Balance. Something Holy Cross prides itself on and it continued on Thursday night in a 35th District road victory at Holmes.
The Indians had four players in double figures, two others with nine and eight points as they pulled away for an 80-50 victory.
Holy Cross (10-3, 1-0) shot it at a high percentage and spread the wealth around, knocking down 10 three-pointers in the win.
“The last time we were in this gym, it ended our season (in the 35th District tournament against Beechwood), so having that bad taste in our mouth, we wanted to come out to a strong start, play with energy and pop and let everything else take care of itself starting on the defensive end,” Indians coach Ricardo Johnson said.
Entering the game with four players averaging in double figure scoring, they are without the services of William McElheney as he deals with an injury. McElheney was one of the four averaging double figures, providing the need from Luke Arlinghaus, Nate Rominger and Brady Gabbard to try and up their production. Others like Gavin Goetz and Max Hunt got the memo too.
Johnson went to his bench early and often and it paid dividends as Goetz and Hunt put up 18 and 10 points, respectively. Goetz hit quarter ending 3-pointers in the first, second and third frames to help extend the Indians lead.
Arlinghaus added 18, Gabbard with 17.
“Once Will went out, a lot of teams probably thought we weren’t going to be anything,” Gabbard said. “But when we got guys like Gavin and Max tonight, we almost had five in double figures. When we do that, we’re going to be hard to beat especially if we take care of the ball.”
Gabbard had to deal with a wrist injury last season after doing and missing the majority of the year before a late return. This year he’s entered with a clean bill of health and taken off from the get-go, posting 11.6 points per game.
“Just putting in a lot of work in the gym,” Gabbard said. “Coach Ric, have to give a shout out to him, he’s got me in that gym and weightlifting.”
PHOTOS: Holy Cross-Holmes slideshow provided by Charles Bolton
As for Holmes (6-6, 0-1), they entered Thursday’s district clash with a record over .500, the latest time in a season since 2020. They had won four of five and developed a bit of confidence with a 6-5 record, already surpassing their win totals from the past two seasons combined.
The Indians hot shooting start dampened the upset-minded Bulldogs.
“They shot it really well, I thought we were giving them tough shots and they hit tough shots,” Bulldogs coach Sam Elsbernd said. “That’s a credit to them, they shoot the ball really well. They hit double-digit three’s and that’s a sign it’s going to be a tough night.”
They battled and kept things within striking distance in the first half, shaking off a Indians 37-16 lead and using a 9-0 run to get within 12. Holy Cross closed with the final five points of the half to make it 42-25 at the break.
The Indians started comfortably pulling away in the third, opening the half on a 15-4 run to lead 57-29. Holmes would get no closer than 22 from there.
Holmes was led by Mark McCutchen’s 16 points. Tony Krutcher added 12 while Michael Chames had nine and Dominic Scott with eight.
“How do we handle adversity? So far this season we’ve been able to handle it,” Elsbernd said. “We’ve come a long way, but we have a long way to go. Progress is being made and that’s the thing I’m most happy about.”
Holmes returns to action Tuesday at Covington Catholic.
Holy Cross is back at it on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the 9th Region All “A” tournament against the Beechwood-St. Henry winner in the first round. The All “A” is played at Dayton.
Covington Catholic 62, Beechwood 58
The Colonels squeaked out a 35th District road victory in Fort Mitchell Thursday night.
Covington Catholic (11-2, 1-0) won their sixth straight game in the process, paced by Cash Harney’s 24-point effort. Athens McGillis added 19 points and four steals as the Colonels failed to make a 3-pointer in the contest. Nolan Ruthsatz and Donovan Bradshaw chipped in six points apiece, Bradshaw pulling down seven rebounds, Ruthsatz with six.
Beechwood (7-5, 0-1) lost their third game this season by four points. Jack Sullivan, Carson Blackburn and Owen McCormack combined for 55 of their 58 points, Sullivan with 23 and nine rebounds, Blackburn with 20 points and six rebounds and McCormack tossing in 12 points.
The Colonels look for their seventh straight win when they play at Montgomery County on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The Tigers face St. Henry in the first round of the 9th Region All “A” Classic tournament at Dayton on Monday at 6 p.m.