Hornets drop defensive thriller at Buckeye Trail

The loss to Newcomerstown last week was painful enough. This one, however, was a gut punch. 

The Malvern basketball team, which suffered its first loss in the Inter-Valley Conference’s North Division in more than five years Jan. 16, returned to action a week later in a road trip to Buckeye Trail, the Hornets’ primary rival for the division crown. It was a grueling, defensive battle, and in the end, the Hornets lost their grip on first place in the division following a razor-thin 33-32 loss.

The two teams entered battle with each sporting a loss – but Malvern already owned a victory over the Warriors, having beaten them 60-50 back in December. And from the outset this was going to be a battle as the offenses struggled to score. It was clear that Buckeye Trail, which averages more than 66 points per game, and the Hornets, who average nearly 54, were not going to get close to those totals.

As the buzzer sounded signaling the end of the first half, the score stood at 11-10 in favor of the Warriors.

Finally, the third quarter brought a spark, and it was Buckeye Trail that lit the fuse. The Warriors’ Kyer Eagon air-mailed a pair of baskets from beyond the arc to fuel an 8-0 run by the Buckeye Trail. And just like that, the Warriors were up by 19-10. Eagon nailed another trey minutes later as Buckeye Trail outscored the Hornets 14-6 in the third period to forge a seemingly comfortable 25-16 lead as the final quarter got underway.

There’s something about Malvern, however. This is a team with an endless supply of fight. The Hornets are disciplined, extremely well-coached and they will battle until the buzzer sounds.

The Warriors had just scored with a bit over six minutes remaining in the contest to open their largest lead of the night at 31-19 when Grady Barkley got the ball rolling by sinking consecutive three-pointers. Then teammate Delonte Simmons scored to bring the Hornets to within four at 31-27.

Tripp Tucci then completed the improbable comeback when, with approximately 14 seconds remaining in the game and Malvern trailing 32-30, he snagged an offense rebound and scored on a put-back to knot the score at 32 apiece.

At the other end of the floor, however, the Hornets fouled Buckeye Trail’s Elian Arick as he battled for a rebound, sending him to the charity stripe with 3.1 seconds remaining.

Arick calmly sank the first free throw to give the Warriors a one-point lead, then missed his second attempt. Always fighting, the Hornets launched a desperation heave as the game clock expired and the shot fell just short.

The win extends Buckeye Trail’s winning streak to 11 games and put the Warriors (14-2, 8-1) in the driver’s seat for the division crown. Buckeye Trail has three conference games remaining – all on the road – against Newcomerstown, Strasburg-Franklin, and East Canton. Malvern (9-6, 6-2), meanwhile, has four games remaining as the Hornets will host Strasburg-Franklin and Conotton Valley and visit East Canton and Tuscarawas Central Catholic.

Simmons led Malvern with 11 points and Barkley added 10. Eagon led all scorers with 16 points, while Easton Rominger finished with nine.

Girls Basketball

Like their male counterparts, the Lady Hornets also played only one game last week. Like the boys, the Lady Hornets also went up against the IVC North Division leader, in this case, Strasburg Franklin. 

And like the boys, the Lady Hornets went down to defeat as the visiting Tigers relied upon a big first and second quarter to roll to a 69-37 victory. While limiting Malvern to just five points in each of the first two quarters, Strasburg-Franklin raced to a 35-10 halftime lead.

Ella Debo scored 16 points for the Hornets (10-8, 4-6), while Whitney Smith added 13. Sofia Secrest scored 17 for Strasburg-Franklin (12-3, 9-0).