by Parma Heights, OH- Holy Name’s home opener went as planned as they defeated North Olmsted 67-49 while outscoring the Eagles 35-20 in the second half.
Going into the game, the Green Wave had two new faces enter the starting 5. The first was Joe Lewis who played the 5. The other was Aidan Butler following two stellar defensive performances. These changes couldn’t stop 1 Eagle however, Naoki Sato. While standing at 5’6, the junior showed crisp ball handling and impeccable drives to the basket. This led to him scoring 10 points in the opening frame. Holy Name was able to score some points to counteract Sato’s performance behind Drew Styers’ 8 first quarter points. Adam Humenik along with Brody Boyert both drilled 3’s in the opening frame. Boyert and fellow junior Aaron Riley would grace the court for the first time this season during this contest. North Olmsted was able to tie things up down the stretch to have the score after one quarter be 15 all.
Like last years’ contest on Butternut Ridge Road, the Eagles would gain a lead as Sato drove to the basket with ease despite pressure from the Green Wave defense. However, it would be Holy Name to answer back as Riley, Humenik, and Boyert all converted from beyond the arc. Styers would also contribute 6 more points to take his first half tally to 14. Towards the end of the first half, Max Bollin would score his first field goal of the evening. This scrappy first half resulted in a 32-29 Holy Name advantage at the half.
The second half would see Holy Name begin to pull away. Coach Patton of the Green Wave made defensive adjustments that would see Sato be held to only 5 points after the half. However, the Eagles similarly limited Styers as he only recorded 7 points in the second half. The turning point of the game came following a technical foul being called on Nick Tepper. With the addition of a shooting foul, Bollin was sent to the line with 4 shots to take. After draining three out of the four, Holy Name led 37-29. While three points seem trivial, this paved the way for the junior to post 9 points following these shots including a triple that all came in the third. Tyler Zatta and Sato combined for all 7 of North Olmsted’s third quarter points as they found themselves down 47-36 heading into the fourth.
This final quarter was ruled by one player—Adam Humenik. While posting 6 points in the prior three quarters, Humenik hit his stride as he battled his way to 19 points on the night. The Eagles kept their fight up as Zatta along with Eggie Cordero both drilled in a three. Holy Name lead 49-39 following Zatta’s triple, but 18 more points would follow for the Green Wave. This led to the final score of 67-49.
North Olmsted saw only 5 scorers on the night while Matthew Bloomfield posted 0 following his game high 16 points against Brookside. However, Sato picked up his teammate to post a season high of 19 points. This takes his average to 15.5 ppg on the year. Holy Name went to their classic next man up mentality, and it resulted in 4 combined 3’s from Boyert and Riley. While only posting three 3’s Tuesday, having 4 from newcomers instilled confidence into this unit. Another improvement would be from the free-throw line. North Olmsted went 9/22 in their last contest while the Green Wave went 8/22. However, the Eagles went 4/6 while the Green Wave went 14/22. North Olmsted will have their home opener Tuesday against Valley Forge while the Green Wave get less than 24 hours off until they have a date with Lutheran East at St Vincent St Mary’s for the Holy Grounds Showcase.
North Olmsted Key Players
#1 Eggie Cordero: 13 Points
#5 Naoki Sato: 19 Points
#10 Tyler Zatta: 9 Points
Holy Name Key Players:
#2 Brody Boyert: 9 Points
#3 Drew Styers: 21 Points
#12 Adam Humenik: 19 Points
Player of the Game: Adam Humenik
