Tuscarawas TWP.: It was an unusual nonleague matchup on the doorstep to the postseason.
It was a big school with a relatively small lineup against a small school with a lineup worthy of many colleges.
In the end, the smaller school with the tree-like lineup prevailed Tuesday as Tuslaw became the first Stark County school to go 22-0 with a 56-36 victory over visiting Archbishop Hoban on a night when it appeared at times as if the Knights had never laid eyes on a basketball.
It all happened in front of a crowd of about 1,400 — believed to be the largest in school history.
Tuslaw, ranked second in this week’s Division III state poll, sports a lineup that includes 6-foot-11 John Carroll III, 6-7 Mark Meyer, 6-7 Jake Wake and 6-5 Thomas Litman.
Hoban, the third-seeded team in the Division I sectional/district based at Copley, has no one taller than senior Anthony Christian and junior Brian Cuppett, both 6-3, getting significant playing time. It showed.
Hoban coach T.K. Griffith and his staff will be looking for some answers to some puzzling questions, such as how can a Knights team score just two points in an entire quarter and shoot just 26.5 percent from the floor?
“We are lean on senior leadership right now, at least in this game we were,” said Griffith, whose team slipped to 16-5. “We weren’t on the same page after the first quarter.”
Hoban had a comfortable 14-5 lead after the first eight minutes but then things went haywire. After making five of their first 15 shots, the Knights made just eight of their next 34 and the Mustangs pulled steadily away in the second half.
Carroll got off to a slow start but finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Meyer and guard Blaine Hewitt had 10 points each and Litman came off the bench to finish with eight points.
Tuslaw, the top-seeded team in the Salem sectional/district, had a 32-16 advantage in rebounds. In one stretch, it outscored the Knights 26-7.
Appearing discombobulated most of the evening, Hoban was led by sophomore Collen Gurley’s eight points. Cuppett finished with three points, and Christian, who did not start, did not score. Cartier Bickley and Jacob Bonner each had six.
At one point, the Knights had two juniors, two sophomores and a freshman on the floor. At times, they were unable to deal with Tuslaw’s deliberate half-court game.
“I thought the first quarter was how the game could go,” Griffith said. “Still, we wasted a lot of opportunities. We were up 14-5 but I thought it should have been more like 22-5.”
Tuslaw coach Kevin Lower was just as surprised about the score as most Hoban fans.
“Coming in, I thought they’d either put it to us or it would be a close game and we’d have a chance to win,” he said. “For us to win by 20 just shows our kids played their hearts out.”
Hoban led until senior Mason Karn’s 3-point play gave Tuslaw a 17-16 lead with 49 seconds left in the first half. Hewitt added a 3-point shot with six seconds to go and the Mustangs opened the third quarter with a 11-5 run over the first four minutes.
The Mustangs made 22-of-45 shots from the floor and were a perfect 7-for-7 at the free-throw line.