Newport 53, St. Henry 37
Taylen Kinney has a familial cheering section for every Newport basketball game.
The 15-member contingent was at Beechwood on Friday. They – and the rest of the Wildcats – surely left satisfied. They watched Kinney drop 22 points on St. Henry and saw their team take a 53-37 victory in the semifinals of the Ninth Region semifinal.
Kinney’s line was stellar: 8-of-10 shooting (including 4-of-5 three-pointers), five rebounds, three assists and three steals. He said he plays for his family as well as his teammates.
“I’ve got a good support system,” Kinney said. “ … I know if I play good, they’re going to be happy.”
And Kinney is just a freshman.
Newport coach Rodney Snapp, who’s maybe more excitable as his team combined, said Kinney reminds him of former Holmes star James “Beetle” Bolden, who played collegiately at West Virginia and Alabama.
“I just think he’s beyond his years with his IQ, with his decision-making,” Snapp said. “I just think he makes real good choices.
“He’s real explosive when he gets guys on his hip and can see the rim. He’s crafty, gets his shot off, he can alter his body around guys.”
To be sure, Newport (14-3) is not meeting Holy Cross for the title at 7 p.m. Saturday solely because of what Kinney did.
You could start with Marquez Miller’s 17 points: he made 7-of-11 shots, grabbed three rebounds and added an assist.
You could continue with a defense that forced 12 turnovers (converting them into 10 points) and harried and harassed St. Henry into 28% shooting (7-of-28) in the second half and 15-of-44 for the game (34.1% for the game).
Finally, you could finish with limiting St. Henry (6-9) scoring just 15 points in the second half.
“I don’t know what our shooting percentage was in the second half (it was 28% and 34.1% for the game),” St. Henry coach Dave Faust said. “You’re not going to win too many games shooting like that.”
Friday started out close. St. Henry trailed by just 13-11 after Ethan Kaiser’s 3 with 1:17 left.
The Crusaders hung around in the third quarter, too. Matthew Resing’s bucket a minute into the third quarter created a 24-all tie, and Newport couldn’t shake St. Henry, leading by only 34-30 with 2:00 to go in the period.
St. Henry opened in a 2-3 zone defense, which Faust said worked well.
“(Newport) hit a couple bombs,” Faust said. “What was it, 24-22 at half? When Braden (Fedders) got in foul trouble and they were holding the ball we thought they were doing us a favor. And then second half, we didn’t make any shots.”
The Wildcats weren’t able to shake off St. Henry for good until the fourth quarter with a 19-7 run that began the frame before.
Fedders led the Crusaders with 13 points, and Grayson added 10.
NEWPORT 15 9 15 14 – 53
ST. HENRY 11 11 8 7 – 37
Holy Cross 72, Ludlow 42
Meyer, Smith and Ward almost sounds like a law firm that sues big businesses that forget to pay their taxes.
The Holy Cross trio did not calculate any refunds Friday. Jacob Meyer, Jacob Smith, and Javier Ward combined for 55 points in a 72-42 win over Ludlow in the boys Ninth Region All “A” semifinal at Beechwood.
Meyer was the managing partner – he scored 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting to go with his nine rebounds, three assists and three steals. Smith wasn’t far behind – 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting – and Ward added 11 points, two rebounds, a block and a steal.
“Definitely in the beginning of the game, I want to get my teammates in the game,” Meyer said.
Next up for the Indians: Newport – a 53-37 winner over St. Henry – for the trophy and pieces of net at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Besides the final score, Holy Cross dominated most statistical categories: 28-10 in paint points, 16-4 in points off turnovers, and rebounds, 38-32.
Smith knocked down 5-of-10 3-pointers, at least a couple from the right corner.
“Definitely my favorite spot is from the corners,” Smith said. “In practice, that’s where Jake (Meyer), Javi (Ward) and Big Sam (7-foot center Sam Gibson) swing it to me in the corners.”
As often happens, Ludlow’s (11-6) Jaxson Rice led the Panthers with 23 points. The problem was, nobody else had more than six.
Holy Cross (10-5) made the game suspense-free after four minutes, and not just because Ludlow never led.
The Indians had size and speed– 7-foot center Sam Gibson knocked down a couple five-footers, and Javier Ward added points. (He finished with seven points, 12 rebounds and two blocks.)
After Rice’s 3, the first of multiple runs began – a 12-3 string for an 18-6 Holy Cross lead after eight minutes.
After Matt Wolfinbarger’s bucket closed Holy Cross’ lead to 18-10 a little more than two minutes into the second quarter, the Indians needed just two minutes to run away on a 13-5 streak. By halftime, the Indians were safely in front, 39-19.
“Give our guys credit for their engagement and attention to detail and the scouting report,” Holy Cross coach Casey Sorrell said.
HOLY CROSS 18 21 28 5 – 72
LUDLOW 6 13 12 11– 42