Hopewell Junior High Basketball
Hopewell Junior Blue Team Battles Early But Lose to West Allegheny
The Hopewell Junior High Basketball team returned to the court this afternoon as they hosted West Allegheny.
For the last few games, although it hasn’t resulted in wins, Coach Gaguzis has watched his team get better and have been more competitive deeper into games.
That was the case again today as they played a strong first half but saw things fall apart in the final 12 minutes of the game.
Here is a recap of todays action:
1st Quarter Recap:
*On the first possession of the game, Zack Sampson nails a corner 3. Hopewell 3-0
*Second possession, the Vikings with nice ball movement which leads to a Josh Gill 3. Hopewell 6-1
*More Sampson as he hits a contested spinning shot in the paint. Hopewell 8-3
*Hopewell breaks the press and it ends with Andrew Arzberger making a layup. Hopewell 10-3
*Once again the Vikings break the press and Gill drives the lane and dishes to Luke Vukovcan for a layup. Hopewell 13-12
End of 1st Quarter: West Allegheny 14 Hopewell 13
2nd Quarter Recap:
*Nice defense leads to 2 as Ryan Gaguzis steals the ball while trapping his man, he grabs the loose ball and hits a corner jumper. 16-16
*This was Hopewell’s last lead of the game as Arzberger collects an offensive rebound and puts it back in. Hopewell 18-16
*Over the remaining 3 minutes of the 2nd quarter, West Allegheny went on a 15-0 run, which included a half court 3-point buzzer beater to end the half.
Halftime: West Allegheny 31 Hopewell 18
Unfortunately in the second half, Hopewell struggled against West Allegheny’s full court press and it resulted in a number of easy baskets. Hopewell’s two second half baskets were scored by Sampson and Arzberger.
Final Score: West Allegheny 51 Hopewell 22
