Garfield Heights ends Hoban's quest for consecutive OHSAA boys basketball state titles

Archbishop Hoban's reign as the Division I boys basketball state champion came to an end Wednesday night in a regional semifinal at Rhodes Arena.

Garfield Heights defeated Hoban 52-43 in front of a crowd of more than 2,500.

The memories, though, from last year's state title run will stick with coach T.K. Griffith, senior Jonas Nichols and the rest of the Knights for years to come.

Nichols and senior classmates Joey Hardman, Josh Greer and Sam Mazzola enjoyed the ride this season as a defending state champion.

"It was a blessing," Nichols said of the last two seasons. "Every night, just getting a team's best. We came back with a very competitive schedule, so it was just fun games against top people. It was basically to get us ready for this game. That is a really good team, and we couldn't get it done tonight."

Freshman John Johnson III paced Hoban (18-8) with 17 points and three blocks. Nichols, a 6-foot-3 Kent State University recruit, finished with 15 points, four rebounds and two assists.

"There was a great sense of pride about what these kids were able to do to get to another regional, especially the last time that this is going to be in four divisions," Griffith said. "I just have a ton of gratitude. They took me on a heck of a ride basically. Jonas and big Sam [Greer]. Joey, Josh and Sam Mazzola are a part of that, too. These kids took us on a heck of a ride.

"... [Nichols] pushes his guys and he cares about basketball. I have never had a player work at basketball like this in my life, and that is not coach talk."

Griffith praised the 6-2 Johnson for being "calm" and playing with "poise."

Sophomore Marcus Johnson and seniors Calvin "CJ" Little and Deandre Jones were the stars for the Bulldogs (25-1).

"Marcus was elite today on both ends of the floor," Garfield Heights coach Sonny Johnson said of his son. "He was just special. Every time we needed a big bucket he gave it to us. ... We have those types of guys where the puzzle fits, everything fits, everybody knows what they do well for the team. CJ is our heart. CJ defends. Him and Marcus today checked their best players."

Marcus Johnson, who is 6-1, finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. He has more 20 college scholarship offers, including Ohio State, Alabama, Cincinnati, LSU and Villanova.

"Coaches believed in me," the younger Johnson said. "Teammates believed in me and they just told me to keep being aggressive and keep going."

Jones had 13 points and 11 rebounds. He threw down two two-hand dunks in the final minute as Hoban's defense scrambled to get steals.

"It felt great," Jones said. "I wanted to turn the crowd up. We had our fans come out and support."

Jones, a 6-9 and 199-pound Kent State recruit, matched up against Hoban sophomore Sam Greer (6-8, 300) for most of the night. Greer has multiple college scholarship offers for football and basketball.

"It's a dogfight down there," Jones said. "I ain't going out easy. ... Our expectation is to get down to state and win it all."

Little, who is 6-2, totaled 13 points, six rebounds and four assists.

"They are the defending champs, so they had my respect," Little said of Hoban.

John Johnson made two 3-pointers and a layup in the first quarter as Hoban led 13-11. Little and Marcus Johnson combined to score 12 points in the second quarter as Garfield Heights took a 27-22 lead into halftime.

"[They have] so many talented guys but, also, he [Sonny Johnson] puts them in the right spots," Griffith said. "Sonny understands how to utilize his talent. It is hard to stop Marcus, but they have got a shooter, they have got a big, they have got some good role guys who aren't really role guys. They are also probably D-I [college] basketball players."

The Bulldogs led 34-24 during the third quarter and 38-33 entering the fourth quarter. Nichols made two free throws and a layup to trim the deficit to 44-41 with 4:00 to go, but the Knights got no closer.

"They are one of the most talented teams we have faced this year," Nichols said. "I want to give congrats out to their players. They executed everything perfectly. They guarded us well. They knew our stuff and they were really physical tonight. We missed a lot of bunnies. They got a big 6-9 guy at the rim."

Sam Greer finished with eight points, five rebounds and two blocks.

"Coach [Griffith] is a great coach," Sonny Johnson said. "He runs a lot of sets, so we wanted to pressure the ball and make sure we try to take them out of the sets that they like to run because they have got a lot of plays. We were studying all week."

Nichols, Hoban's all-time leading scorer with 1,574 career points, said he will turn his focus to coaching next week.

"I was thinking about either doing lacrosse or tennis, but me and Joey Hardman are running an AAU team, a sixth-grade [Akron] Bobcats team," Nichols said.

Nichols lauded Griffith and his staff for helping him grow.

"Learning the game of basketball coming to Hoban, not really knowing how to cut or how to move without the ball," Nichols said. "Just little stuff like that and then learning stuff out of basketball, staying on the books and being a better man. That is what Hoban teaches you."

Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hoban boys basketball state title defense ends in regional semifinal