Twinsburg Suffers Loss to Hudson, 47-39

Twinsburg's senior night was forgettable, at best.

After a tough loss versus Walsh Jesuit on Wednesday night, the Tigers were looking to regain their momentum and earn a solid victory over Hudson in their final game of the regular season. The Explorers, however, imagined that it would turn out a little differently.

Twinsburg, who entered the game with a 7-12 overall record, surrendered a one-point lead in the fourth quarter and fell to Hudson, 47-39. Hudson's sophomore forward Ben Gedeon led the Explorers' comeback in the final period of play.

"He's just been a dominant player," said Hudson head coach Jeff Brink.

The two teams played a slow-paced game in the first half, but the score remained close. Tigers sophomore guard Jalen Washington led the offense with five first-half points, but the Explorers reached halftime with a 17-14 lead over the Tigers.

"I think we got team contributions," said Brink.

The third quarter seemed to be the turning point for Twinsburg, who outscored Hudson 14-11. Washington continued his strong offensive performance with five third-quarter points, and A.J. Edwards added another three points. Twinsburg was about to head into the fourth quarter with a five-point lead, but Hudson guard Zack Brandy converted a layup, stole the following inbounds pass, and knocked down another jumper as the buzzer sounded to pull Hudson to within one point.

Brandy's series of plays at the end of third stole the momentum away from Twinsburg, and the Explorers never looked back as they outscored the Tigers 19-10 in the final period. Junior guard Randall Berkley made a 3-pointer early in the fourth, but Washington answered with a 3-pointer of his own to keep Twinsburg ahead, 34-33. Hudson responded with a 6-0 run, which was powered by the play of Gedeon, who grabbed three rebounds and scored four points during the run. Gedeon scored eight of his 14 total points in the fourth. 

Brandy's layup with less than 30 seconds remaining in the fourth put the Explorers ahead by six, and his following free throw conversions clinched the victory for Hudson, 47-39.

"We got outscored, big time," said Twinsburg head coach Bob Pacsi. "Some of us think that we are shooters, rather than scorers, and that hurt us."

Hudson lost a close game at home versus Twinsburg earlier in the season by a score of 44-38, but they didn't change much in terms of strategy for their rematch.

"We played pretty well in the first half [in the first game]," said Brink. "...We just didn't make shots. Tonight, Ben finished in that second half ... it ended up opening us up for some layups."

"We were pathetic," said Pacsi. "Hudson was ready to play, took it to us, and we weren't prepared for it."

Twinsburg finished the regular season with a 7-13 overall record, and won only two of their 10 conference games. Twinsburg will take on Akron East in state tournament play on March 1.

"This is the wrong time to take a step backwards," said Pacsi. "... You've got to be mentally prepared prior to things, and we weren't."

Hudson will face Barberton in state tournament action on February 28.

Scoring Breakdown:

Twinsburg:

#5 Aaron Macer: 2 pts

#11 Michael Timm: 10 pts

#21 Jalen Washington: 13 pts

#23 Malik Billingsley: 7 pts

#33 A.J. Edwards: 3 pts

#45 Frank Shaffer: 4 pts

Hudson:

#4 Randall Berkley: 10 pts

#15 Steve Nagy: 5 pts

#24 Zack Brandy: 13 pts

#30 Ben Gedeon: 14 pts

#33 Cooper Charlton: 3 pts