Reigning GMC Player of the Year Nate Johnson scored 18 points and had four of the Thunderhawks’ eight steals as the two-time defending champions rolled to a 57-33 GMC win at Hamilton in their first game of the season.
It was East’s first time on the court since the 2020 Ohio High School Athletic Association postseason tournament was cancelled in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic with Lakota East on the verge of playing Moeller in the Division I regional final.
“We were just trying to compete,” the 6-foot-3, University of Akron-bound Johnson said. “We hadn’t played since March 11. Everybody had to step up. After the first quarter, we did good.
“We want to get back to where we were last year.”
Junior Jadon Coles added a career-high 17 points, 12 in the second half, and Lakota East (1-0) forced the Big Blue into 13 turnovers while allowing just 12 made field goals on the way to its 17th consecutive win over two seasons.
“That sounds good,” Johnson said, breaking into a smile. “That means film is going to be good tomorrow.”
“That’s a really good statistic,” Thunderhawks coach Clint Adkins added. “When you have stats like that, you usually win the game. I was proud of the way our guys were focused and locked in. We made some mistakes, but it’s how you respond to those mistakes on the next possession.”
Junior E.J. Kapihe was the only Hamilton player to reach double figures, finishing with 11 points. The Big Blue, playing on Senior Night before a pandemic-limited audience and coming off a 64-55 win at Mount Healthy in the seasonopener the night before Thanksgiving, shot 41.4 percent from the field (12-of-29) while Lakota East put up a torrid 67.6 percent (23-of-34).
“It was more than that,” Hamilton coach Kevin Higgins said when the turnover-made-field-goal ratio was mentioned. “It was everything. It’s pretty simple. We didn’t do anything – not one thing. Lakota East is really good. I’ve played them enough to know that if you don’t play well in different parts of the game, this is what happens.”
Lakota East never trailed after taking a 12-9 lead on sophomore Jack Kronauge’s conventional three-point play with 1:31 left in the first quarter. The Big Blue rallied to tie the game, 12-12, but Kronauge sank a 3-pointer from the right wing at the buzzer to give the Thunderhawks the lead. They pulled away and led by as many as 30 points, 53-23, with 4:19 left in the game on a Johnson 360-degree dunk following a steal.
The 6-2 Coles scored eight points in the third quarter and showed signs of being able to force opponents to not focus solely on Johnson.
“Coles had a huge third quarter,” Adkins said. “We expect him to have a huge year.”
Adkins really couldn’t put his finger on anything he might’ve learned about his team after its first game that he didn’t know before.
“The thing about this group is I’ve grown up with them,” he said. “I’ve known them since the second grade. I know a lot about these guys. I was happy with their performance.”
Like everybody else, Lakota East and Hamilton have been dealing with pandemic-related issues, including players and other members of the program being unavailable. Lakota East has had one practice with the full team on hand, Adkins said.
“You know what?” Higgins said. “It’s a new day tomorrow. There are lot bigger things going on. I’ve had a lot of friends affected by this.”
Hamilton is scheduled to play Black Hawk Christian at Brownsburg (Ind.) High School on Saturday. The Thunderhawks are scheduled to play Mason in their home opener on Tuesday at Lakota East.
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