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Hvisdak powers Rockets to win
Lowellville avenges earlier loss at Springfield
By Dan Hiner
Lowellville
The Lowellville boys basketball team felt like an underdog. The Rockets thought Springfield, the top team in the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference standings, was looking past them on Tuesday.
But Lowellville’s Matt Hvisdak scored 28 points and the Rockets beat the Tigers 57-48 at Lowellville High School.
“Last time we played them, they were sinking in a lot into the paint, so I was kicking a lot and kicking a lot but we weren’t hitting shots,” Hvisdak said. “I was surprised to come in this game and they were kinda spaced out. I was able to get to the hoop and pretty much do whatever I wanted to.”
The Rockets used an 8-3 run in the final minutes of the second quarter to take a 31-20 lead into halftime. Hvisdak scored 22 points in the first half, but Lowellville’s offense stalled in the second half.
The Tigers (14-3, 10-3 MVAC) trailed 46-24 with 2:41 left in the third quarter. They cut the lead to 50-46 with 3:13 remaining.
In the final two minutes, Micah Mamula-Zarlingo scored made a pair of buckets and Hvisdak made two free throws to close out the win.
“We got a little sloppy for a while, but we knew if we just stayed calm, we’d get out of here with a win,” Hvisdak said.
Cole Bonofsky scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Rockets and Mamula-Zarlingo finished with 10 points.
The Rockets (13-5, 10-4) suffered a second-half collapse against the Tigers in their first meeting on Jan. 8. Head coach Matt Olson thought the players were more poised this time around.
“We kinda had a similar scenario in the first game at Springfield,” Olson said. “We came out pretty hot and went up on them early. And they chipped away and chipped away and chipped away in the second half.
“It was almost the same thing tonight. I think we were a little more poised and we built a little bigger of a lead this time. We were just able to hang on.”
Springfield was in foul trouble early, preventing the Tigers from getting into a flow offensively. Drew Clark led the Tigers with 14 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. Clay Medvec and Beau Brungard each scored 12 points for Springfield.
Medvec was the Tigers’ only option offensively in the first half. He made his first three 3-point attempts and scored 11 of the Tigers’ 20 first-half points.
“For some reason, we don’t make a a lot of shots here,” Springfield head coach Steve French said. “It’s been a while since Springfield won at Lowellville ... just didn’t make enough of ‘em.”
Hvisdak said the team thought the Tigers were looking ahead to their game against Waterloo on Friday. He said the Rockets wanted the rest of the conference to know they are still a threat.
“If they beat Waterloo, they’d take the [top spot] in the league,” Hvisdak said. “We were like, ‘If we just knock them off now and get it over with, they won’t get a shot.’
“We knew they were not worried about us, so we knew we could come in and take them out.”
Olson said Hvisdak doesn’t get enough credit. Hvisdak was a Division IV Inland District honorable mention recipient last season.
Hvisdak used the quick pace of play to remind everyone that he is one of the best players in the MVAC.
“I’ve been having some rough games,” Hvisdak said. “It was nice for me to get an up-paced game in a game that was really important to show that I can still play with the best.”