'A body blow': Malvern loses Michael Minor to an injury in district final loss to Hiland
NEW PHILADELPHIA — Malvern had all the I's dotted and T's crossed going into another postseason showdown with Hiland.
The only thing the Hornets were not ready for occurred just over two minutes into Friday's East Division IV district final.
It was, as head coach Dennis Tucci said, "a body blow."
Malvern lost leading scorer and rebounder Michael Minor to an ankle injury, and the Hornets were never the same in a 50-36 loss to the Hawks. It was their third straight defeat to Hiland in the title game.
"Mike getting hurt is not the reason Hiland won, but it didn't help our cause," Tucci said. "Obviously he's our best player and rebounder. He clogs up the middle for us."
Minor was coming off 32-point, 11-rebound performance in Tuesday's semifinal win over Shadyside. No one could have imagined it being the final memorable game of a great high school basketball career.
After leaving the game, Minor tried to walk off the injury behind the Malvern bench. The likelihood of him returning grew dimmer as the first half wore on.
"It's a tall task to beat Hiland in a district championship game without Mike Minor," Tucci said.
There would be one final appearance in the game's closing moments.
Minor limped to the scorer's table to check in with 30 seconds left. The Hornets had possession, and he scored uncontested for his only points of the game. He immediately checked out.
Many Malvern fans chanted "Michael, Michael" after he reentered the game.
"Once I knew the game was over, I thought that Mike deserves one more round of applause," Tucci said. "I asked Mark (Hiland head coach Mark Schlabach) if he would play along, and of course he's the ultimate sportsman. We did it."
Tucci had little trouble summing up what Minor meant to Malvern's program.
"He scored over 1,300 points," he said. "He's going to finish in the top six or seven all-time scorers at our school.
"Besides the points and rebounds, it's just the way he handles himself. He's everything we want to be as a Malvern Hornet."
It won't be easy for Tucci to say goodbye to his six seniors. In addition to Minor, KJ Thomas, Abal Aguirre, Connor Lefevre, Bryson White and Noah Ball were part of a team that finished 21-5 and made a third straight district finals appearance.
Thomas scored a team-high 13 points against Hiland.
"What these seniors gave us was unbelievable," Tucci said. "Twenty-one wins, a sectional title, an IVC championship and a district final.
"I know every one of those kids will continue to give back to the program. They're going to bleed green for the rest of their lives.
"As tough as it was to play without Michael, it's going to be just as tough to go on without those six seniors."
Reach Mike at mike.popovich@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @mpopovichREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Malvern loses Michael Minor to an ankle injury in district final loss
