SMITHSBURG, Md. – Noah Hegbe worked his way on a list with pot roast and love.
All three seem to be better the second time around.
But Hegbe proved he isn’t a leftover and he’s all about a different kind of rebound on Friday during his second shift on the floor during Smithsburg’s 70-60 win over rival Boonsboro.
After as an admitted tepid turn with the Leopards’ starting lineup, the junior came off the bench in the second quarter for what became a signature four-minute stretch that turned Smithburg’s small lead into a comfortable 15-point halftime advantage.
“At the start of the game, I was a little nervous,” Hegbe admitted. “It was the first time I ever started. But my second time in, I had it down and the nerves were gone and I was ready to play my game.”
Hegbe shook the nerves and used his 6-foot-1 frame to all but clear Boonsboro out of the middle of the floor, taking the penetration moves away from the Warriors’ offense.
Because of the disruption, a lid seemingly clamped to the top of Boonsboro’s basket.
“Noah is a tough kid,” said Smithsburg coach Eric Gerber. “He does the little things and plays hard. We are undersized compared to Boonsboro. We were shorter at about every position and we aren’t as athletic as they are so we need someone to do that dirty work.
“He’s one of those kids who will play hard and get rebounds, play good interior defense and play pretty good D on the perimeter. He’s undersized on box at like 6-1 but he really plays big.”
With Smithsburg led 23-18 with four minutes remaining until intermission, Hegbe controlled the lane area under the basket as the Leopards reeled off a 12-2 run down to stretch to lead 35-20 at that half. In fact, Hegbe scored five of the 12 points in the flurry with power moves to the hoop.
“I was just focused on stopping the ball from entering inside and then focus on scoring in transition,” Hegbe said. “Thankfully, we all played hard. Our defense is a lot of team defense so everybody has to be playing 100% for it to work. Everybody was on their game.”
It couldn’t have come at a better time for the Leopards.
Smithsburg jumped out to a 21-13 lead after one period, fueled by five three-point baskets for two-thirds of its scoring.
But the long-ranged baskets disappeared in the second quarter and Jacob Tyler – Smithsburg’ leading scorer – went scoreless for nearly eight minutes after scoring a 3 with 2:52 left in the first period.
Boonsboro outscored Smithsburg 4-2 in the first half of the second quarter.
“We were really pleased with our defense in the second quarter. We held them to six points,” Gerber said. “One of the things we always talk about is if we can bring defense every night, we’ll be in games.
“We don’t always shoot like (this) every night, so when we can knock down some shots, obviously then we can pull out and get a lead. That’s kind of has been our mentality. Then I thought we did a good job in the second half defending.”
For Hegbe, the game and his first-ever start was a huge leap. He missed football season and the beginning of basketball with a shoulder injury.
“I was able to come back a few weeks before I was projected to,” he said. “At the start, I was a little worried about how I was going to hold up. My first few weeks, I was on limited play time. It really hasn’t bothered me at all yet. I’m just focused on strengthening it but it’s not really bothering me.”
His return is a big lift for the Leopards, who have hovered around .500 this season.
“He missed the first half of the year with a shoulder injury, so we just got him back around Christmas and the New Year,” Gerber said. “We just been working Noah back in and this was the first game he started for us. He’s been coming back from injury, but we know what he can provide.”
Smithsburg pushed its lead to 42-20 early in the third quarter. The Warriors tried to rally behind Carter Jackson and Blake Main, but still trailed 51-32 after three quarters.
The Leopards led handily the rest of the way until Boonsboro went on a 10-3 run in the final 1:15, led by 3-pointers by Kaleb Sallerson and Naythan Bwana, to cut the final deficit to 10 points.
Tyler came on to lead Smithsburg with 23 points, including 9 of 10 from the foul line in the second half. Hegbe finished with 10 points, while James Hare added another physical element to Smithsburg’s play with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Jackson led Boonsboro with 17 points while Main finished with 16.
