No. 4 VASJ shocks No. 7 Archbishop Hoban at last second, 76-74

AKRON, Ohio — Villa Angela-St. Joseph did not lead Friday night at Archbishop Hoban until the final tenths of a second.

Babe Kwasniak's boys basketball team is accustomed to it in the North Coast League. Three times already, VASJ beat its NCL rivals in overtime. It did not need overtime this time at Hoban.

Just a Jaden Hameed tying 3-pointer, a double-dribble call on Hoban with 1.5 seconds left and Jordan Calhoun's inbound pass to a wide-open Jason Priah under the basket. Priah turned, scored and handed VASJ a 76-74 victory.

"It was supposed to be a setup play for Jaden and to hit Graham (Koppelman) in the corner," said Calhoun, who had a mental clock on the inbound pass. "At three seconds I thought, OK, Graham's not moving fast enough. It went to four in my head, I looked in the corner and he's not open. They doubled him, Jason's wide open and made the play. He should have shot it off the glass, but he made it."

Hoban players stood in shock.

Priah ran to the bench and celebrated.

Meanwhile, Kwasniak embraced a kid he twice cut who made countless defensive contributions, as the Vikings (11-3, 7-0 NCL) rallied from a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

"Our MVP has been Julius Cummings," Kwasniak said. "He comes in and just gives us great energy, got big steal after steal and spearheaded our pressure defense. I cut that kid twice. Not once, but twice."

A 5-foot-9 senior guard, Cummings platooned the fourth quarter with Koppelman depending on the situation. A stoppage before VASJ began on defense? Kwasniak inserted Cummings. Back on offense? Koppelman returned.

Kwasniak said Cummings "dominated his role," VASJ opened the fourth quarter facing a 54-42 deficit. Hoban's Matt Salopek increased it to 58-42 with consecutive scores.

Then, the Vikings began to chip away with their defensive specialist.

"I worked very hard since I got cut," Cummings said. "Once I got back on the team, it was very emotional. I knew I could help this team. Coach knew I could help this team."

He did on Friday night, despite scoring just two points.

That is not what VASJ, ranked fourth in this week's cleveland.com Top 25, needs him to do. Hameed led the scoring with 24 points, including 16 in the fourth-quarter rally. Senior forward Khalil Mitcham added 15 points, while sophomore Jonah Waag scored 12. Senior forward Latrace Jackson used his 6-9 frame to block five shots.

VASJ trailed No. 7 Hoban (8-3, 4-2 NCL) from the start until Hameed's tying 3-pointer behind the top of the arc in the final seconds.

"I didn't even know where I was," Hameed said. "I knew it was going in as soon as I shot it."

A full-court press with traps spurred the comeback. Both teams committed 15 turnovers, but Hoban had six in the fourth quarter to VASJ's two.

"Defense, that's where it all started out," Cummings said. "We got in on them with active hands. Once we felt they were scared of the pressure, we kept attacking."

Free throws also factored into the finish. Hoban shot just 12-of-30 from the line, while VASJ hit 13-of-20. Hoban missed 10 free throws in the fourth quarter.

"I hate to blame it just on that because you should still persevere," Hoban coach T.K. Griffith said.

His Knights were led by Matt Salopek with 16 points and nine rebounds. Jake Snyder and Dom Moegerle each added 14 points, while Quan Easterling had 13. Their efforts shattered in a split second, when Calhoun found Priah open under the basket.

"Our whole philosophy is to protect the box," Griffith said. "You give up a 1-footer and nobody is standing around the kid, that's heartbreaking."

Hoban left VASJ last month with an 80-78 loss in which the Vikings rallied from nine points in overtime. This effort topped that for VASJ.

"I don't know how good we are, but I know how tough we are," Kwasniak said. "These kids feel like if it's close, we're going to win it."

They also are playing with VASJ graduate Joey Tromba in their hearts. A 2016 graduate who wrestled and made it to Columbus as a junior, is battling non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Kwasniak visited him a week ago at the Cleveland Clinic. His players made an Instagram video.

"It just felt like this was for him," Kwasniak said. "That kid's in a real-life fight and we're just playing a basketball game."

He teared up thinking about Tromba.

The Vikings have dedicated their season to him.

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