by Rob Barrone

Correspondent

Hudson — There are no net-cutting ceremonies at the junior varsity level.

If there were such an event, the Hudson JV boys basketball team would have been pulling out the scissors.

The Explorers earned a hard-fought 39-38 victory over Northeast Ohio Conference River Division rival Twinsburg Feb. 26 at Ray “Buck” Hyser Gymnasium.

The win gave Hudson a final mark of 17-3 overall and 9-1 in the division. 

The victory avenged the Explorers’ lone defeat in league play (a 33-28 loss Jan. 22 on the Tigers’ court).

“I’m pretty happy with 17-3,” Hudson head coach Bill Johnson said. “Seventeen wins overall and nine wins in the conference — I couldn’t be more proud. To win 17 games and do it all different ways — it has been a fun year.”

Twinsburg came into the rematch with a 7-2 mark. 

A victory would have tied the Explorers for the best record and with two wins over the Explorers in head-to head, the Tigers would have claimed the title.

Hudson came into the game with a depleted lineup.

Leading scorer Tyler Thornburg (9.0 points per game) missed the final three games with an ankle injury. 

Ivan Haggins (back) missed the last two and Ben Gedeon sat the Twinsburg game.

“With the guys out and Cooper Charlton [four points] in foul trouble, [sophomore] Mark O’Connor did a great job filling in,” Johnson said. “He filled in for us like he was first team.”

Freshman Zack Brandy (a team-high nine points) gave the Explorers a needed boost late in the third quarter.

Brandy gave Hudson the lead at 30-29 with a rebound and subsequent three-point play in the paint with 2 minutes, 57 seconds left in the third quarter.

Thirty-nine seconds later, he added a driving score and Steig Carlson’s bucket with 4 seconds left had Hudson on top 34-29 after three.

Randall Berkley (five points) converted another old-fashioned three-point play with 3:38 left for a 37-32 lead but Twinsburg fought back.

The Explorers (9-of-14 for the game to Twinsburg’s 9-of-15) missed three straight at the line to leave the door open.

The Tigers took the lead 38-37 with 24.1 ticks on the clock. Nate Shaw (eight points) got the game-winning points at the foul line making both ends of a one-and-one with 14.2 left.

Carlson deflected an entry pass in the lane and Shaw was there for the steal with 4 ticks left. The Tigers had a last chance with a half-court heave at the buzzer but it fell well short. 

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