Highland Hornets Sting Copley Boys, 61-44

Highland’s match-up zone defense, coupled with solid guard play, led the Hornets boys’ basketball team past home team Copley, 61-44 Tuesday night.

“We didn’t take care of the basketball tonight,” said Copley head coach Mark Dente of his team’s 28 turnovers. “We got down early and weren’t able to get back into it. Turnovers haunted us all night.”

The Indians (10-8 overall, 6-6 Suburban League) committed eight turnovers in the first quarter and were trailed only by three points, 12-9. Dente’s team failed to do any better in the second quarter as the Hornets (5-12, 3-9) outscored and outhustled the host team. Highland outscored Copley, 20-9, and entered the half with a 14-point lead (32-18).

One of the few bright spots in the first half for the Indians was the play of senior center Ben Veach, who had 6 points and 5 rebounds.

Copley’s hopes to draw close to the Hornets were brief, when sophomore Jayln Tyler made the first three shots of the quarter for the Indians. But turnovers thwarted any kind of sustained momentum. Copley trailed their visiting rival by as many as 16 points and, thanks to a pair of three-point baskets by senior Alex Szalay at the end of the quarter, closed the lead to eight.

Highland’s aggressive defense pressed Copley into turnovers entering the fourth quarter, holding the Indians scoreless for the first four minutes. For Hornets head coach Mike Marcinko, it was about his team’s defense.

“We were able to play tough man to man defense tonight,” he said. “When that kid (Szalay) hit that bank shot at the buzzer (end of third quarter), I felt our guys were hanging their heads and I didn’t understand that. We won three quarters of basketball and all we had to do is win the last one. I am really proud of how our guys responded tonight. “

Marcinko added that the play of senior John Alexander and junior Chad Sedio were keys to winning.

“Both our guards played good defense tonight,” he said. “We wanted to keep them out of the paint and let them shoot from the outside. Our team executed the game plan tonight and we were able to get the victory.”

Both Sedio and Alexander led their team in points, scoring 12 and 11, respectively.

For Copley, the trio of Tyler, Szalay, and senior Roosevelt Dotson each scored nine points in the losing effort.

The Indians next game will be Friday at Barberton.