'His fight is our fight': Malvern, Minerva basketball players learn life lesson
MINERVA — There are life lessons that can be learned outside the lines.
All the Minerva and Malvern boys basketball teams needed to do was look at the shirts their coaches we wearing during Tuesday's game. The words printed on them were a strong message.
"HIS FIGHT IS OUR FIGHT"
On the court, Malvern pulled away at a 49-33 win over Minerva to improve to 12-0. Off the court, both communities are rallying in support of WHBC host Jordan Miller, whose 7-month old Xavier was recently diagnosed with a form of cancer in young children. Miller covers Malvern and Minerva on his website, Jordan Miller News, and as editor of the Free Press Standard in Carrollton.
The shirts are being sold as part of a fundraiser to help Miller and his wife Makaela cover Xavier's medical expenses. The fundraiser was organized by the Lions Den, a sports store run by the father of Minerva player Rowen Hoffee.
"That's more important than any game," Minerva head coach Rich Hart said. "I just can't imagine having a sick child. I can't imagine what they're going through. We're doing anything we can to help that cause.
"It's bigger than basketball. It's life. We're trying to teach some life lessons as you go through this long season. We just wish the best for him and his doctors and hope he can come through."
Malvern plans to continue its support during Friday's home game against Buckeye Trail.
"We're doing it with our cheerleaders and fans, but I also wanted to do it with Rich if he was OK with it," Malvern head coach Dennis Tucci said. "I reached out to him and said that would be great."
Mitchell Minor scored a game-high 19 points and Rodney Smith finished with 13 for the Hornets, who improved to 12-0.
It wasn't a typical Malvern game. After coming in averaging almost 72 points a night, the Hornets were held to their lowest point total of the season.
"It's easy to play when everything's going your way, when we out-athlete people and are just making better plays than people," Tucci said. "That's what we do a lot of nights.
"I felt like we had to win with grit and hustle. Our third-quarter defense was beautiful. The first half also must have been pretty good because they had 17 at halftime. I just thought our third-quarter defense was the difference."
The Hornets led practically the entire game. They maintained their lead with leading scorer J'Allen Barrino on the bench most of the second quarter. They extended their lead to 37-22 after they outscored the Lions 13-5 in the third quarter.
Minor scored 13 of his 19 points in the second half to help Malvern put Minerva away.
"I had to step up, hit my shots and get rebounds," Minor said. "I couldn't hit my 3s tonight, but I had to put my head down, keep getting boards and score inside."
Jayden Yerger hit four 3s and scored 14 points to lead Minerva (8-5). The Lions hit 32 3-pointers in their previous three games. Against the Hornets, they had five.
"We didn't execute anything we've worked on the last two days," Hart said. "It was almost like the moment was too big for us."
Reach Mike at mike.popovich@cantonrep.com
On X: @mpopovichREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Malvern boys basketball team uses "grit and hustle' to improve to 12-0
