- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 408,325
- Reaction score
- 43
LEXINGTON – After 40 minutes of high octane, adrenaline-fueled offense, the only part of Friday night’s 46th News Journal All-Star Basketball Classic the North team would like to do over is the last 10 seconds.
It had three cracks at the basket in those final moments, but had to settle for tying the Classic record for scoring in a resounding 150-114 win at Lexington High School.
Coincidentally, the North matched the scoring output of the North in identical 150-120 wins in 1996 and 2023.
Energized by a 25-10 run to end the first half, the North was as relentless at the offensive end during an 83-point second half as MVP Toby Rogers of Highland was unassuming going into the game.
Nothing about his high school background screamed 36 points and 12 rebounds, but that’s the career night he had while somehow leaving plenty of points and boards for his teammates.
If not for this new, riveting version of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, the MVP race would have been a tight battle between two of his North teammates — Mapleton guard Scotty Hickey (24 points, four rebounds, four assists, six 3-pointers) and Mansfield Senior wing Kyevi Roane (21 points, 12 rebounds, five assists.).
“Toby did his thing,” Hickey said, graciously. “I knew nothing about him, but he came in guns ablazing. He was on his horse tonight.
“You could tell in practice he was a hoop head. He’s an athlete, a freak of nature.”
Even though that was obvious to everybody in the gym, it took this game to bring out the beast in Rogers. In addition to his double-double, he made four 3-pointers and had three dunks after averaging a modest 13 points and four rebounds during the season.
“I played with him in (another local all-star game), but he really didn’t do too much, and I wasn’t sure who he was,” Roane said. “He’s a really good player, but an even better person. We made a good bond over both all-star games.”
After a late surge to erase a 44-42 South lead and go on top 67-54 at the half, the North picked up where it left off in the second half, opening with a 15-3 run. Three players accounted for all of the North points: Rogers (seven), Roane (four) and Hillsdale’s 6-6 Brady Krichbaum (four).
That made it 82-57, and by the time the North hit the century mark the lead had grown to 34 points. Interestingly, only one of the North’s first 13 baskets in the second half was a triple. It ran away with the game by consistently beating the South down the floor and cleaning up on the offensive glass.
“In transition, we were just running and finding the open guy,” North coach Nick Hickey said. “The kids were very unselfish, which was very cool, because I know on their high school teams they had to be unselfish scorers. But out here they were just sharing the ball.”
Krichbaum played a big part in the win. He finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, scoring on all six of his offensive rebounds as the North had a whopping 78-53 edge on the boards and outscored the South 31-17 on second chance points.
“That’s how I scored a lot of my points (for Hillsdale),” said Krichbaum, who had two games of 24 rebounds against Mapleton in his career and a 26-point, 26-rebound night in a 73-54 win over Heartland Christian in the district finals this season.
“One of my coaches in high school was the previous record holder for rebounding and he taught me how to read the ball off the rim. Obviously, boxing out, too, is a big thing we practiced.”
Krichbaum was first team All-Ohio in football and second team in basketball, leading the Falcons to the state finals last fall and to the school’s first district basketball title in 35 years this season.
“Last year I was really the only rebounder and this year it carried over,” he said. “We had more people and it made it easier for me.”
Even though Rogers was leader of the pack Friday night, he was only a middle round selection in the all-star player draft and then only because of what Nick Hickey had seen, not heard.
“Just a lot of hearsay, a lot of talk from other coaches about him as a player,” Hickey said. “I heard a lot of good stuff, and then when I saw him in practice, I saw that he had a great basketball build and was just a nice player.”
A lot of players fit that bill for the North as nine of the 10 who suited up had at least eight points and six scored in doubles figures. Mansfield Christian’s Taylor Hahn had 13 points and seven rebounds, Wynford’s Weston Prenger had 10 points and four rebounds, Ashland’s Tyler Sauder had eight points, 11 rebounds and six assists and Lucas’ Zac Winters had eight points and eight boards.
Cardington guard AJ Brehem set a Classic record for points by a one-handed player with eight, converting all four of his shorts. He made the first basket of the game, but everybody quickly realized it was staged and thought it was strictly ceremonial. He came out right after scoring because of the broken finger he had suffered in an earlier all-star game.
“I hadn’t practiced at all this week, so I didn’t even know if I could play,” said Brehm, who played with a soft cast on his hand. “I was happy to get in. In the other all-star game I went for a steal and (the finger) popped. Tonight, my teammates did a good job of passing me the ball so I could catch it with one hand, so it worked out.”
Not so much for the South.
Coach Davey Hipp of Madison drafted the team in his image. A former all-star for Shelby, he shared the Classic record for 3-pointers with nine. So he surrounded himself for this game with shooters.
Except the shots didn’t go in. The South was 6 of 33 from the arc in the first 20 minutes and not appreciably better (6 of 26) in the second half.
“It was just an off night for us,” Hipp said. “Maybe they hadn’t picked up a basketball in a few weeks or maybe it’s just me. I’m 0-3 in this game (including a loss last year as a Shelby assistant). Maybe it’s just coach Hipp.”
Crestview’s Justice Thompson had a great all-around game for the South with 25 points (one off his scoring average), 11 rebounds and eight assists. He got double-figure support from St. Peter’s Dmoni Lentes (14 points, seven of nine from the field), Madison’s Owen Wigton (10) and Loudonville’s Dilan Wade (10).
But it wasn’t enough to offset the North’s firepower. Or to neutralize Rogers.
“I knew his name from coaching at Shelby and (Highland’s) in the (Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference),” Hipp said of the Whippets’ league rival. “Toby was younger, but I knew he had a good frame – long, athletic. He was beating us down the floor and had a lot of tough finishes at the rim. He’s an athletic guy.
“I think their whole team played with a little more urgency. Our guys got down and it spiraled from there.”
Conversely, the finish couldn’t have been better for Nick Hickey and his son. Scotty’s 24 points were just two short of his season average.
“We were excited about this game all week,” Nick Hickey said. “Scotty’s just special. He’ll keep playing the game because he loves it, but for this to be our last official high school hurrah is a pretty special moment.”
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: No stopping ’em: 83-point second half helps victorious North tie Classic scoring record
Continue reading...
It had three cracks at the basket in those final moments, but had to settle for tying the Classic record for scoring in a resounding 150-114 win at Lexington High School.
Coincidentally, the North matched the scoring output of the North in identical 150-120 wins in 1996 and 2023.
Energized by a 25-10 run to end the first half, the North was as relentless at the offensive end during an 83-point second half as MVP Toby Rogers of Highland was unassuming going into the game.
Nothing about his high school background screamed 36 points and 12 rebounds, but that’s the career night he had while somehow leaving plenty of points and boards for his teammates.
If not for this new, riveting version of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, the MVP race would have been a tight battle between two of his North teammates — Mapleton guard Scotty Hickey (24 points, four rebounds, four assists, six 3-pointers) and Mansfield Senior wing Kyevi Roane (21 points, 12 rebounds, five assists.).
You must be registered for see images
“Toby did his thing,” Hickey said, graciously. “I knew nothing about him, but he came in guns ablazing. He was on his horse tonight.
“You could tell in practice he was a hoop head. He’s an athlete, a freak of nature.”
Even though that was obvious to everybody in the gym, it took this game to bring out the beast in Rogers. In addition to his double-double, he made four 3-pointers and had three dunks after averaging a modest 13 points and four rebounds during the season.
“I played with him in (another local all-star game), but he really didn’t do too much, and I wasn’t sure who he was,” Roane said. “He’s a really good player, but an even better person. We made a good bond over both all-star games.”
After a late surge to erase a 44-42 South lead and go on top 67-54 at the half, the North picked up where it left off in the second half, opening with a 15-3 run. Three players accounted for all of the North points: Rogers (seven), Roane (four) and Hillsdale’s 6-6 Brady Krichbaum (four).
That made it 82-57, and by the time the North hit the century mark the lead had grown to 34 points. Interestingly, only one of the North’s first 13 baskets in the second half was a triple. It ran away with the game by consistently beating the South down the floor and cleaning up on the offensive glass.
“In transition, we were just running and finding the open guy,” North coach Nick Hickey said. “The kids were very unselfish, which was very cool, because I know on their high school teams they had to be unselfish scorers. But out here they were just sharing the ball.”
Krichbaum played a big part in the win. He finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, scoring on all six of his offensive rebounds as the North had a whopping 78-53 edge on the boards and outscored the South 31-17 on second chance points.
“That’s how I scored a lot of my points (for Hillsdale),” said Krichbaum, who had two games of 24 rebounds against Mapleton in his career and a 26-point, 26-rebound night in a 73-54 win over Heartland Christian in the district finals this season.
“One of my coaches in high school was the previous record holder for rebounding and he taught me how to read the ball off the rim. Obviously, boxing out, too, is a big thing we practiced.”
You must be registered for see images
Krichbaum was first team All-Ohio in football and second team in basketball, leading the Falcons to the state finals last fall and to the school’s first district basketball title in 35 years this season.
“Last year I was really the only rebounder and this year it carried over,” he said. “We had more people and it made it easier for me.”
Even though Rogers was leader of the pack Friday night, he was only a middle round selection in the all-star player draft and then only because of what Nick Hickey had seen, not heard.
“Just a lot of hearsay, a lot of talk from other coaches about him as a player,” Hickey said. “I heard a lot of good stuff, and then when I saw him in practice, I saw that he had a great basketball build and was just a nice player.”
A lot of players fit that bill for the North as nine of the 10 who suited up had at least eight points and six scored in doubles figures. Mansfield Christian’s Taylor Hahn had 13 points and seven rebounds, Wynford’s Weston Prenger had 10 points and four rebounds, Ashland’s Tyler Sauder had eight points, 11 rebounds and six assists and Lucas’ Zac Winters had eight points and eight boards.
Cardington guard AJ Brehem set a Classic record for points by a one-handed player with eight, converting all four of his shorts. He made the first basket of the game, but everybody quickly realized it was staged and thought it was strictly ceremonial. He came out right after scoring because of the broken finger he had suffered in an earlier all-star game.
“I hadn’t practiced at all this week, so I didn’t even know if I could play,” said Brehm, who played with a soft cast on his hand. “I was happy to get in. In the other all-star game I went for a steal and (the finger) popped. Tonight, my teammates did a good job of passing me the ball so I could catch it with one hand, so it worked out.”
Not so much for the South.
Coach Davey Hipp of Madison drafted the team in his image. A former all-star for Shelby, he shared the Classic record for 3-pointers with nine. So he surrounded himself for this game with shooters.
Except the shots didn’t go in. The South was 6 of 33 from the arc in the first 20 minutes and not appreciably better (6 of 26) in the second half.
“It was just an off night for us,” Hipp said. “Maybe they hadn’t picked up a basketball in a few weeks or maybe it’s just me. I’m 0-3 in this game (including a loss last year as a Shelby assistant). Maybe it’s just coach Hipp.”
You must be registered for see images
Crestview’s Justice Thompson had a great all-around game for the South with 25 points (one off his scoring average), 11 rebounds and eight assists. He got double-figure support from St. Peter’s Dmoni Lentes (14 points, seven of nine from the field), Madison’s Owen Wigton (10) and Loudonville’s Dilan Wade (10).
But it wasn’t enough to offset the North’s firepower. Or to neutralize Rogers.
“I knew his name from coaching at Shelby and (Highland’s) in the (Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference),” Hipp said of the Whippets’ league rival. “Toby was younger, but I knew he had a good frame – long, athletic. He was beating us down the floor and had a lot of tough finishes at the rim. He’s an athletic guy.
“I think their whole team played with a little more urgency. Our guys got down and it spiraled from there.”
Conversely, the finish couldn’t have been better for Nick Hickey and his son. Scotty’s 24 points were just two short of his season average.
“We were excited about this game all week,” Nick Hickey said. “Scotty’s just special. He’ll keep playing the game because he loves it, but for this to be our last official high school hurrah is a pretty special moment.”
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: No stopping ’em: 83-point second half helps victorious North tie Classic scoring record
Continue reading...
