by CUYAHOGS FALLS, Ohio–Senior guard Cody Leon waited patiently in the corner, and when his moment arrived, he made it count. With two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Leon buried a clutch corner three to give Cuyahoga Falls a 58–55 lead.
That shot sparked a late surge as the Black Tigers forced back-to-back turnovers and created enough separation to seal a stunning 64–58 upset of Highland, handing the Hornets just their fourth loss of the season.
The Black Tigers came out attacking Tuesday night, with Martin Smith and Hayden Johnson setting the tone by pushing the pace and moving the ball quickly on the offensive end. A 10–4 burst in the opening four minutes gave them early momentum, and they rode that energy to their advantage.
Cuyahoga Falls stretched the lead to as many as eight points in a first quarter defined by speed and athleticism. But after building a 23–17 edge, the momentum began to swing. The Black Tigers went scoreless for more than three minutes to open the second quarter, allowing Highland to creep back into the game.
A Smith layup with 4:30 remaining finally put the Black Tigers on the scoreboard in the second quarter, but it was senior guard Carson Cope who ignited the Hornets’ response. Cope scored a team-high eight points in the first half, helping Highland recover after a fast start before cooling off late.
Despite first-half issues on the glass, second-chance points and Highland’s zone defense, the Black Tigers finished the half strong with a 5–0 run to take a 30–26 lead into the break.
From there, Hayden Johnson began to assert himself, using his size inside and his touch from beyond the arc to control the pace. With Johnson leading the way, the Black Tigers opened the third quarter on a 14–10 run. He later capped the surge with an and-one layup that pushed the lead to a game-high 11 points with under three minutes remaining in the quarter.
Johnson poured in 20 of his team’s 50 points through three quarters, but Highland refused to go quietly. A Jake Weber floater at the horn trimmed the deficit to seven, 50–43, setting the stage for a tense finish.
Highland’s zone defense continued to cause problems in the fourth quarter, forcing the Black Tigers to lean heavily on the three-point shot. With shots not falling and rebounding still an issue, the Hornets rallied all the way back, tying the game at 55 on a Josh Butcher and-one.
That proved to be the closest Highland would get. Cuyahoga Falls responded down the stretch, closing the final 1:30 on a 9–3 run to put the game away.
Butcher led the Hornets with a game-high 21 points, while Jake Weber, Carson Cope and Colin Goldie added eight points apiece in the loss.
For the Black Tigers, Johnson finished with a game-high 24 points, 16 of them coming in the second half. Dom Russo had 16 points along with nine points each from Leon and Martin Smith.
