CANTON — It’s only fitting that the Canton McKinley High School boys basketball team would need to fight and scrap for a milestone win such as No. 2,000.
Hoover certainly made the Bulldogs work for it Tuesday, Feb. 10 at Memorial Field House.
McKinley grabbed control in the third quarter and then held off a Connor Newell-fueled charge by Hoover to win 64-59.
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Senior Anthony Chavers and junior Jamar Keyes each scored 16 points as McKinley became the first program in Ohio boys basketball history to reach 2,000 wins.
“Coach ‘Spoon came in there at halftime and gave us a great talk about how we could be part of history,” Keyes said about head coach Sean Weatherspoon. “So it was a great feeling to come out there and execute his game plan.”
Junior Ed Webster added 14 points — including a couple of transition dunks off steals — for Federal League champion McKinley, which improved to 17-3 overall and completed a 12-0 run through league play.
“My message was we needed to get win No. 17 to get win No. 2,000,” Weatherspoon said. “Our focus was not to put too much pressure on ourselves. We understood it was going to be a tough opponent. We wanted to play Canton McKinley basketball, execute at a high level and get ready for the tournament.”
The Bulldogs trailed 26-24 at halftime. They then used a 23-point third quarter, showcasing their superior size and athleticism, to flip the game. They also knocked down all three 3-point shots they attempted, two from the 6-foot-8 Keyes and one from the 6-4 Chavers.
“I mean, they’re good,” Hoover head coach Mike Bluey said. “They made a couple more shots than we did in that third quarter. I thought they made some tough 3s. They’re hard to guard.”
Newell, a junior guard, went off in the second half for Hoover (13-6, 8-3). He hit six 3-pointers and scored 20 of his game-high 24 points after halftime to keep Hoover in the game.
“We needed him and he knocked down the shots,” Bluey said. “Guys found him. I thought we did a good job of distributing the ball and executing.”
Junior Hunter Hershberger totaled 19 points and four assists for the Vikings.
McKinley led 57-48 with 3:42 left when Newell scored eight straight points. It was his fourth 3 of the fourth quarter that brought Hoover within a point.
Keyes answered with a 3 — off a cross-court pass from Chavers — that was a gutsy shot with less than a minute left.
Asked if he was happy with the shot when Keyes took it, Weatherspoon said with a laugh, “I was definitely happy because it went in.”
“I was just in rhythm,” Keyes explained. “I had hit two 3s before that. You’ve got to take that shot when you’re a player like me.”
Chavers blocked a Newell 3-point attempt on the other end, but McKinley immediately turned it over, leading to Hershberger knocking down a 3 to bring it back within a point with 34.8 seconds left.
After Hoover had to foul four times to get to the bonus, McKinley senior Jayveion Carter hit two free throws with 18.8 seconds left. McKinley defended Hoover’s final gasp well, forcing Newell into a near impossible 3-point shot in the corner.
“We stuck together,” Weatherspoon said. “We came in at halftime and regrouped. We had to play our game, and that’s what we did in the second half.”
McKinley, which travels to rival Massillon (16-1) on Friday, hopped around in celebration after putting the 2-0-0-0 up on the win counter board in the corner of the Field House. The Bulldogs’ all-time record now is 2,000-687-2.
Weatherspoon has been part of many of those wins as a player and coach, including being the lone senior starter on the Bulldogs’ 2005 state championship team.
“My sister called me earlier and said, ‘I know you’re into it because of the game, but enjoy the moment. Understand that this doesn’t happen every day,'” Weatherspoon said. “It’s special. Credit to everyone that’s been a part of this since 1901 up until now.”
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton McKinley boys basketball enjoys milestone win against Hoover
Reporting by Josh Weir, Canton Repository / The Repository
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