COPLEY, OHIO – On paper, Copley appears like an inexperienced team. They only have four seniors on the roster, with two freshmen getting significant playing time.
Luckily, games aren’t decided by what the paper says. On the court against Northwest, this young group came together to earn a convincing 78-59 victory to advance to districts.
Standout Freshman Khoi Thurmon electrified his team and the crowd early. Within the first minute, he went on a personal 7-0 run that forced an early timeout to be called by Northwest.
Khoi Thurmond is UNREAL. The freshman scores 7 points in the first minute to make the score 7-0 Copley. Timeout Northwest. pic.twitter.com/SEt3EQuRov
— Northeast Ohio HS Sports (@NEOhsAthletics) February 29, 2020
Thurmon is a quick point guard from Chicago who played with Bronny James last season on the Northcoast Blue Chips. He demonstrated his ability to score from anywhere, as well as his advanced court vision and smooth handles.
While Thurmon started the quarter strong, it was junior Matt Dente who ended up leading Copley on offense. Dente finished with 10 points in the quarter, as his Indians led 25-10 after eight minutes of action.
Friday Night Featured Game 🏀
(Division II, Canton Sectional Finals)*End of the 1st*
(3) Copley – 25
(6) Northwest – 10Dente leads Copley with 11, while Luhring leads Northwest with 7.@CopleyHSSports @NWHSIndians @zeusisfat @MayorNEOPrep @MarkPerezK10 pic.twitter.com/GtgwYoRiYN
— Northeast Ohio HS Sports (@NEOhsAthletics) February 29, 2020
Copley continued a terrific shooting display in the second quarter, pushing their lead out to 43-24 heading into halftime.
Thurmon and Dente combined for 27 in the half. Amire Robinson, another talented freshman, also contributed for Copley and showed off his leaping ability with a big time dunk.
Northwest’s Kyle Luhrig, an Otterbein basketball commit, had an efficient 14 points in the first half to pace his team.
Friday Night Featured Game 🏀
(Division II, Canton Sectional Finals)*Halftime*
(3) Copley – 43
(6) Northwest – 24Leading Scorers 📊
Khoi Thurmond (Copley): 14
Kyle Luhring (NW): 14
Matt Dente (Copley): 13@CopleyHSSports @NWHSIndians @zeusisfat @MayorNEOPrep @MarkPerezK10 pic.twitter.com/GQlOHmYPjd— Northeast Ohio HS Sports (@NEOhsAthletics) February 29, 2020
Luhrig and company tried to fight back into the game, but Copley used their height advantage and strong outside shooting to maintain a steady lead in the second half.
Copley leads Northwest 50-31 with 4:38 in the 3rd. @CopleyHSSports @NWHSIndians pic.twitter.com/FdbyHRk8OV
— Northeast Ohio HS Sports (@NEOhsAthletics) February 29, 2020
Dente, who finished the game with a game high 23 points, continued his hot shooting night. He propelled Copley to 63-43 lead after the third.
Friday Night Featured Game 🏀
(Division II, Canton Sectional Finals)*End of the 3rd*
(3) Copley – 63
(6) Northwest – 43AJ Campbell takes it coast-to-coast to end the quarter. Copley rolling here at home.@CopleyHSSports @NWHSIndians @zeusisfat @MayorNEOPrep @MarkPerezK10 pic.twitter.com/xc5lVTe2Ab
— Northeast Ohio HS Sports (@NEOhsAthletics) February 29, 2020
The game was more evenly played down the stretch, but Northwest wasn’t able to recover from their rough start. Copley would pull their starters with about three minutes left in the fourth.
They would go on to defeat Northwest 78-59 in their final home game of the season.
Northwest ends their season with a record of 12-12. It was a nice run for the Indians, as they were able to earn a sectional final appearance after their 55-35 win over Canton South earlier this week.
Copley improves to 11-12 with the victory. They will travel to Canton next Friday to face #2 Louisville in the district semifinals.
Box Score
(3) Copley 25 18 20 15 78
(6) Northwest 10 14 19 16 59
Leading Scorers
Matt Dente (Copley): 23 Points
Khoi Thurmond (Copley): 20 Points
Kyle Luhring (Northwest): 20 Points
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