A week-long holiday trip to Charleston, S.C. might have been just what the University boys’ basketball team needed.
The Hawks returned from their three-game tournament trip to the Palmetto state and apparently found their offense and a stifling defense.
University had both ends of the floor working on Friday as they beat visiting John Marshall (1-8) 94-18.
“We have really worked hard on our defense,” UHS coach Joe Schmidle said. “I was really proud of how everybody continued to play the whole game on defense. They took a lot of pride in their defense today and played really hard.”
UHS started the game with a 10-0 run before Conor Fitzpatrick scored a free throw for the first points of the game for the Monarchs. Hower, that tough UHS defense that featured a full-court, three-quarter court and halfcourt pressure all game proved to be tough to crack.
John Marshall scored just three points in the first quarter and didn’t record its first field goal until the 6:17 mark of the second quarter when Hayden Gaiser hit a 3-pointer. Gaiser added another 3-pointer on the next trip down the court and that was the only two field goals the Monarchs hit the entire contest.
The Hawks held JMHS to 2-of-31 (6.5%) from the field and forced 33 turnovers in the contest. The Monarchs did not score a point in the third quarter and went the final 22 minutes and 17 seconds of the game without registering a field goal.
A big force behind the UHS defense was junior Zachary Demidovich. The 6-foot-5 center came away with five steals in the first quarter and finished with six for the contest along with 15 points.
“We have been looking for him to do some of those things instead of just sitting back and watching,” Schmidle said. “He is a big guy and sometimes they get mentally conditioned to not do certain things. We are trying to get him out of that and tonight he did a super job.”
Demidovich also adds that offensive touch that Schmidle has been looking for with his post presence.
“He’s come a long ways,” Schmidle said. “We know offensively we really need him on the floor. He is becoming a much better defender and if we can get him to where we need him to be, we can become a much more complete team.”
While the Hawks (5-4) finished just 1-2 on their trip south, Schmidle said the team bonding outside of school and off the court has already paid dividends.
“It feels like it brought us together more,” Demidovich said. “Being around each other all week and playing better teams. It really helped us and is going to help us moving forward.”
UHS was able to get everyone in the scorebook as all 13 active players scored.
“It was great to let everybody play, and the kids had fun,” Schmidle said.
Luke Hudson added 14 points, including a three-quarter court 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer, along with six rebounds. Senior John Coleman scored 11 with five rebounds, four steals and three assists while Coen Henderson scored 10 points as he went 4-for-4 from the field and hit a pair of free throws.
The Hawks return to action on Wednesday when they host Wheeling Park at 7:30 p.m.
by Eric Herter
BOX SCORE
University 94, John Marshall 18
JHMS 3 10 0 5 18
UHS 20 20 31 23 94
JM – Gaiser 2 1-2 7, Fitzpatrick 0 4-6 4, Knapp 0 2-2 2, Bungard 0 2-6 2, Schenerlein 0 3-6 3. Totals: 2 12-22 18.
UHS – Henderson 4 2-2 10, Kleeh 0 2-2 2, Jackson 1 2-2 4, Lewis 1 2-4 4, Coleman 4 3-4 11, Hudson 5 1-2 14, Brown 3 0-0 7, Vira 1 0-0 3, Byrer 3 1-2 7, Karpinski 2 0-0 4, Demidovich 6 3-4 15, Ford 2 0-0 5, Fortney-Garbart 3 0-0 8. Totals: 35 16-22 94.
3-Pointers – JM: Gaiser 2. UHS: Hudson 3, Brown, Vira, Ford, Fortney-Garbart 2.
