Basketball Game Preview: Archbishop Hoban Knights vs. McKinley Bulldogs

The Archbishop Hoban Knights are taking a road trip to take on the McKinley Bulldogs at 6:45 p.m. on Friday.

Archbishop Hoban easily dispatched Canton Central Catholic on Saturday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. Archbishop Hoban fell just short of Nordonia by a score of 43-41 on Tuesday. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Archbishop Hoban came into the matchup with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 23rd, while Nordonia is ranked 183rd).

Hoover typically has all the answers at home, but on Tuesday McKinley proved too difficult a challenge. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past the Vikings 59-56.

McKinley's win was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 15-5. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.7 points over those games. As for Archbishop Hoban, their loss dropped their record down to 17-4.

Archbishop Hoban couldn't quite finish off McKinley in their previous matchup back in January of 2024 and fell 62-60. Can Archbishop Hoban avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.