Djakovich, Dye, Daniels, Enoch score in double digits as Hornets top Rockets

Dan Hiner, The Herald, Sharon, Pa.
·4 min read

Feb. 11—HERMITAGE — For eight minutes, it just seemed like the Hickory boys basketball team couldn't miss. Couple the strong offense with aggressive defense, and the Hornets were off and running.

The Hornets used a strong second quarter to beat a red-hot Slippery Rock team, 56-44, Friday to conclude senior night festivities. The Hickory fans honored Tyson Djakovich, Aidan Enoch, Devin Daniels and Ben Swanson.

Both teams started out strong. The game was tied at 13 with two minutes left in the opening quarter. But a layup by Swanson and a tip-in by Landon Bean gave the Hornets a 17-13 lead by the end of the period.

Djakovich and Rylan Dye split the scoring load during the critical second quarter. Dye scored six points, and Djakovich added seven as the Hornets (5-3 Region 4, 11-8) outscored the Rockets 18-7 in the period.

The Hornets started to attack the basket more in the second. The 3-point shot wasn't a factor, and the defense forced eight turnovers to get the Hornets into fastbreak situations. When in a half-court offense, the players took their time and picked apart the Rockets' defense with solid passing.

"I think we're playing solid defense. We need that and we need to take care of the basketball and get good, quality shots," Hickory head coach Chris Mele said. "We were very efficient in the second quarter.

"Sometimes we play like there's a shot clock, and the last two games, we haven't done that. It's been a big difference in our game results."

The Rockets (3-5, 9-11) Committed 12 first-half turnovers and were limited to 8-for-19 (42.1 percent) shooting from the field. The Hornets shot 15-for-23 (65.2 percent) in the first half.

"Our defense in the first half, overall, wasn't good enough," Slippery Rock head coach AJ Motta said. "On the ball, we were just letting guys go by us. Our help side was there, it just wasn't very active. That's just not a good recipe for a team that can shoot it and be physical and score around the basket like they do."

Djakovich and Swanson led the Hornets in the first half, but it was Enoch and Daniels that helped take over in the second. Daniels scored six points in the third quarter and was the only player in the game to record multiple baskets in the third. Meanwhile, Enoch was orchestrating the offense and limited the chances for turnovers by the Rockets' defense.

The Rockets tried to put together a couple runs, but they were unable to cut the Hickory lead to single digits.

John Sabo led the Rockets with 12 points and six rebounds. Levi Prementine had eight points and three boards, and Dylan Gordon scored seven points with a pair of rebounds and two assists.

Djakovich led all scorers with 15 points, Daniels had 10 points with a team-high four rebounds, Enoch and Dye each scored 10 points while Enoch also recorded a game-high four assists and Ben Swanson tallied four points with two rebounds and an assist.

The Hornets will look to improve their potential seeding in the District 10 tournament bracket. However, Friday was about the seniors, and all four Hickory upperclassmen played a part on their way to a key victory.

"This isn't like some teams where seniors only get in on senior night," Mele said. "They're starters. They play. They come out here with a good mentality to come out and take it to them right away."

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SLIPP. ROCK 13 7 7 17 44

HICKORY 17 18 11 10 56

SLIPPERY ROCK — Prementine 4-0-2-8, Sabo 5-1-1-12, Gordon 1-5-6-7, Wolak 1-3-4-5, Book 2-0-0-4, Pyle 0-0-0-0, Parson 3-2-3-8. 3-pt. goal: Sabo 1. Totals: 16-11-16-44.

HICKORY — Dye 5-2-2-12, Robich 0-2-2-2, Enoch 3-3-4-10, Daniels 4-3-4-11, Swanson 2-0-0-4, Miller 0-0-0-0, Djakovich 6-0-2-15, Bean 1-0-0-2. 3-pt. goals: Djakovich 3, Enoch 1. Totals: 21-10-16-56.

JV: Hickory, 45-29. Braden Bittler 10 for Hickory (17-0).