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TWINSBURG, Ohio– Corey Tripp scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, sparking a series of runs that helped lift Medina to a 54-43 win over North Canton Hoover in the Division I, Region II semifinal game Wednesday afternoon.
The win snaps Hoover’s cinderella run, ending their season with a 17-9 record after starting the season dropping five of the team’s first six games.
As for Medina, it’s just the third time the Bees have ever reached the Elite 8 and knowing that helps spark some confidence in the team leading up to Saturday afternoon’s regional championship game.
“It feels great knowing that only three Medina teams have ever been to the Elite 8,” Tripp said. “Now that we’re one of them it feels pretty good and we’ve worked really hard to get into the position we’re in.”
Tripp ended the night scoring a game-high 25 points along with 12 points from Brandon Geschke to lead the Bees offensively.
The Vikings started the game off in a zone defense, forcing the Bees to slow things down a bit on the offensive side of the ball. With that, they took advantage of any fastbreak opportunity in the open court.
That helped the Bees start off the game on a swift 7-0 run. They maintained a lead throughout the whole game and took a 29-20 lead heading into halftime.
Cade Henne provided a spark for Hoover in the first half, scoring half of the team’s points, making his presence felt near the rim. As a response, the Vikings made a statement to start the second half.
They started the third quarter on a 13-4 run following a Brock Henne layup to get them within three points. That’s as close as they got of a comeback with the Bees ending the quarter strong.
Geschke was able to connect on a 3-pointer with time expiring, leaving Medina with a 39-33 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Brandon Geschke knocks down a 3 as time expires to give Medina a 39-33 lead heading into the 4th. pic.twitter.com/rIB3nmJxYm
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) March 10, 2021
It was only a matter of time for the Bees to use the speed of the game to their advantage and the game started to open up for them some more in the fourth quarter with Tripp leading the way.
The senior guard was able to lead his team in transition, scoring a series of baskets in the open court, including a baseline dunk that gave Medina an eight-point lead with two minutes left.
@CoreyTr1pp throws down a dunk, giving @Medinaboyshoops a 49-41 lead with just over 2 mins left in the 4th. pic.twitter.com/PNvey8b0rq
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) March 10, 2021
There was no answer from the Vikings after that as they struggled to get good looks near the rim. Medina switched to a zone defense throughout the second half and challenged Hoover offensively down the stretch.
For the Vikings, Cade Henne scored a team-high 19 points along with 12 from Brock Henne. Only five players scored during the loss and the early lead Medina was able to build up in the first quarter proved to be too much to overcome Wednesday afternoon.
“We just wanted to get out to an early start and control the game,” Tripp said. “It was kind of a back and forth game and I just wanted to build a lead where we can get comfortable and sit on and that’s what we did,” Tripp said
