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Twinsburg, Ohio – The Archbishop Hoban Knights captured their first ever district crown in Division I with a 62-49 win over Jackson Saturday afternoon.
It was Hoban’s first since 2008, back when the Knights were in Division II.
Jackson jumped out to an early 9-3 lead, thanks to five points from JJ Vaughan. The Polar Bears were looking to follow up the momentum from the girls’ regional title win over SJA earlier in the afternoon.
Jackson would end the quarter up 11-7.
Hoban would claw their way back into the ball game, thanks to the outside shooting of Logan Vowles. He hit a pair of triples, and Colin Coyne hit a game-tying trey to lock both teams at 19 going into the halftime break.
The Knights would take the lead for good in the third quarter, thanks to not only Vowles’ efforts, but contributions from Will Scott and Jay Crable. These three combined for 16 of the teams’ 18 points in the stanza.
With 5:00 left in the third, Hoban led 29-25. But an 8-1 run increased their margin to 37-26 less than two minutes later. Jackson responded by scoring the last five points of the quarter, thanks to eight points from Ben Sullivan. These made the score 37-31 going into the final quarter.
However, that was as close as the Polar Bears would get the rest of the way.
The Knights padded their lead to nine points in the fourth, and managed to keep Jackson at bay, responding whenever the Polar Bears scored. They would also go 13 of 16 at the charity stripe down the stretch to secure the win.
Earlier today, Hoban head coach TK Griffith gave us his thoughts after Saturday’s victory over Massillon Jackson. It was the Knights’ first ever district title in Division I.
@SportsKee1 @HobanAthletics @HobanBasketball pic.twitter.com/77K1Ep1k8t
— Tony Bogan (@TBoges2010) March 6, 2022
Junior guard Logan Vowles had 20 points on six triples and two free throws. Will Scott had 14 points, and sophomore guard Jonas Nichols added ten.
Hoban (19-7) plays against Green in the Copley District regional semifinal next Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Green defeated Stow in the Alliance District title game.
Massillon Jackson ends their season at 15-12. Senior Ben Sullivan had 14 points, and senior JJ Vaughan had 13 for the Polar Bears.
