Hopewell Junior High Basketball
Hopewell 8th Grade Basketball Pulls Out Last Second Win Over Montour
MONTOUR– The Hopewell 8th grade basketball team opened the season this afternoon on the road at Montour.
While Vikings struggled a bit offensively going against the Montour zone, they didn’t struggle playing defense and rebounding the basket, which allowed them to stay in the game.
Thanks to those two components along with key contributions for literally everyone on the roster, Hopewell came away with an opening game, 31-29 win over Montour.
Zack Sampson paced the way offensively for Coach Mike Gaguzis’ team, but they wouldn’t have won today without the contributions from members on the bench- Reed Budavich, Ryan Gaguzis, Jaxsen Covalt and Braxton Pinto. Budavich scrapped down low for rebounds along with hitting a key field, Gaguzis and Covalt connected on a couple of big first half shots, while Pinto was a presence down low defensively and rebounding.
1st Quarter Recap-
*The Vikings first points of the game came as a result of a nice steal by Josh Gill at midcourt and he raced home for a layup, 2-2.
*Gaguzis was the first player off the bench, and he immediately scored as he hit a floater off the glass, Montour 6-4.
*With just a couple seconds in the quarter, Sampson swung it across to Gaguzis, who connected on his first 3-pointer of the season, Hopewell 7-6.
End of 1st Quarter: Hopewell 7 Montour 6
2nd Quarter Recap-
*Hopewell was trailing by 4 points when Covalt knocked down a 3-pointer, Montour 11-10.
*The last two baskets of the quarter came from Sampson. The first was a jump shot from the wing to tie the game at 12. Then, Sampson with good anticipation, got the steal and drove in for 2 off the glass. Hopewell 14-12.
Halftime: Hopewell 14 Montour 12
3rd Quarter Recap-
*Hopewell extended their lead on the first possession of the 3rd quarter as Sampson showed his range with a deep corner jumper, Hopewell 16-12.
*Roman Crisci comes up with a steal for Hopewell, dishes to Sampson, who gets fouled shooting. Sampson made both free throws but one of them was taken off the board as the refs said Sampson’s foot went over the free throw line. That called was made on both teams about 5 or 6 times, something that I’ve never witnessed before. Very bizarre.
*With 1:43 left in the 3rd quarter and the score tied at 17-17, Budavich gave Hopewell instant offense as he hits a mid-range jumper, Hopewell 19-17.
*Next trip down, Budavich grabs an offensive rebound and is fouled shooting. Like with Sampson, one of Budavich’s free throws is negated for stepping over the line. Hopewell 20-18.
*With Montour up 1 point, Sampson gets the lead back for Hopewell as he drives strong down the lane for 2 points, Hopewell 22-21.
End of 3rd Quarter: Hopewell 22 Montour 21.
4th Quarter Recap:
-Hopewell showed some guts as they trailed 28-22 with just a couple of minutes left.
*Sampson stepped up when he was needed and willed his team to a win. First, he connects on a deep 2-point shot from the wing, Montour 28-24.
*Then with 1:10 left in the game, Sampson drained a deep 3-pointer, Montour 28-27.
*With :45 seconds left, and Hopewell trailed by 1 point, Luke Vukovcan attempted a 3-pointer, he missed but Andrew Arzberger got the rebound, put it back for the layup and was fouled. You’ve heard this before, but Arzberger made the free throw but it was called off as the ref said a Hopewell player entered the lane early, Hopewell 29-28.
-Montour made 1 of 2 free throws to tie the game at 29 with :23 seconds left.
-On the ensuing inbounds, a Montour player was called for an intentional foul on Crisci, which meant he would shoot 2 free throws, and Hopewell would then retain possession. So, with 17 seconds left, Crisci missed the first free throw but had a second chance and connected to give Hopewell a 30-29 lead.
-Hopewell then inbounded the ball and Sampson was fouled and made 1 of two from the line to give Hopewell a 31-29 lead. Montour had a chance to tie or win the game, but strong Hopewell defense prevented that.
Hopewell wins 31-29 to start the season 1-0. Up next, a game tomorrow afternoon at Eden Christian Academy.
Congrats guys on a hard-fought win!
As a wise man says, “Winning Is Fun!!”
