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KENT, Ohio– Garfield Heights is usually the team to slow down the tempo with its stout defense as they’ve done so all year leading up to Saturday afternoon’s regional final game at Kent State University.
The roles were flipped, as Toledo’s St. John’s Jesuit did what not many teams could do up to this point; beat the Bulldogs at their own game, as they captured the regional championship trophy by defeating the Bulldogs 50-38, advancing to the state semifinals next weekend in Dayton.
“We wanted to not overthink it and come out here and play our game,” St. John’s Jesuit head coach Mike Schoen said. “We’re used to playing in low-scoring games and we kind of embrace it.”
FINAL: Toledo St. John’s defeats Garfield 50-38 to advance to the state semifinals next week @SportsKee1 @sjj_basketball @SJJTitanSports @GHbulldogsAD pic.twitter.com/l12NncvESR
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) March 11, 2023
The main problem for the Bulldogs all game was trying to contain senior point guard CJ Hornbeak. He ended the game with 26 points and disrupted any flow the Bulldogs tried to get on the offensive side of the ball as well. He was all over the floor for the Titans and came up big in the second half when his team needed him the most.
“CJ is a winner, he plays his best in big moments and that’s the ultimate compliment of a great player,” Schoen said. “He’s a four-year varsity guy, so he’s been through wars and defensively he’s pretty darn impressive as well.”
@cjhornbeak1 has been nearly un-guardable for the Titans today. This layup puts the Titans up 39-29, 3:30 left in the 4th. @SportsKee1 pic.twitter.com/cXEqg7idJq
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) March 11, 2023
The Bulldogs wasted no time starting the game off on the right track. In fact, they started the first five minutes of the game on a 9-0 run, with Marcus Johnson scoring five of those points.
The Titans finally got on the scoreboard following a CJ Hornbeak 3-pointer and with that, closed out the first quarter on a high note, ending the final three minutes on a 9-4 run.
From there, the Bulldogs’ offense became stagnant, sometimes even passing up open 3-point shots for potential layups. The Titans started to find their rhythm on offense and made a few scoring runs to pressure the Bulldogs. Hornbeak played an imperative role in the flow of the Titans’ offense, with his team even taking their first lead of the game after Joseph Taylor made a layup to put them up 20-19.
That’s what the score was heading into halftime, with Hornbeak scoring 11 of the team’s 20 points throughout the first half, leading the Titans’ resurgence.
Coach Sonny Johnson and his team were left with having to make some second-half adjustments as they faced their first deficit of the game at halftime.
“That guy got on (Marcus) and as a senior, you can tell he took it personal,” Sonny Johnson said about the impact Hornbeak made on his son and his team all throughout the game. “That was one big key in the game too and he played both ends at a high level.
“For whatever reason, the energy we play with all year wasn’t there,” Johnson continued
The Titans would outscore the Bulldogs 9-8 in the third quarter to take a two-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. The way Johnson’s team was getting worn out defensively from the ball movement and backdoor cuts from the Titans was alarming, Johnson explained.
It’s never been as big of a problem as it was during the loss Saturday afternoon.
“There’s a lot of teams that move the bull but I’m talking about they wore you down on offense,” Johnson said. “We scouted, we knew it was coming but (Hornbeak) moves very well without the ball.”
The Bulldogs scored their first point of the fourth quarter with four minutes left in the game, a pair of Marcus Johnson free throws. They scored just 11 points in the fourth quarter and even 25 points after the first quarter. It was a night where nobody on the offensive side of the ball got in their normal flows of the game for the Bulldogs.
The pressure and wear-and-tear of the Titan defense were too much to overcome.
“We usually go to another level defensively and we just didn’t meet that. I just think the style they play puts you to sleep, I mean we need a shot clock,” Johnson said holding back laughter.
For the Bulldogs, Marcus Johnson finished with a team-high 11 points. Jyles Brandon and Stephen Cornwell rounded out the scoring with eight and six points, respectively.
For the Titans, Joseph Taylor and Marquez Frazier contributed with 11 and five points, behind 26 from Hornbeak.
“I don’t think we’ve been to the final four since 2009,” coach Schoen said. “It’s been a little while, we’ve had a lot of success and have knocked on the door a couple of times, and to bust down that door, I’m just super proud of our guys and super proud of our program.”
