 ... "Hiland doesn't have a huge lineup, Biggest is 6-3 maybe" - I'm not plumb dumb LOL ...