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AKRON, Ohio–The Hoban Knights honored eight seniors Friday night during senior night.
It seemed like everyone dressed made an impact during the 79-58 win over Cornerstone Christian, with 11 different players scoring, ten of those 11 players scoring at least five points as well.
“It was senior night so we were trying for our seniors to have a little fun,” Hoban junior Jonas Nichols said after the win.
The Knights’ second team ultimately became their first team Friday night with them honoring a slew of seniors. When players like Nichols, William Scott and Logan Vowles got their chance to see the floor midway through the first quarter, there was no turning back.
Logan Vowles puts @HobanAthletics ahead 16-10, 1:23 left in the first quarter @SportsKee1 pic.twitter.com/khDuyloBIm
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) February 11, 2023
The Knights were able to lead 21-12 at the end of the first quarter, with their speed and physicality slowly taking over the game, resulting in some scoring runs throughout the second quarter.
Vowles showcased his outside shot with 3-pointers to close out the first half. As a team, they outscored the Patriots 23-10 in the second quarter, giving a 3-point specialist and one of Northeast Ohio’s premier scorers in Quinn Kwasniak trouble finding a rhythm outside the arc. The sophomore had just seven points at the break and with his team trailing 44-21, all they can do is try to limit their turnovers starting in the second half.
“Film was kind of crazy because he shoots from anywhere,” Nichols said about Kwasniak’s ability to shoot from anywhere on the court. “So we were trying for him not to get a shot off.”
@HobanAthletics leads Cornerstone 25-12, 6 mins left in the first half. Jonas Nichols has had an early impact on this game for the Knights @SportsKee1 pic.twitter.com/vJV0x338Gp
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) February 11, 2023
The struggles continued in the second half as the Knights had eight players score in the third quarter alone, sharing the ball and creating fastbreak points was the storyline throughout the night for head coach TK Griffith’s team.
“We’re still trying to figure that out still,” Griffith said when asked what his team’s strength is on the basketball court. “Really we’re focusing on half court man (defense)”
A 20-point lead turned into a 30-point lead throughout the third quarter, with Kwasniak’s team having no answer to the speed of the Knights.
And also the shooting from Logan Vowles, a player who had 10 points in the first half to give his team a spark off the bench Friday night.
“Logan has been starting since he was s freshman,” coach Griffith said. “He hasn’t even gotten hot yet.”
Only three players scored for the Patriots during the loss, Kwasniak, DJ Niles and Carter Armstrong.
Niles ended the night with a game-high 22 points, with Armstrong having 19 and Kwasniak finishing with 17 points.
For the Knights, Andrew Griffith paced the team with 12 points along with 11 from Nichols, 10 from Vowles and nine from William Scott.
It’s all Hoban in this one, as Will Scott gets a breakaway dunk to give the Knights a 57-30 lead, 4:16 left in the 3rd Q. @SportsKee1 @HobanAthletics pic.twitter.com/UAib52rUkV
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) February 11, 2023
The win puts the Knights at 17-3 on the year, with just two games left before the playoffs start. For Nichols, he believes this team has much more left to prove to head into March.
“I think our key strength is playing freely and believing in ourselves,” he said. “We still got more to prove and our last game of the season is a big game so that’ll be a good win for us going to the playoffs.”
