by Parma Heights, OH- For the first time since the 2019/2020 season, Holy Name has won a playoff game as they took down Orrville 73-27.
The first quarter started out perfectly for the Green Wave. The Red Riders missed their first triple of the game, leading to HN claiming possession. While missing a few triples of their own, Drew Styers eventually got the scoring going about a minute in. He would score the next 5 as well as Holy Name jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead. Joe Lewis added the next field goal followed by another bucket off of a steal. Orrville had already called a timeout at this point to regroup, but the offensive onslaught continued. Overall, Holy Name had 19 unanswered points to get the game underway. Taj Gibson split his free throws to put the Red Riders on the board. However, the Green Wave’s offense wasn’t done. They would add 10 more points before the quarter closed. Styers led the way with 16 as the Green Wave entered the second quarter up 29-8.
The second quarter saw more of the same for both teams. Holy Name kept the offense rolling while adding the three ball. In the first, Aaron Riley knocked down HN’s only triple. In the second, Max Bollin knocked down a pair. Aiden Butler had two impressive free throws fall that bounced around for a few seconds. Case McDaniel knocked down a three along with a field goal in the second for Orrville. He, along with Brayden Cox, had 5 points heading into halftime. Jeffrey Jemison scored off the glass to have HN break 50 as they led 51-16 going into the second half.
With a running clock, the scoring slowed down for both teams. For the Red Riders, Michael Diehl along with Gibson knocked down 3’s. Diehl added a free throw to round out Orrville’s scoring. Adam Humenik converted from outside the arc while Bollin added 3 points from within it. Heading into the fourth, the clock still ran with Holy Name commanding the game up 57-23.
The fourth quarter went by as quickly as the third but with more scoring. Malakhi Gray and Cox combined for the final 4 points Orrville scored on their season. For Holy Name, Riley got hot from outside the arc as he scored two triples. Brody Boyert scored all 4 of his points in the fourth while Collin Hall Johnson added his 2 points in this frame. Finally, Luke Kovalchick scored his first varsity bucket as he banked the ball off the glass. It was a great night for Namer Nation as they took home the win 73-27.
Holy Name has had heartbreaking exits each of the last two seasons from the playoffs. Last year, Benedictine pulled off the upset on HN’s court. The year prior, Orange edged out the Green Wave by 2. This year, they are off to a winning start in the playoffs with Alliance up next Friday night at 7PM. The winner of that game moves onto the neutral venue of Akron North.
Orrville Key Players
#0 Brayden Cox: 7 Points
#13 Michael Diehl: 6 Points
#15 Case McDaniel: 5 Points
Holy Name Key Players
#3 Drew Styers: 20 Points
#4 Max Bollin: 19 Points
#24 Aaron Riley: 11 Points
Player of the Game: Drew Styers
