Lancers grab their first TVC-Hocking win of the season
By: Gavin Carrig
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TRIMBLE, Ohio (WOUB) — Federal Hocking went behind enemy lines looking to grab their first TVC-Hocking win of the season in their last chance at doing so. The Lancers came out on top against Trimble by a final of 73-62 behind a great team performance.
The game got off to a hot start offensively with both teams answering each other’s scores. Performing on the glass in the first was Lancers’ Gabe Bray, who finished with 5 boards in the frame. The Tomcats would have the advantage at the end of one, 18-17.
In the second is where Trimble was able to find more of their rhythm. Being able to exploit the open Fed Hock passing lanes and capitalizing on them is how they were able to hold the advantage going into halftime, 34-27.
Coming out of the break, the Lancers were fighting hard to close the gap, and they did just that. Behind a 6-point quarter from Wren Ballew, Fed Hock found themselves down by only two going into the fourth frame, 49-47.
Only being down by two, the Lancers knew they had a shot at grabbing that first Hocking win of the season. “Offensively we told them that the dribble drives were there, we wanted to try and attack and get open shooters available. The kids responded to that, and we were moving the ball at a pretty high clip there towards that end of the game. Our shots were falling because we were getting open shots instead of contested shots,” said Head Coach Jonathan Thompson about what the teams’ game plan was going into the fourth quarter.
All of that worked to perfection with Fed Hock grabbing the win 73-62. Ballew finished the night with 22 points, along with six rebounds. Gabe Bray dropped a double-double, scoring 17 points and picking up 12 rebounds. Cam Joy ended his night with a double-double as well, putting up 16 points with 10 assists.
Ballew talked more after the game about how much a win against a rival like Trimble meant to him and the team. “Oh, it’s huge. The Trimble rivalry, this is huge. We got beat at home [last game against Trimble]. It hurt, we came back, took care of business, it was really solid.”
Fed Hock will end their regular season with a matchup against Nelsonville-York (12-8) on Saturday, February 15. The Lancers open tournament play on Tuesday, February 18 against 18 seed Portsmouth Clay (2-18).