by Cuyahoga Falls, OH-
The Hoban Knights invaded the friendly confines of the Tim Beyerle Memorial Gymnasium aka “The Den” for this OHSAA exhibition game. The Royals and Knights are participating in an approved OHSAA Foundation Game in support of Team Jam – Jesus’ Athletic Ministry. The mission of Team Jam to invest in young lives in order to develop Servant-Leaders, developing their spiritual, physical, educational, and emotional needs and introducing them to faith in Jesus Christ is the key component to their long-term development.
The Hoban Knights came into the game a little short handed because two days prior to this exhibition their football team lost in the Division 2 state title game. The Hoban Knights come into the season with high expectations with plenty of talent but it will be a few weeks before they are up to full speed with their full arsenal.
The Royals come into the scrimmage with a record of 2-1 with their only loss to state ranked Pickerington North. The Royals are led by 5 star forward Darryn Peterson from the class of 2025(ESPN #4 in the country). Darryn holds 24 D1 college offers including offers from Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio State and Texas. Tom Izzo from Michigan State was on hand for this game as well as John Calipari from Kentucky.
The first quarter showed the lack of game action for the Knights but their athleticism and quickness made up for their experience at this point in the season. Knights G Jonas Nichols(2024)is the clear leader of this team and he was able to keep the Knights close to the Royals throughout the game. Nichols is able to get his own shot at will and create off the dribble. Royals F Peterson was stymied for most of the first quarter due to constant double and triple teams from the Knights.
It became very clear in the second quarter that Peterson was by far the best player on the court and was able to will his team throughout the game to maintain the lead throughout the entire game. Knights G Jonas Nichols had an amazing game finishing with 18 points and he is going to be difficult to handle for most teams the Knights play this year.
My player of the game Darryn Peterson finished the game with 34 points 18 rebounds 6 assists and 8 blocks in a solid effort for him even though he had foul trouble throughout the second half.
Knights G William Scott was a nice sidekick to Nichols and finished the game with 14 points 6 assists and 3 steals.
It is really hard to get a read on the Knights because one of their key players is F Jay Crable and he is not fully acclimated to the basketball team two days after the football final. He is going to be very good for them and will help them make a deep run in March. I am looking forward to seeing the Knights play again in January with their full arsenal at their disposal.
Final Score Royals 60 Knights 56
