Dominant effort by Hayes sparks Zanesville in victory against Newark Catholic
ZANESVILLE ― Zanesville senior Maddox Hayes had a career-high 20 points as the host Blue Devils put away pesky Newark Catholic 58-47 in Licking County League action at Winland Memorial Gymnasium.
Hayes, who also grabbed 11 rebounds, scored seven in the opening quarter and credited his teammates for feeding him against the smaller Green Wave front line.
"I started to feel it early, and the guys just kept getting me the ball," Hayes said. "We were crashing the boards and were able to pull away in the second half."
Zanesville coach Cedric Harris has praised Hayes for his work ethic. His dedication was rewarded Tuesday.
"Maddox was a monster tonight. We did a good job playing inside-out," Harris said. "Drew (Doyle) and Rashaud (Hampton) brought the energy, and our group fed off them."
The early production from Hayes, along with a Hampton buzzer-beater, had the Blue Devils (5-9, 4-6) up 12-6 after one quarter.
The Green Wave (1-14, 0-11) got as close as 15-11 early in the second on Griffin Urdarvoski's steal and layup, but a Hampton hoop capped a 10-3 stretch that pushed the Zanesville lead to 25-16.
After a 3 by Trey Spurrier pulled Newark Catholic within 25-19, Hampton split two free throws and a Hayes hoop before the horn sent the Blue Devils ahead 28-19 at the half.
Zanesville opened the third on a 7-0 run, capped by Kooper Cain's triple for a 35-19 lead, but five straight empty possessions allowed the Green Wave to answer with a 10-1 run of their own, highlighted by 3s from Spurrier and Jaxon Holman. That cut the deficit to 36-29.
Hayes scored the final three points of the third and had four points during an 8-3 stretch to open the fourth that put the Blue Devils up 46-32.
Newark Catholic never got closer than 10 points in the final stanza.
Doyle added 11 points, Avery Mohler scored all nine of his points in the fourth, Cain chipped in eight and Hampton had seven for a balanced effort.
The Blue Devils head to Cambridge on Friday before hosting rival Newark on Saturday.
Hayes believes Zanesville is headed in the right direction after struggles during the first half of the season.
"I feel like we're playing better and playing hard," Hayes said. "We have more energy and confidence, and we need to try to handle business (on Friday at Cambridge).
There are eight games left for the Blue Devils, and the tournament draw is less than two weeks away.
"We're trying to put ourselves in good position for the tournament," Harris said. "We're trying to build on this momentum and see if we can carry that over into some tournament success."
Urdarovski finished with 18 points, including three 3s, and Holman made five 3s in the second half as part of a 17-point effort for the Green Wave.
bhannahs@gannett.com; X: @brandonhannahs
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Hayes, Zanesville swat away pesky Newark Catholic
