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Hookfin debut hurts Skyhawks

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FAIRBORN — A season ago, Harrison Hookfin rarely ever got to take a shot for the Lebanon Warriors.

On Friday against Fairborn, Hookfin couldn’t stop.

Making his first varsity start, Lebanon’s 6-foot-5 senior forward scored a game-high 28 points as the Warriors claimed a 70-56 win, Dec. 1 in the Baker Middle School gym.

“That was his first start, yeah. He’s grown like 4 inches since last year. He didn’t play much last year, but he put in more work than most of the kids. He’s been playing really well throughout the summer and fall,” Lebanon coach Kevin Higgins said. “I wasn’t expecting 28 points, but we’ll gladly take it.”

Four Warriors finished with double digits in scoring. Sophomore guard Brendan Lamb knocked in 16 points, while senior guard Drew Sekerak and junior forward Zach Huffman both added 10.

Lebanon had a good inside-outside game working for them on Friday. The Warriors hit half of their shots from behind the 3-point arc (7-of 14), and drained nearly 59 percent of their shots from the field (27 of 46).

“Lebanon usually plays a good, physical game. They’re well-coached and they take care of the basketball. They found a hot guy and they continued to feed him,” Fairborn coach Nathan Chivington said. “I felt like defensively, we didn’t play as well as we can as a team. I thought we tried to do too many things individually.

“But this was a good learning experience for us, and we’re going to focus on the next one.”

Fairborn’s next one takes place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday Dec. 5 in the Baker gym against Springboro.

Skyahawks junior guard Shaunn Monroe had a solid scoring night, finishing with a team-best 19 points, and junior forward Jarod Bodekor was also in double figures with 11 points scored.

“I think offensively we will be OK. We just need to make some better decisions on some shots. We have to value the basketball a little bit better, trust our teammates both on offense and defense. We do that, and it’ll help us out as the season goes on,” Chivington said.

Lebanon has a week to prepare for its next contest. The Warriors hit the road again for their next game, a 7:30 p.m. Friday Dec. 8 battle in Clayton with Northmont.

Despite the loss, Chivington remained optimistic.

“We graduated four of our five starters from last year. We have two guys on the squad who didn’t even play last year (Tyler Eatmon and Wesley Watts), and so those guys are still working their way into the rotation,” he said. “But this is a group of guys who are going to stay committed, stay the path, trust the game plan and they’ll trust each other to do the right things.

“We’re gonna be okay.”

Shaunn Monroe, of Fairborn, drives the right baseline against Lebanon’s Brendan Lamb, in the first half of Friday’s Dec. 1 season opening high school boys basketball game at Baker Middle School in Fairborn. Monroe led the Skyhawks with 19 points, in the loss.
http://www.xeniagazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/12/web1_MonroeDriveBrendanLamb_PS.jpgShaunn Monroe, of Fairborn, drives the right baseline against Lebanon’s Brendan Lamb, in the first half of Friday’s Dec. 1 season opening high school boys basketball game at Baker Middle School in Fairborn. Monroe led the Skyhawks with 19 points, in the loss. John Bombatch | Greene County News

Fairborn’s Jarod Bodekor (23) steals the ball and heads up court during the first half of Friday’s Dec. 1 high school boys basketball game against visiting Lebanon. Bodekor finished with 11 points for Fairborn. Lebanon’s Harrison Hookfin (1) led all scorers with 28 points.
http://www.xeniagazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/12/web1_JarodBodekorHookfin_PS.jpgFairborn’s Jarod Bodekor (23) steals the ball and heads up court during the first half of Friday’s Dec. 1 high school boys basketball game against visiting Lebanon. Bodekor finished with 11 points for Fairborn. Lebanon’s Harrison Hookfin (1) led all scorers with 28 points. John Bombatch | Greene County News

Fairborn’s O.J. Person (4) puts up a shot from the left side against Lebanon in the second half of Friday’s Dec. 1 basketball game at Baker Middle School in Fairborn.
http://www.xeniagazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/12/web1_OJPerson_PS.jpgFairborn’s O.J. Person (4) puts up a shot from the left side against Lebanon in the second half of Friday’s Dec. 1 basketball game at Baker Middle School in Fairborn. John Bombatch | Greene County News

By John Bombatch

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Contact John Bombatch at 937-372-4444, Ext. 2123.