Five things to know: Hoban vs. St. John's Jesuit in OHSAA boys basketball state semifinal

Archbishop Hoban is set to meet Toledo St. John's Jesuit at 8:30 p.m. Saturday in a Division I boys basketball state semifinal at University of Dayton Arena.

The Knights (24-3) are in the state semifinals for the third time in program history, matching the feat accomplished by teams in 1989 and 1998. The 1989 Hoban team won the Division III state championship.

The Titans (19-9) went 8-6 and finished tied for fourth in the rugged Three River Athletic Conference. They are in the state semifinals for the seventh time in program history, also accomplishing the feat in 1993, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2009. The 1993, 1996 and 2004 St. John's teams finished as a state runner-up.

Here are five other things to know about Hoban and St. John's:

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Akron Archbishop Hoban projected starters in OHSAA state tournament

Hoban features a starting lineup of seniors Will Scott Jr., Logan Vowles and Andrew Griffith, junior Jonas Nichols and freshman Sam Greer:

• Nichols, who is 6-foot-3, is Hoban’s leading scorer at 16.0 points per game, and also averages 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists. He has several scholarship offers from Division I colleges, including Akron, Kent State and Toledo.

• Scott, who is 6-2, is averaging 14.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists.

• The 6-2 Vowles is averaging 8.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists.

• The 6-7 Griffith is averaging 6.1 points and the 6-8 Greer is contributing 5.1 points and 4.1 rebounds.

Hoban's regular reserves are seniors Colin Coyne and Lamar Sperling and juniors Joey Hardman and Josh Greer. Sperling was named Ohio Mr. Football in the fall and returned to the Hoban basketball team this winter after not playing for two years.

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Toledo St. John's Jesuit projected starters in OHSAA state tournament

St. John’s starting five are seniors CJ Hornbeak, Marquez Frazier and Mitchell Michalak and juniors Jaylen Murphy and Eddie Heywood:

• Hornbeak, who is 6-3, is averaging 19.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists.

• Murphy, who is 6-2, is averaging 11.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists.

• The 5-9 Frazier is at 6.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists.

• Michalak, who is 6-4, is contributing 4.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. The 6-3 Heywood is at 1.7 points per game.

St. John’s main reserves are freshman Race Kowalczyk, sophomore Jalen Teamer and junior Joseph Taylor (9.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists per game). Kowalczyk's father, Tod Kowalczyk, is the University of Toledo men's basketball coach.

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Hoban coach T.K. Griffith's thoughts on OHSAA state tournament

“This was somewhat unexpected, I would say. We are thrilled to have this opportunity to represent Hoban at this level. Leading the way for us throughout this tournament has been senior Will Scott Jr. He is a very dynamic guard who has got a lot of upside still left in him, hopefully for this season and for his own future [in college]. Junior Jonas Nichols has put us on his back many times, especially in the district games. He is one of the best guards in his grade level. We have got seniors Logan Vowles and Andrew Griffith in the starting lineup as well. Those guys provide unique skillsets. Our fifth starter is freshman Sam Greer, who due to an injury [to senior Jayvian Crable] was thrust into that role. ... We are blessed to be still playing after big regional wins over St. Edward and then Walsh Jesuit."

On Toledo St. John’s Jesuit: “I am really impressed with their team. They are one of the most efficient, patient, well coached, organized and dynamic teams that we play. They never seem to panic. They are well scripted with what they run. They run a bunch of stuff so it is not like you are just going to have to guard one or two things. You gotta guard a lot of things. CJ Hornbeak seems to be very confident, efficient and poised. … [Murphy] is super dynamic as a shooter. I have seen him change games. [Frazier] has won some games for them. [Michalak] is a great role player, a facilitator, a hustler and a great passer. … [Taylor] is one of the best athletes I have ever seen. He is super quick. The coach's son from Toledo can stretch the floor, is lanky and can block shots.”

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St. John's coach Mike Schoen's thoughts on OHSAA state tournament

“I am really excited and really proud to represent St. John’s in this opportunity. We have had quite a bit of success over the years from our previous head coach Ed Heintschel. He has been to six final fours, so to be able to continue that tradition on is a great accomplishment for our kids and our coaching staff. We are led by three seniors that are better kids than they are players — CJ Hornbeak, Marquez Frazier and Mitchell Michalak. They are extremely high character guys. It is really important to them to do things the right way, represent St. John’s and they have done that flawlessly. We are excited about the opportunity. … Our guard play has been really solid throughout this tournament run. We are shooting the ball at a pretty high level on the offensive end, but I think more anything we have really defended and connected on that end of the floor."

On Hoban: “They are an opponent that is extremely good that we have, after a couple of days of watching them, extreme respect for. … Hoban presents a totally different challenge with some stuff that they do and their guard play. They have a lot of pieces that are hard to figure out. We are not the biggest team. We are not going to impress anybody when we get off the bus. We gotta really defend at a high level and we gotta rebound at a high level. You can’t really control those two guards [Nichols and Scott], you just try to contain them. ... They are really talented. They are really good at both ends of the floor. They run a lot of great action offensively, so defending ball screens and defending their personnel well is important. They have got two dynamic guards in Scott and Nichols. Those two can do so much with the ball in their hands. They have guys that can really shoot the ball and spray it from the outside, [Vowles], the coach's son and a couple of guys off the bench. The big [Greer] is a unique matchup. They have a really fun team to coach I would imagine because they have a lot of different pieces that complement each other really well."

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Hoban vs. St. John's winner advances to OHSAA state championship

The first Division I semifinal at 5:15 p.m. Saturday pits Centerville (25-3) against Pickerington Central (23-5). Saturday's winners return at 8:30 p.m. Sunday to play for the title.

Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.

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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hoban versus St. John's in OHSAA boys basketball state semifinal