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March 11, 2010
Peter DelMedico
The boys got their springboard into the playoffs that head coach T.K Griffith spoke of in a 68-66, overtime win against North Coast League rivals Villa Angela-St Joseph at Barry Gymnasium. The win made Hoban NCL co-champions and ended its regular season with a winning record of 11-8. Junior Evan Pannell led both sides in scoring with 19, but the real hero was senior co-captain Adam Zsely. In overtime, on senior night, in a full gym, Zsely made a three pointer with ten seconds left to win the game.
Unfortunately, the momentum would not be enough to carry the Knights past the sectional semifinal. Monday night Hoban fell 63-47 to Marlington, 2009 district runners-up. Marlington’s 2-3 match-up zone defense and Hoban’s poor shooting was a thorn in the team’s side all night. The squad trailed Marlington 20-11 after one quarter and simply could not close the gap for the rest of the contest. Leading scorer, junior guard Evan Pannell, was taken out of the game in the first few minutes due to injury and never returned.
“Losing Evan, our offensive catalyst, certainly didn’t help matters,” Griffith said.
At halftime the Knights trailed 30-17. Junior Lucas Sokol led the team with 17 points and Zsely ended his high school career with 13.
“I’m proud of the seniors and their leadership.” Sokol said.
The three seniors: AJ Pero, Zsely and Norm Jesser had a lot on their plate being responsible for the young team. They survived their brutal schedule staying on the winning side with an 11-9 overall record, including four overtime victories and a league championship.
“We battled adversity and still found a way to win the league against one of the toughest schedules we have played,” Griffith said.
Putting the loss behind them, the youthful team is looking ahead to next season.
“The seniors did a good job preparing us for next year.” Sokol said. “We have a team full of experienced, skilled players looking to play some great basketball next year.”
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