The Division 1 All-City boys’ basketball championship between defending champ Hughes and upset-hungry Hoover was an exciting one. After surviving a Hoover comeback in the third quarter, the Owls closed out a 57-47 championship victory, which gave them their second straight All-City title.
The first quarter was headlined by Hughes’ Trevor Scott and Jacob Yupe-Rodriguez. Yupe-Rodriguez created pressure with a free throw and a layup in the first minute, while Scott hit three layups in the opening minutes.
“He did outstanding, we wouldn’t have won without him,” said Hughes coach Marcel Borg. Throughout the game, Scott found success on both ends of the floor.
Hoover put up a fight in the first quarter with seventh grader Major Gaines making two layups and a 3-pointer. The Owls led 17-14 after the first.
The second quarter proved to be a problem for the Highlanders as Hughes created separation, scoring 23 points to secure a 14 point halftime lead.
Hoover relied on Gaines in the third as well as Landon George, as they cut the lead while holding Hughes scoreless for the first four minutes.
“They made a great run, I called timeout and just said to breathe,” said Borg. “Basketball is a game of runs, so we just had to keep doing what we were doing.”
Hughes was able to right the ship after that and secure the win.
“We’ve never gone three-peat so that’d be cool to try to go after (next year),” said Borg. “I’d like to put that target on our backs.”
