A 28-point outburst in the second quarter allowed New Hope to take control on Friday in an 85-45 rout of visiting Cristo Rey.
The Statesmen started their five seniors — Adam Rink, Andrew Swank, Jon Arni, Ethan Cook and Clayton Rhyne — on senior night and jumped out to a 20-15 lead at the end of the opening stanza.
“It was a good game to honor our seniors and our two captains — Adam Rink and Ethan Cook — who have provided excellent leadership all season,” New Hope coach Shane Roese said. “Their effort and attitude has set the tone all season.
“Andrew is that defensive presence that gets us going with his on-ball pressure. Jon Arni came in tonight and had a great game, and he’s been a great teammate for four years and works hard every day in practice to make us better. Clayton Rhyne, I just can’t say enough about him, and he is having a senior season that is as special as any that I have seen. His intensity daily is what makes us so good. He works to get better every day. I’m so thankful for our senior class and what they are doing and have done for our program.”
New Hope extend its lead to 48-27 at halftime, thanks in part to five players scoring in the second quarter.
Rhyne drilled a pair of three-pointers and scored 10 points in the period and Hunter Cavanaugh connected on a trio of triples to score nine points.
“We were able to take command of the game in the second quarter,” Roese said. “We struggled rebounding in the first quarter, because of Cristo Rey’s size. Lane Bruning was able to control the boards and we were able to get out in transition.”
Cristo Rey opened the second half on a 9-2 run but, following a timeout, the Statesmen delivered the knockout blow with a 22-2 surge to take a 72-38 lead.
Rhyne led all scorers with 33 points on 12 of 24 (50 percent) shooting. He also contributed eight rebounds, five assists and four steals. Arni followed with 13 points and four assists, Cavanaugh tallied 12 points on 4 of 5 (80 percent) shooting and dished out three assists in 15 minutes of floor time and Swank added eight points on 3 of 5 (60 percent) shooting. Bruning had 12 rebounds in 12 minutes of competition.
The Statesmen (15-6), which extended its winning streak to five games, open OCSAA tournament play on Friday when they host Ohio Valley Christian.
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