By Dan Weber
NKyTribune sports reporter
Saturday’s Senior Night celebration at Holy Cross was about a lot of things. First of all, Jacob Meyer was a near-certainty to break the Ninth Region career scoring record set by Beechwood’s Scotty Draud two years ago.
Jacob Meyer’s record-breaking dunk. (Photo by Ted Jackson
Jacob was averaging 36.0 points a game coming into his final home game at the Monsignor Finn Activity Center on the Coach George Schneider Court so this would not be a surprise.
And of course he did, firing in 46 points against Dixie Heights in an 85-58 win for the small school Indians, their 20th of the season against six defeats. The moment that made it real came on a steal and two-hand slam with 2:31 left in the first half for Meyer’s 15th and 16th points of the night. On the next Holy Cross possession, the game was stopped and Jacob presented the record-breaking ball, which he promptly presented to his proud mom in the stands.
“I told him to,” Holy Cross Coach Casey Sorrell said with a laugh, “otherwise he’d lose it.”
But that dunk followed on the heels of a flying one-hand slam by 5-foot-9 senior Javier Ward, that got the place jumping. Jacob, too.
“Definitely, Javy’s dunk gave me energy, got me going,” he said, “I love to play fast like that.”
In fact, with seven steals, more than the entire Dixie Heights’ team, Jacob scored far more points in transition than out of the half-court offense. He jumps the passing lanes and pushes the ball ahead past or through defenders with his ability to accelerate.
Just 5-foot-9, Holy Cross; Javier Ward gets the night’s first slam dunk. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
He can rebound the ball and take it one-on-four at the other end and still score, something he does with either hand. He can dunk it, with two hands as he did for his record-breaking points or flush it with his right hand. He can shoot it with either hand. And he’s one of the few 6-1 players where his teammates will be looking to lob the ball above the basket for him.
And yet, despite breaking the record of 3,128 points and taking it up to 3,159 now, Jacob might not have been the only story in a gym that seemed equal parts family re-union and basketball celebration for the Latonia parochial school that has distinguished itself in basketball the last seven decades.
Which may be why fans from 90 weeks to 90 years were here to join in the fun on the floor. Beloved Coach Tony Bezold was here, sitting in one of those season-ticket seats with his name on it right next to “Coach” Schneider’s. But they’re not alone in those seats behind the benches. The names on them could not be more familiar – Arlinghaus, Niehaus, Muck, Saalfeld, Goetz, you know the litany, many of them among the 78 names on the Holy Cross Sports Hall of Fame enshrined high above the court.
“I would say that it’s been a great experience for me coming from a public school (Scott) to Holy Cross and making the transition,” Jacob said. “I learned a lot about expanding my friend group, not just juniors and seniors, but reaching out to everybody.”
Michael Weller, the seventh senior honored here, a four-year-manager-turned-player for Senior Night, had the best take on Meyer, someone he’s worked with and played next to his entire high school career.
Jacob Meyer and Coach Casey Sorrell after Meyer’s record-breaking score. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
They’d been planning on getting Michael, who looks more like a football tackle than a basketball player, into the Senior Night game for a while now. But when did he get his uniform? “What day is it,” he asks, “Saturday. I got my uniform Thursday.”
But there was a big poster for Michael just like for the other six, only the self-described “radio guy’s” poster was next to the 859 Radio booth while his senior teammates were behind the basket. And the response of the crowd to his entering the game with four minutes left in the third period rivaled that of Meyer’s moment.
“It’s Holy Cross,” Weller said, “it’s the family atmosphere. I was not expecting it, but it was not a surprise, if that makes any sense?”
It does indeed. In a place where the AD offers you truffles as you’re waiting to talk to the coach after the game, why wouldn’t it?
When Jacob Meyer was presented the game ball Saturday, he immediately presented it to his mom. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
As to Weller’s observations of his teammate “and friend,” he says “that as much as Jacob has developed as a player, he’s developed much more as a person.”
Which is why Jacob said he was happy about getting upstaged a bit by the former manager who Coach Sorrell said “is irreplaceable.”
“Definitely,” Meyer said as he gave Michael a big postgame smile as he’ll be heading off to Western Kentucky University where he plans to pick up as a manager and study broadcasting with an eye on a sports play-by-play job someday.
Jacob actually de-committed from Western and says he’s going to wait until after the season to decide where he’ll be playing his college ball.
But as one long-time Holy Cross fan told Sorrell after the game, “the boys look like they’re having so much fun,” she said as Coach Casey agreed.
And yes, the game went just as Sorrell said it would, with the record broken and all the celebrating. “But there were a lot of distractions,” he said.
Holy Cross Coach Casey Sorrell gives Jacob Meyer a record-breaking hug. (Photo by Dale Dawn)
Even Meyer looked like it might be on his mind, as much as he said he hasn’t been thinking about it as he missed his first three shots.
And then proceeded to hit 17 of his next 23. And nine of 11 free throws.
“An elite scorer,” is how the Holy Cross folks describe Jacob although he recorded an assist before his first field goal. Also as a “friend” and “teammate.”
Dixie Heights was led by sophomore scorer Griffin Derry’s 14 points while strong post player Brach Rice scored 10.
Ward scored 14 points for Holy Cross with 7-foot senior center Sam Gibson getting two-thirds of the way to his second straight triple-double with 12 rebounds and 10 blocks in addition to six points.
SENIOR NIGHT HORT SHOTS: Ward, honored in pregame for his 1,000 career points, talked of his “love” for his family and teammates and “to always keep your head up” . . . Matt Dreas is heading off to Akron as a top soccer prospect who decided to play basketball this one last year . . . Gibson, who plans to play basketball in college, was honored for grabbing his 500th career rebound and said “I could not have asked for better teammates and friends” . . . three-year basketball player Jacob Smith, who will be off to college to study physical therapy, said “when people say high school goes by really fast, it really does” . . . from Max White, who will be off to UK for athletic training, “whatever happens, persevere, and thank you for always accepting me” . . . and finally, in his Senior Night farewell, Meyer said “it’s been an honor and a pleasure . . . work hard and stay positive . . . Holy Cross has been great for me, this whole school community has meant a lot to me.”
BOX SCORE
DIXIE HEIGHTS 10 18 13 17—58
HOLY CROSS 17 21 17 30—85
DIXIE HEIGHTS (6-16): S. Johnson 2, Rice 10, Bock 4, Niehues 5, G. Johnson 8, Kazmaier 4, McMurtry 0, Blank 7, Massie 4, Derry 14, TOTAL: 58.
HOLY CROSS (20-6): Dreas 0, Ward 14, Smith 8, Arlinghaus 6, Meyer 46, Reinersman 0, Weller 3, White 0, Ambrocio 0, McElheney 2, Gibson 6, TOTAL: 85.
