Chargers, Lady Charger hoops knock off New Hope on senior night

Grant Daniels

Junior guard Calicia Zinn drives to the baseline guarded by a New Hope defender.

Grant Daniels, Sports Writer

The clean sweep on the hardwood was completed on Friday.

The OHS boys and girls basketball team capped off senior night with victories, both were in come-from-behind fashion. The Lady Chargers topped the New Hope Lady Trojans, 51-48, improving to 9-16 on the season. The Chargers beat the Trojans, 73-69, to get to 20-6 on the year.

The girls recognized two senior players for senior night, Tiara King and Taliyah Gross. They have missed all season with an unfortunate car accident. The Lady Chargers also honored their senior manager, Cortlynn Harris.

“You always send seniors out on a great note. They weren’t on the floor as far as playing but you know they’re on our teams mind, they’re great kids,” girls basketball head coach Cliff Ormon said. “A division win on senior night makes it even better.”

The Lady Chargers were led in scoring by sophomore Kelsey Wilborn who stepped up to give them 23 points on 7-15 shooting. Junior Jordan Freeze also put together a good performance, scoring 17 points. The big difference was from the free throw line as the Lady Chargers went 21-30 compared to New Hope’s 0-10.

“I thought Kelsey Wilborn’s effort continued to dig us out of some bad spots. She was all over the place, rebounding the ball, hitting some buckets under the rim, just a great overall game from her,” Ormon said. “We stepped up and made some big shots from the free throw line, I’m proud of our team to get that win.”

For the boys team, they recognized seniors Jarkel Joiner, Terry Williams, Cameron Bailey, and Colton Skidmore as well as their senior manager Chris Miller. Joiner and Williams led the team in scoring as Joiner scored 30 points while Williams put together a 22 point game.

“I think we’ve got the best two-car tandem in the state,” boys basketball head coach Drew Tyler said.

The Chargers and Trojans shooting stats were pretty even throughout but Chargers gained their edge off of the glass, totaling 15 offensive rebounds. They also forced the Trojans into turning it over 13 times compared to just five turnovers for the Chargers.

With the win, the boys team clinched the No. 1 seed in the the 5A Region 2 District tournament.

“These guys decided they were going to make plays and win and confirm that we are the number one seed,” Tyler said. “We get to choose our playing time, play early and get to watch that other game and see who we could possibly play in the championship.”