Akron, OH: As the stat sheet filled quarter by quarter, it became apparent that Hoban (10-1)  had secured a 79-63 victory against the visiting Benedictine Bengals (7-4), Hoban’s seventh consecutive win.. With 16 monumental rebounds snagged by senior center Quanterius Easterling, it seemed the Knights were destined for victory after pouring in 21 points in the first quarter alone.

“I went into the game focusing on rebounding and distribution and I walked out of the game with a couple assists and a ton of boards,” Easterling said.

A game that many expected to be close, was anything but. The Knights controlled the visiting Bengals with ease, displaying their ability to move the ball fluently and play as a team.

Not only did they prove their offensive prowess, but their defensive tactics were just as stellar. The Knights prevented the Bengals from scoring  for three and a half minutes in the first quarter, meanwhile growing what would become an insurmountable lead.

“We were in the right place at the right time on both sides of the ball,” junior guard and defensive anchor Jake Snyder said. “I think that we were ready to go after the shootaround and they were not.”

Snyder appeared to be everywhere at once. Contested shots and passes were key contributors to Hoban’s success, and ultimately triggered Benedictine’s offensive struggles.

“[Benedictine is] a great defensive team, probably the best team we’ve played this season, but it’s only going to get harder,” head coach T.K. Griffith noted.

Looking into the future, the Knights have six games in ten days ahead, with rivalry games approaching against archrivals Walsh Jesuit and St. Vincent-St. Mary.

“St. V is a good team that we are really looking forward to playing, but we can’t look forward to them quite yet. We have to take it one game at a time. Our team is capable of beating any team on any given day,” Griffith said.

The Knights are slaying all competitors in their path, yet their next game is going to be a challenge, as they matchup against conference foe Walsh Jesuit. The game against Walsh is going to pack the house, get the student section rocking and, fingers crossed, let the Knights keep rolling.