'A good win for us': Hoover boys basketball completes big weekend, stops Barberton streak

NORTH CANTON — A last-second prayer wasn't asked to be answered by the Hoover boys basketball team this time.

Sunday's Hoover Hoops MLK Classic game with Barberton was cinched moments before the final buzzer sounded. Even without the last-second drama, this win felt pretty big, too.

The Vikings beat the Magics 55-47 to complete a pretty successful weekend. It began Friday when freshman Hunter Hershberger buried an off-balance 30-footer as time expired to beat McKinley. It ended with Hoover stopping Barberton's 11-game winning streak.

"That's a good challenge for a young team, to come off an emotional Friday night, turn it around in 48 hours and play a strong, highly-ranked team in the district," Vikings head coach Mike Bluey said. "They have kids in all the spots who can do what's needed. It was a good win for us."

The Vikings (9-3) held Barberton scoreless over the first six-plus minutes of the fourth quarter and won their sixth straight. Four players scored in double figures, led by Crew Cain's 13 points. Zach Braucher and Logan Ash finished with 12 apiece. Hershberger added 10.

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Hoover rallied from six down early in the third quarter. A Hershberger 3-pointer gave the Vikings a 40-39 lead heading to the fourth. Ash's second 3 of the game with 2:02 left pushed them in front 48-39.

"Things were looking a little rough when we were down," Cain said. "Once we got up an running, everything was going our way. The momentum felt really good."

Cain was selected Hoover's game MVP. In addition to his 13 points and three assists, the junior guard also put a dent in Barberton's pressure.

"They have strong kids, and he handled the pressure," Bluey said. "I think he only turned it over maybe twice in the first half and he was solid the whole second half. He was just a good distributor. It's probably his best performance of the year."

Two game-winning 3s have given Hershberger two headline moments early in this career. The two 3s he hit Sunday also beat the buzzer. They came at the end of the first and third quarters.

That's only a slice of Hershberger's game.

"The offensive side gets the write-ups and kind of gets the social media glory," Bluey said. "For us, he is just improving day in and day out on the defensive side. He had a good assignment today on a good offensive player. He did a great job on the ball and was active off the ball. His awareness on the defensive side is allowing him to play extended minutes."

McKinley pushes buzzer-beating loss behind them

How would McKinley react less than 48 hours after Hershberger's prayer on the same court? It didn't take head coach Sean Weatherspoon long to realize Friday's bitter loss was behind them.

McKinley scored the first 12 points of the game and had little trouble in a 69-29 win over Akron East. Reed Sims Jr. scored 22 points and Jaylen Jeter finished with 20 to lead the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs (7-4) pressed on after Hershberger's game winner.

"It was a tough loss," Jeter said. "It was a good shot he shot, but we had to keep our mindset on the next game going forward.

Jeter set the tone defensively, and that led to some fast break opportunities for himself. He recorded a boatload of steals early and finished with seven on the night.

"You want to be aggressive on defense and play our game," Jeter said. "Defense leads us to offensive buckets.

"I love playing defense. It's a passion for me."

Weatherspoon said that Jeter fits the mold for what McKinley wants to do defensivey.

"He has quick hands, is active in the passing lanes and is a tenacious on-the-ball defender," Weatherspoon said. "We just have to continue to have him, as well as everyone else on the floor, do it on a consistent basis. If we do that, we'll be in pretty good shape."

The 40-point victory was McKinley's biggest of the season. The Bulldogs beat Alliance by 22 in their opener, but have had to gut out many of their other wins.

"I'll definitely take a win like this," Weatherspoon said.

GlenOak survives Copley comeback

GlenOak was on pace to a comfortable win over Copley. At multiple times in the third quarter, the Golden Eagles led by 19.

Little did head coach Rick Hairston know a couple of Reese Zerger free throws in the final seconds would be required to put away Copley 66-60.

Trent Wininger made the Golden Eagles sweat out their ninth win of the season. He hit seven 3s and scored a game-high 35 points to lead Copley.

"We stopped defending the 3-point line, and they got hot from out there," Hairston said. " ... We're lucky to get out of here with a win."

Zerger scored 21 points, Ja'Corey Lipkins finished with 15 and Dai'jhon Robinson added 13 for the Golden Eagles (9-2), who produced the 300th and 301st wins of Hairston's coaching career this weekend. Zerger hit 9 of 11 field goals and was named GlenOak's game MVP.

"He's playing his tail off," Hairston said. "He can finish around the basket. He can make free throws. He's a good defender. He's smart as heck out there. I think the sky's the limit for him. The more he plays, the better he's going to get."

Green sets table for unbeaten Federal League on Sunday

Green tipped off a 4-for-4 Sunday for Federal League teams with a 79-55 win over Canfield.

The Bulldogs led 21-10 after one quarter and never looked back. They broke open the game in the third quarter when they outscored the Cardinals 21-12.

In a rare lunchtime start, head coach Mark Kinsley's team was crisp from the get-go.

"We talked about having to find a way to get yourselves motivated," Kinsley said. "You're not going to have that big crowd to feed off of.

"We're proud of our guys' focus. They came in focused and we're ready to play."

Brady Rollyson and Luke Jansen scored 16 points apiece to lead Green (9-2). Anthony Fortunato finished with 14 points in his second start. Antonio Martin added 12 points and Jarrett Taylor ended up with 11.

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Sunday's high school box scores

BOYS BASKETBALL

GREEN 79, CANFIELD 55

Hoover Hoops MLK Classic

CANFIELD (8-3): Cruz 2 0-0 6, Weaver 3 0-0 6, Weaver 1 0-0 2, Shapiro 1 0-0 2, McCune 0 0-0 0, Castronova 7 0-0 17, Roberts 1 0-0 3, Shina 3 2-2 8, Russo 4 1-1 11. Totals 22 3-3 55.

GREEN (9-2): Manson 2 0-0 5, Taylor 6 0-0 11, Dubravetz 1 0-0 2, A. Martin 6 0-0 12, Ang. Fortunato 0 2-4 2, Rollyson 6 4-6 16, Jansen 7 0-0 16, Ant. Fortunato 5 0-0 14. Totals 33 6-10 79.

Canfield - 10 - 14 - 12 - 19 — 55

Green - 21 - 15 - 21 - 22 — 79

3-pointers: Ant. Fortunato 4, Castronova 3, Cruz 2, Russo 2, Jansen 2, Roberts, Manson. Fouls: Canfield 8-4. Rebounds: Canfield 20 (McCune 5), Green 32 (Martin 8).

HOOVER 55, BARBERTON 47

Hoover Hoops MLK Classic

BARBERTON (11-2): Holley 7 1-2 18, Kennerly 3 3-7 14, Tyler 0 2-2 2, Larry 2 2-2 8, Jones 2 0-0 4, Davis 0 1-2 1. Totals 14 11-15 47.

HOOVER (9-3): Braucher 6 0-0 12, Cain 5 1-2 13, Ash 5 0-1 12, Newell 1 0-0 2, Wagoner 1 1-2 3, Hershberger 4 0-0 10, Oster 1 1-2 3. Totals 23 3-7 55.

Barberton - 11 - 15 - 13 - 8 — 47

Hoover - 18 - 5 - 17 - 15 — 55

3-pointers: Kennerly 3, Holley 3, Larry 2, Cain 2, Ash 2, Hershberger 2. Fouls: Hoover 16-12. Fouled out: Braucher. Rebounds: Barberton 20 (Holley 10), Hoover 21 (Braucher 7).

McKINLEY 69, AKRON EAST 29

Hoover Hoops MLK Classic

AKRON EAST (4-6): Sales 1 0-0 2, Rosser 2 1-2 5, Johnson 6 3-8 18, Armstead 0 0-1 0, James 0 0-1 0, Shuford 1 2-6 4. Totals 10 6-18 29.

McKINLEY (7-4): Moody 0 2-2 2, Chavers 5 0-1 11, Jeter 9 0-0 20, Britt 0 2-2 2, McClellan 1 0-0 2, Sims 9 3-3 22, Heard 4 2-2 10. Totals 28 9-10 69.

Akron East - 7 - 7 - 10 - 5 — 29

McKinley - 18 - 14 - 24 - 13 — 69

3-pointers: Johnson 3, Jeter 2, Chavers, Sims. Fouls: McKinley 19-13. Rebounds: Akron East 28 (Johnson 5), McKinley 23 (Sims 6).

GLENOAK 66, COPLEY 60

Hoover Hoops MLK Classic

COPLEY (4-9): Mansel 1 0-0 2, Stanford 2 0-0 4, Wininger 11 6-6 35, Brockmeyer 5 0-0 13, Steward 0 2-3 2, McKnight 1 0-2 2, Owens 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 8-11 60.

GLENOAK (9-2): Lipkins 7 1-1 15, Broom 3 2-2 9, McElroy 2 4-4 8, Ashcraft 0 0-2 0, Robinson 6 1-3 13, Zerger 9 2-2 21. Totals 27 10-16 66.

Copley - 5 - 14 - 23 - 18 — 60

GlenOak - 13 - 23 - 12 - 18 — 66

3-pointers: Wininger 7, Brockmyer 3, Broom, Zerger. Fouls: Copley 16-12. Rebounds: Copley 24 (Wininger 5, Brockmeyer 5), GlenOak 30 (White 5).

EAST CANTON 52, SPRINGFIELD 36

Claymont Showcase

EAST CANTON (8-4): McLeod 7 4-4 21, Shilling 5 8-10 18, Schrader 2 1-2 5, McCroskey 1 0-0 3, Deutschman 1 0-0 3, Kandel 0 2-2 2. Totals 16 15-18 52.

SPRINGFIELD (4-8): Ahern 3 0-0 9, Hahn 3 1-2 7, Gasper 3 0-0 6, Fortner 2 0-0 4, Thomas 1 0-0 3, Siegferth 1 0-0 3, Former 1 0-0 2, Severin 1 0-0 2, Worford 0 0-2 0. Totals 15 1-4 36.

East Canton - 9 - 9 - 15 - 19 — 52

Springfield - 6 - 8 - 10 - 12 — 36

3-pointers: McLeod 3, Ahern 3, Deutschman, Schrader, Siegferth, Thomas. Fouls: Springfield 21-11.

CARROLLTON 48, WEST HOLMES 44

Claymont Showcase

CARROLLTON: Murphy 3 2-2 9, Lonca 1 1-1 4, Mallarnee 6 8-8 23, Johnson 0 2-4 2, Birong 3 2-2 8, E. Brooks 0 2-2 2. Totals 14 17-19 48.

WEST HOLMES: Sprang 1 2-3 5, Fair 2 2-3 6, C. Cline 5 3-6 15, L. Cline 2 1-1 5, N. Sprang 1 1-2 3, Camocho 3 4-4 10. Totals 14 13-19 44.

Carrollton - 16 - 6 - 13 - 13 — 48

West Holmes - 5 - 10 - 14 - 15 — 44

3-pointers: Mallarnee 3, C. Cline 2, Sprang, Murphy. Fouls: Carrollton 20-19. Fouled out: Barkan, Birong, Lonca.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Crew Cain helps lead Hoover basketball team to win at MLK Classic