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Akron, OH- Archbishop Hoban has plenty to celebrate following their 81-52 victory over Holy Name as Head Coach TK Griffith records his 500th win with the Knights.
Holy Name started off the scoring as Drew Styers took an Andrew Cole pass up to the rim and in. After that, Hoban wouldn’t trail again in the game. The Knights were led by Jonas Nichols as he recorded 9 points in the opening frame. The Green Wave attempted to faceguard him, but he was able to work through it with ease. Nichols was also propelled to success following the pregame ceremony. During the win over Spire last week, Nichols engraved himself in Hoban history as he became the all-time leading scorer for the boys’ basketball team.
He was presented the game ball from that contest prior to the opening tip. The record was previously held by Mount Union’s Collen Gurley who graduated from Hoban back in 2018. Gurley became the Purple Raiders’ all-time leading scorer the night before his Hoban record was overtaken. Beyond Nichols, the Knights found plenty of success driving to the basket. They had plenty of opportunities for and ones. Hoban was 5/5 in the first quarter from the line as Andrew Karhoff was responsible for 3 of those points. Adam Humenik drilled a three for Holy Name to keep things close, but Hoban lead 22-11 after the first.
The Knights continued their physical domination in the second. 6’8 300-pound Sam Greer added his 3rd field goal of the night in this quarter. His story goes well beyond basketball as Ryan Day offered Greer last spring to play football at Ohio State before he even took a varsity snap. Nichols picked up where he left off as he scored another 12 points in this quarter, giving him 21 points and 9 rebounds heading into the locker room. Max Bollin opened his scoring account with a field goal, but Hoban did an excellent job minimizing his impact. Humenik added a triple while Styers added 6 to round out the Green Wave’s 11 points in the quarter. Heading into the half, Hoban led 42-22.
The third quarter saw the continuation of the Knights’ offensive onslaught. Nichols added another 9 to get himself up the 30-point mark while also getting to 10 rebounds. Karhoff and Greer continued to dominate inside the arc and their stifling defense left Holy Name playing to the Knights’ style more than their own. Cole and Bollin added triples while Collin Hall Johnson opened his day up with 2 points in the third. Heading into the final quarter, Hoban lead 63-35.
Coach Griffith was able to sub in some of his junior varsity players to get time down the stretch in the fourth. Nichols added his final 2 points, taking his stat line to 32 points and 10 boards. Tyler Shadeed caught fire as he scored 5 points amid the cheers of the home student section. Kenny Scott ended his night with 11 points following his triple in the fourth. Johnson added 6 more for Holy Name to take his game tally up to 8. The Knights proved to be too much of a test for the Green Wave as they earned their 11th win on the year 81-52 over HN.
As soon as the final buzzer sounded, all the Hoban fans held up papers that read “500.” This was to commemorate coach Griffith’s 500th career win as Archbishop Hoban head coach. What makes this achievement even more special is that he graduated from Hoban in 1989. Following the game, Coach said that “it’s not about me or my numbers.” Just by talking to him, I could see how humble he is and how much this team and school mean to him.
Hoban has a trip to Green up next while Holy Name has a 2023 GLC Championship rematch with Westlake next. Overall, this game was about something beyond basketball. It was about something beyond personal milestones. It was all about the community of Archbishop Hoban and how much support they show to each other.
Holy Name Key Players
#3 Drew Styers: 17 Points
#12 Adam Humenik: 12 Points
#23 Andrew Cole: 5 Points
Archbishop Hoban Basketball
#0 Jonas Nichols: 32 Points, 10 Rebounds
#11 Kenny Scott: 11 Points
#42 Sam Greer: 10 Points
Player of the Game: Jonas Nichols
