Hesperia sneaks out a victory against rival Holton in boys’ basketball

LocalSportsJournal.com

HESPERIA–The Hesperia Panthers and Holton Red Devils had a 32-minute battle on Tuesday night. And in the end, Hesperia posted a 48-45 victory.

The game was evenly fought throughout as the first quarter was even at 10-all. Hesperia pulled out to a 26-19 halftime lead. Holton fought back in the third quarter to take a 39-36 third-quarter lead.

Ethan O’Neal was the leading scorer for the Panthers with 14 points. Matteo Materdomini added 10 points. Maddox Mosely contributed eight points for Hesperia.

Carter Brant led the charge for the Red Devils with 19 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Brodrick Fialek had a solid game with 16 points and three assists.

“Very competitive rivalry game,” Holton coach Keith Swanson said. “We came out on the wrong side, but I’m proud of how my guys played. Coach Wocester just continues to do a great job with his guys. We will learn from this game and move on.”

The rematch is February 14.

Hesperia (1-5, 1-1) hosts Walkerville on Jan. 4.

Holton (0-5, 0-2) hosts Ravenna on Friday.