by Parma, OH- Padua takes down archrivals Holy Name 69-67 in a back-and-forth contest defined by grit and grind.
The first quarter started off strong for the Green Wave as Aiden Butler was able to drive to the rim and draw a few fouls. In addition, he got one of his drives to fall as 4 of his 5 total points came in the opening frame. Padua made the most of their opportunities as the Bruins drew fouls and were perfect from the line to begin the game. JT Giannakopoulos and Gio Roman both went 2/2 while Giannakopoulos added 2 field goals and Roman added the opening triple for Padua. Overall, they combined for 11 of the Bruins’ 15 points in the first. Holy Name also saw success from the line as Max Bollin went 5/5 from the line to start the game. The money ball was also on point as Christian Camargo, Drew Styers, and Adam Humenik all knocked down 3’s. The Green Wave used this to jump out to a 24-15 advantage after one.
Padua drew things closer going into the second half. The Orange and Brown went on a 5-2 run to cut Holy Name’s advantage to 26-20. Connor Williams opened his scoring account in this period as he posted 4 points. Manny Santiago pitched in as well with 5 points. For the Green Wave, Camargo led the way with 6 of their 11 points in the second. Holy Name lead 35-30 with seconds left in the first half, but Cervenka’s skill on the ball prevailed over Styers as he knocked down a triple as the buzzer sounded for the half. This cut the Green Wave’s lead to 35-33.
Padua continued to chip away at Holy Name’s lead and would take a few short leads down the stretch of the third. However, Holy Name controlled the early parts of the half and would take a commanding lead. The lone triple came from Humenik, but drives by Camargo, Styers, and Bollin added field goals and foul shots while Joe Lewis sunk a putback. In the end, Padua would still outscore the Green Wave 16-15 in the quarter. Giannakopoulos became a dominant force in the paint with 6 points plus a 3 to give him 9 in the third. Williams, Roman, and Santiago all added points of their own. After a few free throws, Padua went into the fourth down 50-49.
The fourth quarter of this contest had all a neutral could possibly ask for. Beyond lead changes, the student sections exchanged banter, physicality galore, and a final few minutes fit for the big screen. Holy Name would go 5/7 from the charity stripe in this quarter with the majority coming from Bollin. Overall, the junior posted 19 points. For Padua, Cervenka knocked down two 3’s. With Padua up by one, Santiago went up to the line to shoot two. He would go 1 for 2 which gave Holy Name one final shot. Bollin received the inbound and bobbled the ball. Padua dove for it, but he did just enough to win a jump ball for Holy Name. The ball would go out again on the baseline with less than three seconds to play. One final play was drawn up and the ball went to Humenik in the corner near the Padua student section. The ball went in the rim for a brief moment, but fate was on the side of the Franciscans as it rolled out and fell to the court. The Bruin student section stormed the court and celebrated their first win over Holy Name since January 28, 2021. The final was 69-67.
Holy Name goes into the new year with a 4-5 record while the Bruins improve to 1-4 and travel to take on Benedictine on December 28 to close out 2023.
Holy Name Key Players
#1 Christian Camargo: 16 Points
#3 Drew Styers: 18 Points
#4 Max Bollin: 19 Points
Padua Key Players:
#1 Riley Cervenka: 13 Points
#4 Manny Santiago: 17 Points
#23 JT Giannakopoulos: 17 Points
Player of the Game: Jt Giannakopoulos
