Hardwood Heroes
Trimble pulls out instant classic win at Federal Hocking and clinches share of TVC Hocking title
By: Cameron Knupp, Grayson Wolf
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STEWART, Ohio (WOUB) – The Trimble Tomcats and Federal Hocking Lancers met in Stewart on Friday night with identical 10-0 records in the TVC Hocking. The winner of the contest would clinch at least a share of the Hocking title.
This was a game that people around the area had been waiting for since December. Their first matchup that was scheduled for January 14th was rescheduled because of COVID complications. This was the first meeting of the regular season between the two teams.
The energy in the gym was electric as it was standing room only midway through the junior varsity game. It was senior night for the Lancers, and they honored their five seniors. Tyler Rogers, Andre Crockwell, Lane Smith, Gauge McVey, and Ethan McCune. Those five all got the start for Lancer head coach Jonathon Thompson.
The crowd was into the game as soon as it tipped off. Austin Wisor came out hot and hit two threes to lead the Tomcats to a 16-point first quarter. They led 16-9 and the end of the first eight minutes.
At the start of the second quarter Andre Crockwell drained two threes and made a layup to go on an 8-0 run by himself to ignite the Lancer crowd and force Trimble coach Howie Caldwell to call a timeout. Crockwell added another three in the quarter as the Lancers outscored the Tomcats 21-11 in the second quarter to take a 30-27 lead into the break.
In the third frame it was tough sledding for the Lancers as they could only muster seven points. Tyler Weber made a put back layup at the buzzer to give Trimble a 39-37 lead going into the final quarter. The first 24 minutes were just an appetizer to what we got in the final eight.
Late in the fourth quarter with the Lancers clinging to a 48-44 lead, Blake Guffey grabbed an offensive board, put back the layup, got fouled, and hit the free throw to make it a one-point game. A few possessions later and Federal Hocking with a 50-49 lead, coach Caldwell called a timeout to draw up a play with 17 seconds left.
With the game on the line, he gave the ball to Tyler Weber who came off a Blake Guffey screen. When both Lancer defenders lunged to cover Tomcat star Guffey, Weber drove and drained a floater with eight seconds left to give them a 51-50 lead.
After a Lancer timeout Andre Crockwell drove the ball down and took a mid-range jumper that fell short. The Tomcats that were on the bench flooded onto the court in celebration.
With the one-point win Trimble has clinched at least a share of the TVC Hocking title for the second year in a row. This was Fed Hock’s first loss since December 18th.
Guffey finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Weber finished with 11 and the game winning basket.
The area the Lancers had their most success was on the boards. They outrebounded the Tomcats 27-23 and had several offensive rebounds that led to second chance points.
Crockwell finished with 20 points for the Lancers. Tyler Rogers was close behind with 11 points and nine rebounds.
The fun does not stop here though. These two teams will meet again on Tuesday. If Trimble wins, they will win the Hocking title outright and finish the regular season undefeated. If Federal Hocking wins, then they will share the Hocking crown.