Hardwood Heroes
Federal Hocking claims share of TVC-Hocking title in game against Trimble
By: Charlie Lusk
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STEWART, Ohio (WOUB) — In a must win contest for the Federal Hocking Lancers, they bested the Trimble Tomcats 83 to 52. On Senior Night, the Lancers needed to beat the Tomcats to take a share of the title upholding their title from last year. Despite the solid performance from the Tomcats, the Lancers pulled away off the back of a record-breaking performance from Andrew Airhart.
As soon as the game started, Tariq Cottrill picked up a steal and dished the ball from Andrew Airhart for a quick 3 pointer. This would be a common theme on the night as Andrew Airhart went 9 for 16 from behind the arc. 4 of which came in the first quarter. With him and Cottrill chances, Federal Hocking ended the first quarter up 19 to 8.
The offensive production would ramp up in the second quarter for the Lancers while the Tomcats failed to keep up. Trimble did win the rebounding battle by a substantial margin. They grabbed 30 rebounds in the game, including 11 offensive rebounds, compared to Federal Hocking’s 14 rebounds. This helped Micheal Clark and Brady Jajczyk to score 12 and 13 points respectively for the Tomcats. However, Trimble failed to take advantage of those second- chance shots.
But the main factor in Federal Hocking’s victory was Andrew Airhart’s previously mentioned record-breaking performance. Airhart had a Senior Night to remember as he scored a school record 46 points. He showed off his limitless range tonight pulling up from 27+ feet throughout the game sinking most of his attempts.
With just under two minutes left, Airhart got on a fastbreak with 44 points to his name. With nothing but the basket ahead of him, everyone in the gym knew that history was about to be made. He converted on the layup, breaking the record to deafening applause of the crowd.
In their regular season finally, the Trimble Tomcats will look to build upon their great rebounding while improving their second chance and 3-point scoring come tournament time. They will face off against Miller on February 23rd at 8:00pm.
As for the Federal Hocking Lancers, they look to continue where they left off last year with a district title. They will have to start their campaign against the winner between Glenwood and Green. That game will be on February 24th at 8:00pm.