St. Vincent-St. Mary hopes 50-44 win over Archbishop Hoban gets the Fighting Irish on a roll

AKRON, Ohio – The crowd at the LeBron James Arena at St. Vincent-St. Mary was standing room only on Tuesday night, as STVM faced crosstown rival Archbishop Hoban in a Division I boys basketball showdown.

It was the STVM fans who were heard last, as the Fighting Irish won 50-44 for their ninth win in 10 games against the Knights.

STVM (13-5) led the entire second half after taking a 25-23 lead into the half on a pair of free throws by senior point guard Kevin Hamilton.

The Fighting Irish scored the first six points of the third quarter before Hoban (14-3) scored nine of the final 13 points of the quarter to cut the deficit to 35-32 after three. Jonas Nichols had five of his team-high 13 points for Hoban in the quarter.

But STVM once again went on a run to start the fourth quarter, taking a 44-35 lead after scoring nine of the quarter’s first 11 points.

The Knights made a late comeback attempt when Joey Hardman knocked down a 3-pointer with 36.8 seconds remaining to cut the lead to four at 48-44, but Aidan Callahan stepped to the line and sank two free throws the stretch the lead back to six.

“I thought in the end, our guys stepped up and did what we needed to do to win,” STVM head coach Dru Joyce said. “That’s what’s important.”

The second half was in contrast to what happened at the beginning of the game, when Hoban started the game with eight straight points before STVM settled in and scored the next 11 points to take an 11-8 lead after one quarter.

“I just have a belief that those early leads evaporate,” Joyce said. “We got it to 11-8 and from that point forward, I thought we pretty much handled (the game).”

STVM didn’t panic with an early deficit because it is a position the Fighting Irish have been in this season.

“We have been down in games plenty of times, so I felt it was nothing new,” Hamilton said. “We just had to stay calm, get into our (offensive) stuff, play defense and everything will fall in place.”

Hamilton led STVM with 17 points and six assists, while Lance Hayes had 14 points and Darius Stratford had eight points and nine rebounds.

Pulling out a win, especially one against a good team from the area was important for STVM, who is coming off a loss to St. Edward. The Fighting Irish have also lost to St. Ignatius, Walsh Jesuit and Stow this season.

“They are a very good team and we understood that,” Joyce said. “We have struggled with some teams from Northeast Ohio, and we needed to get a win. I thought our guys did some good stuff.”

Unlike in those losses, the Fighting Irish didn’t let mistakes do them in against Hoban. Although Joyce would ultimately like for his team to be perfect, he says he knows that just isn’t possible. So when they make mistakes, they need to put it behind them and keep playing.

“We still made a bunch of mistakes that could have cost us,” Joyce said. “What the guys did in those moments, they made a mistake, but they were able to move on and get past it and go on to the next play. That’s what you have to do.”

The crowd played a part in helping STVM on the night, especially down the stretch.

“I am thankful for our crowd and our fans to come out,” Joyce said. “It means a lot to us and gave us some energy we needed towards the end.”

Hamilton said the electric environment was one he wants to always remember.

“I love playing games like this,” Hamilton said. “I just have to take advantage of these moments and enjoy it with my teammates and coaches.”

With postseason play just a couple weeks away, Joyce would like to see STVM go on a winning streak as the regular season comes to an end. STVM will be competing for the Division I state title after winning the Division II state championship in back-to-back seasons and there have been doubters this season while the Fighting Irish have tried to find their footing.

“You want to go in on a nice little roll, having won some games,” Joyce said. “Make some people think about maybe St. V still has the mystique. I think some people have started to believe we don’t have it anymore.”