The Nichols Vikings had to give it their all as the top seeded Cardinal O’Hara Hawks came to town Monday night.
Nichols gave it their all and then some as they hit nine 3-pointers in a 71-57 win over the Hawks in Monsignor Martin Class B Boys basketball action.
The Hawks were trying to put themselves back in the driver seat as Justin Hemphill made a layup to bring his team within two points early in the second quarter.
But Nichols called a timeout, stopping the Hawks’ momentum in its tracks.
The Vikings quickly went up by six before O’Hara finally called timeout themselves with 5:48 left in the second quarter. It didn’t stop Nichols’ William Johnson as the senior hit a 3-pointer and then a layup when play resumed.
Johnson lead the way with 23 points and knocked down a total of five 3-pointers.
“I was definitely feeling it today”, Johnson said.
“Will is a catalyst”, Nichols Vikings head coach Darren Fenn said. “When he is hitting we’re a better team. We have more energy and it opens up other players.”
Sophomore Aidan Horan knocked down a 3-pointer, helping the Vikings to a 35-25 lead at the half and they never looked back.
The game started out fast as the two teams went back and forth with fast breaks. Harrison Stone came up with a steal and found Antonio Jones for an easy layup. Nasir Benton and Jermaine Haynes did the same for O’Hara.
The Hawks lead 15-12 with 2:45 left in the first quarter but that was the last time O’Hara would be on the right side of the scoreboard.
Jones converted on a three-point play to tie the game for Nichols. The next possession Horan knocked down a 3-pointer to give Nichols the 18-15 lead.
Johnson hit his second 3-pointer of the game to give his team the 21-17 lead at the end of the first quarter.
In the second half, the Vikings came out on fire as Johnson hit another 3-pointer to extend the Nichols lead to 13 points.
Jones then came alive with back-to-back layups to give his team a 48-29 lead about halfway through the third quarter.
Jones had 13 points in the win. The junior had a major presence in the front court and was a big reason the Vikings had one of their best rebounding nights of the season.
“That’s the best he’s played this season”, Fenn said. “When he’s attacking the basket like that, he’s tough to stop.”
O’Hara tried to make a comeback in the late in the third quarter. Steven Boyd converted a three-point play. Hemphill made an open dunk and then came up with a steal and quick layup on the ensuing inbound pass by the Vikings. The sophomores cut the Nichols lead to 17 points at the end of the third quarter, but the deficit was just too big of a hill for the Hawks to climb.
“They’re kind of like a rival for us, it’s always a close game”, Johnson said. “It was a great team win.”
On Jan. 17, the Hawks defeated Nichols 60-51. With a win already in hand, a young team like O’Hara wasn’t ready for the task of beating the same team twice in one season.
“After you win the first game young kids think that it’s going to be automatic or easy, but I’m was telling them it’s harder. They’re on their home court and they’re behind us in the standings so we were going to get their best shot”, Cardinal O’Hara Head Coach Tony Pulvirenti said. “Our guys weren’t focused coming into this game.”
In order to get ready for the playoff, Pulvirenti made it clear the Hawks need someone to step up and take charge.
“We need leadership”, Pulvirenti said. “Without leadership, we have no chance in the playoffs. We don’t have a guy that steps up and wants to be a leader every day.”
For the Vikings, Monday night’s game showed forward progress is being made by this team this season.
“We’ve talked about making an evolution as a team. It was a big step tonight towards that. We just fought to the end”, Fenn said.
When the Hawks put the pressure on with a full-court trapping defense late in the first quarter, the Vikings kept calm and still moved the ball down the court.
“It hasn’t been something that’s been the case for most of this season”, Fenn said. “We talked about keeping our composer and handling pressure. They’ve been a major focus all season.”
Nichols will be back in action on Thursday as head to Lancaster to take on St. Mary’s of Lancaster for a 7:30 p.m. tip off with the Lancers. O’Hara will head across town to face St. Joe’s on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
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