By Ray Sarvis

FPS Correspondant

Call it what it was. Minerva’s Rowen Hoffee delivered a stellar performance Tuesday, Jan. 21, as the Lions hosted Salem in an Eastern Buckeye Conference matchup. Hoffee wasn’t just in the zone; he defined it, dropping 40 points and outscoring Salem singlehandedly in a dominant 73-37 victory over the Quakers.

Three days later, however, the Lions suffered a heartbreaking 48-46 loss at Marlington, leaving them yearning for a repeat of Hoffee’s electrifying effort.

In the blowout against Salem, the contest was competitive for only a few minutes. Minerva exploded in the first quarter, surging to a 26-4 lead. Though the Quakers fought back, outscoring the Lions 17-12 in the second quarter, Minerva still held a commanding 38-21 advantage at halftime.

Any hope Salem had of mounting a comeback was extinguished early in the third quarter as the Lions went on another run. By the end of the period, Minerva had stretched its lead to 63-29, fueled by Hoffee’s sharp shooting. The senior connected on three more baskets than the entire Salem lineup, including seven three-pointers, en route to his 40-point outing. Jayden Yerger added 11 points for the Lions in what was a stark contrast to their narrow 59-58 win over Salem earlier in the season.

Salem (4-11, 1-6) was led by Deontay Steele, who scored 10 points, while Ben Severe contributed seven.

Three days later, Minerva traveled to Marlington for a critical EBC matchup against the Dukes. Marlington, which had recently rebounded from two losses to league leaders Alliance and Carrollton with a 14-point win over West Branch, faced a Minerva team that had played well on the road in recent weeks, including a victory over Carrollton and a close game against Malvern.

The Lions started strong, building a 28-20 halftime lead and extending it to 30-20 early in the third quarter. However, Minerva’s offense suddenly went cold. The Lions failed to score for the remainder of the period, while the Dukes caught fire, scoring 18 unanswered points to take a 40-30 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Marlington scored the first basket of the final quarter to extend their lead to 12 points. Though the Lions mounted a 16-8 run to close the gap to one possession, they ultimately ran out of time.

With the loss, Minerva fell to 7-9 overall and 4-4 in the EBC, tying them with Marlington for third place. Yerger led the Lions with 16 points, including four three-pointers, while Owen Shick added 13. Marlington’s Parker Woods paced the Dukes (10-6, 4-4) with 20 points.

Minerva will look to bounce back in their next game as the race for EBC standings continues.