Hardwood Heroes Sports
Week In Review: Federal Hocking Has Up-and-Down Week
By: Alex Porter
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STEWART, Ohio – It was quite the week of basketball for both Lancer squads in Stewart, with Wednesday being the only day off of action. For the Lady Lancers, they saw action on Monday against Waterford at home and at Belpre on Thursday.
The Lady Lancer’s game on Monday against the Lady Wildcats was a tight, defensive game down to the final buzzer, but it saw Waterford prevail and beat Federal Hocking 44-35.
Both teams had struggles throughout the game to get the ball in the bucket, but the Lady Wildcats, who haven’t lost a game in the TVC-Hocking in the last four to five years, prevailed in the end.
Top performers for the Lancers were Paige Tolson, who added 11 points, and according to head coach Jeremy Tolson, Tiffany Allen added solid play for the Lady Lancers.
The Lady Lancers looked to bounce back on Thursday as they traveled to Belpre to take on the Lady Eagles, and like Monday, the game came down to the wire, but the Lady Lancers couldn’t come out on top, dropping the game 54-48.
This time, Coach Tolson said after the game that the offense was looking crisper, as Federal Hocking was able to get their shots rolling early.
To show for their improved offensive success, the Lady Lancers had some outstanding performances. Paige Tolson added 17 points and was looking like a center with 12 rebounds. Kylie Tabler and Alexa Smith both had nine points each.
Junior Emma Beha went to the free throw line late to make it a one possession game but was unable to sink key free throws to put it within reach. She would finish with six points and 10 rebounds.
A tough week for the Lady Lancers brought a lot of lessons, and they’ll look to bounce back next week against Wahama on Monday, Southern on Thursday and Eastern on Saturday.
As for the boys, the week of games was a little more kind.
The boys also took on Waterford, but on Tuesday. The Wildcats lost some experience this year, which allowed the Lancers to take advantage, and come out on top 71-47 in the end.
After the first quarter, the Lancers were only up 17-13, but as the theme for the Lancers has been up to this point in the season, the second quarter was big. The Lancers outscored Waterford 23-9 in the second quarter, which proved to be the difference maker in the game.
The Lancers had nine different scorers in the game. Some of those players were Nathaniel Massie, who had 14 points, Quinton Basim, who had 10 points, and Brad Russell, who had 18 points.
A good addition to the win column for the Lancers made them 3-1 heading into their game at Belpre on Friday.
For the game against the Eagles, the Lancers showed up ready to play. In a game that was a huge road win for the squad, the Lancers came out on top 82-78.
Federal Hocking came out to a fast start going up 15-11 after the first quarter. A dismal second quarter put the Lancers down at halftime 33-28, but Federal Hocking came out firing in the second half.
The Lancers scored a season high 38 points in the fourth quarter, which allowed them to get the huge win on the road. According to head coach Johnathan Thompson, such a high scoring quarter has never been achieved by any of the teams he’s coached until now.
A large portion of this offensive barrage can be credited to Hunter Smith, Collin Jarvis and Nathaniel Massie. Smith totaled a career high 30 points, with Jarvis chipping in 19 off the bench. As for Massie, he did his usual thing, contributing 15 points to the effort.
Two big wins on the road this week are good preparation for big games against Wahama and Southern, both at home, next week.
As for the Lancers, they’ll look to continue the hot start to the season with a 4-1 record so far.