Griffith’s putback stops Zanesville’s win streak

On Feb 4, 2023

ZANESVILLE — Rashaud Hampton, like he has throughout Zanesville’s second-half resurgence, almost willed the Blue Devils to another close win on Friday night.

Hampton, a junior guard, scored on three straight possessions late in the fourth quarter to forge a 46-all tie with a minute to play. One possession later, the Blue Devils took their first lead since the midway point of the first half.

Licking Heights refused to let them finish the job, however.

Trailing by a point with time winding down, Jayden Griffith’s putback with 2.8 seconds left was the difference as the Hornets escaped with a 48-47 win in a hard-fought Licking County League-Buckeye Division win at Winland Memorial Gymnasium.

“This is a hard place to win,” said Hornets coach Shaun Fountain, whose team twice had leads of at least seven points in the second half, only to see the Blue Devils respond with runs to stay close.

“The environment was great for a high school game,” Fountain added. “This is one of the best places to play. I thought our boys, we talked to about playing through adversity. We got up and they came back, we got up and they came back and eventually took the lead. We didn’t panic this time.”

The Hornets (11-10, 9-4 LCL-Buckeye), who sit just a half-game behind Granville, overcame a game-high 18 points from Hampton with a balanced offense led by Griffith, who saved his most important points for last.

Drew Doyle hit the front end of a 1-and-1 to put Zanesville (6-12, 5-7 LCL-Buckeye) up 47-46 with 14 seconds left, but he missed the second, giving the Hornets a chance to hold for the final shot.

Maddox Hayes grabbed the rebound in heavy traffic for Zanesville, but he was tied up and possession went to the Hornets. They called timeout, then worked the ball to slasher Kison Coates-Edmondson, who turned the corner from the left elbow and missed a short jumper.

The loose carom found Griffith, who staved off a boxout from Hayes on the backside to convert a putback and give his team the lead.

“We had Mikey there and (Maddox), but we just kind of mistimed the jump,” Zanesville coach Cedric Harris said.

Doyle rushed it up court and got a shot up from just inside half court, but the ball hit off the rim as time expired.

The loss snapped Zanesville’s five-game winning streak and sent Heights to 11-10 with the Division I Central District tournament draw set for Sunday.

Fountain called it a fun game, adding that “it’s always better when you win it.”

“Our team is growing up,” Fountain said. “We have lost six games by an average of 3 1/2 points. I looked at their record and I told the players that this is not the same Zanesville team that we played early in the season. They’ve won several in a row, and I look at the scores, and it’s two points here and three points there. We are very, very similar teams.”

Zanesville, seeking its first six-game winning streak since 2017, has had 10 of its 12 games decided by five or less points. The ones that weren’t, against Heath and Lakewood, were double-digit wins.

When Coates-Edmondson and Griffith combined for seven points in a 9-0 run in the third quarter, which forged a 37-28 Hornets lead with four minutes left, it looked like outcome would go against the norm.

But Zanesville held the Hornets without a field goal for seven straight possessions, and Mikey Johnson’s 3 at the third-quarter buzzer brought Zanesville within 37-35.

Heights’ lead went to 44-38 with 3:40 left, but Doyle responded with a layup seconds later, triggering a 9-2 run that saw Hampton hit a long jumper and score on a pair of acrobatic layups.

The latter tied the game at 46, but the Hornets did just enough to avoid the posse.

“He was the best player on the court,” Harris said of Hampton, the team’s leading scorer at 14 points per game. “He is the best player in the LCL in my eyes. He can shoot it, he can handle it, he’s smart and savvy. And he can guard.

“It’s all in how he goes up (in the lane),” Harris added. “When he goes up off-balance he doesn’t get (foul) calls. I’d like to see him go up off two feet more.”

Griffith had 13 points and Coates-Edmondson, a smooth 6-1 junior, added 12 to lead the Hornets, who were 17-of-45 from the field with eight turnovers. Eight Heights players scored.

Coates-Edmondson was the catalyst with a strong floor game that opened up teammates for open looks.

“He stepped up, and he has those glimpses in practice,” Fountain said. “He has showed it in certain games. Tonight he put it together and we’re hoping that he can continue doing that, because we’re going to need it going down the stretch.”

Johnson was 4-of-8 on 3s in a 12-point effort, including a 3-of-5 showing in the first half. Xavier Riley chipped in seven points and Doyle six.

Zanesville’s shooters struggled overall, hitting only 5 of 14 3s and 15-of-45 overall, while the Hornets’ arsenal of traps and presses helped score 14 points off 10 turnovers. Heights also had 10 second-chance points.