Archbishop Hoban boys basketball has banner night in win over Centerville

The Knights unveiled the 2023 state championship banner and then defeated the Elks

AKRON, Ohio - Archbishop Hoban boys basketball coach T.K. Griffith had to deliver more than a pregame and postgame speech on Saturday at Barry Gymnasium when Hoban defeated Centerville 60-56.

Before the game began, the Knights unveiled their 2023 OHSAA Division I state championship banner, and they did so as Griffith read a poem he wrote with last year's team standing at center court.

After the ceremony, the Knights had to turn around and play a game against Centerville, a team who won the Division I state title in 2021 and has been to the state semifinals for three straight seasons. 

Thankfully for Griffith, his team looked completely different than it had earlier in the season when they started out 1-3 with losses to Louisville, Warren JFK and Hoover.

"I'm so proud of these guys because if you would have seen us play Louisville, JFK and Hoover, it's like two different teams," Griffith said. "I am so proud of the growth that we've made in two or three weeks already."

One of the main reasons Hoban was able to knock off Centerville (5-2) was the play of senior guard Jonas Nichols. The Kent State commit put on a show in the first quarter to help Hoban take a 21-15 lead after one period.

He knocked down three 3-pointers and had 11 points in the first quarter alone for the Knights, who improved to 5-4.

"I just tried to come out and let the game come to me," Nichols said. "I got pretty good looks and I just happened to hit those big shots to get our team going."

His biggest shot came later in the game with the Knights coming back from what had been a 35-31 halftime deficit.

With Hoban trailing 37-35 late in the third, Nichols was on the receiving end of a pass that was tipped by an Elks defender. He was able to get control of the ball, spin around the defender and pull up for his fifth 3-pointer of the night to give Hoban the lead for good.

With Centerville sending double teams at him in the fourth quarter, Nichols became the distributor, hitting John Johnson, Joey Hardman and Kenny Scott for 3-pointers in the quarter to help the Knights keep their lead.

"I have belief in my teammates," Nichols said. "They were guarding me pretty hard so I kicked it out. I have belief in my shooters and they knocked the shots down."

Nichols led all players in scoring with 24, while Scott had 13, Johnson had eight, and Hardman and James McCarthy each had six.

"We still haven't had the practices that we need and Centerville out executed us in many ways today, but individual players stepped up ," Griffith said. "I'm just so proud of these guys."

Jonathan Powell led Centerville with 18 points, including three 3-pointers and a two-handed dunk off a back cut.

The two teams battled it out all game and it felt more like a game in March than it did in December, especially with two teams who made the trip to Dayton last season for the state final four.

"It definitely was like a tournament game," Nichols said. "Coach said going into half this is like a tournament game and like one we will have to win in the district or a regional."

Hanging the banner certainly added to the emotions of the night and the reason for doing it on Saturday against an opponent like Centerville was just because of logistics. Griffith even apologized to Centerville and the fans before the game for doing the ceremony against them.

"I wanted to do the banner thing just to bring community members together," Griffith said. "I knew the (seniors from last year) were back from college. It was bad timing. With it being Centerville, I kind of thought that might just make them absolutely kill us because they were down to the final four too."

But the coach also knew the banner unveiling had to be done. So he went out and spoke and read his poem, during which he took multiple pauses. When asked if the pauses were due to the emotions, Griffith admitted the championship season is still surreal.

"I was (starting to choke up) because I still can't believe that whole thing happened," Griffith said. "It just felt like a huge gift from God that I'll always cherish. It'll start to fade away a little bit, but there's certain parts of it that will never fade away. Any time you have something good like that in life, you want to remember it and I don't want to overdo it either. 

"But it was such a special night and you're supposed to hang a banner I guess."