WILMINGTON — In a very intense and physical game Saturday night, Wilmington came up three points short, losing to Dohn Prep from Cincinnati, 74-71, in the final game of the Scholastic Play-by-Play Classic at Fred Summers Court.
Despite losing, Hurricane head coach Mike Noszka liked the way his squad competed, and he also praised a former coaching rival, Brian Mudd who joined the WHS staff for one game as an honorary coach.
“I want to thank Brian for joining us on the bench,” Noszka said. “It was great for us and I think good for him also. I have a lot of respect for him as a colleague and our team is praying for him to make a full recovery. Brian is fighting a real battle right now, and our thoughts are certainly with him.”
Wilmington had just defeated Clinton-Massie on Friday, and it was announced following the game that Mudd had been asked by Noszka to join the WHS coaching staff for Saturday night’s game.
Dohn Prep is based on Reading Road, in Cincinnati and came into the contest at 14-1 on the season. Their team is comprised of athletes from not only Ohio, but from several states (Indiana, New York, New Jersey) and from Puerto Rico.
Leading scorer for the Panthers was Matthew Lee with 26 points. Michael McKay added 20 points.
“We’ve played a very tough schedule, against strong Division I schools like Moeller and Princeton and Mason. Playing a team like this, and holding our own against them, can only help us for the upcoming tournament,” Noszka said.
The lead switched hands eight times, and was tied four times, the last one at 65-all. Dohn Prep exploded for 25 points in the final period, erasing a 52-49 deficit. Sam Jacobyansky hit a shot as the horn sounded giving the ‘Cane a three-point lead after three quarters.
Matthew Smith delighted the hometown crowd with another strong performance beyond the arc, nailing a total of nine three-pointers and leading Wilmington in scoring with 27 points. He connected for a trio of three pointers in the final quarter, helping vault WHS to a 60-51 lead.
Unfortunately for the hometown crowd a victory was not in the cards as Dohn Prep caught fire and outscored Wilmington 23-11 from that point on.
Layne Griffith scored 17, with 11 coming in the first half. Jeffery Mansfield added 13 for Wilmington, all coming in the final three periods.
Now Noszka and the Hurricane will take to the highways of the SBAAC American Division – 7:30 p.m. Friday at Western Brown and 4 p.m. Saturday at Goshen. The Goshen start time was altered because of a commitment by the Goshen coaching staff.
SUMMARY
January 27, 2018
@Fred Summers Court
Dohn Prep 74 Wilmington 71
D 18.19.12.25…..74
W 12.23.17.19…..71
(74) DOHN PREP (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Silfa 1-0-1-3, McKay 7-0-6-20, Lee 9-7-4-26, Wright 2-0-3-7, Quinones 5-0-2-12, Gonzalez 1-1-0-3. TOTALS 25-8-16-74.
(71) WILMINGTON (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Morris 1-1-0-3, Coomer 1-1-0-3, Griffith 7-2-1-17, Jacobyansky 3-0-0-6, Smith 9-9-0-27, Mansfield 5-0-3-13, Taylor 1-0-0-2. TOTALS 27-13-4-71.
