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Hill leads the way and Neumann puts everything together as it defeats Muncy in key Mid-Penn game

By Chris Masse 7 min read

Just two days after scoring 30 points in the Class A state championship, Davion Hill hit the road. Going from Hershey to Camden, New Jersey Shore, Hill was soon playing against elite future collegiate players like Bronny James and DJ Wagner, among others.

The St. John Neumann senior literally had no offseason. And that’s just the way he likes it.

Hill played against Division I recruits throughout the spring and summer, enhancing his skills and upping his own recruitment level even higher. Now, Hill has narrowed his college choices to five schools and looks even better than he did a year ago when he earned the Class A State Player of the Year award.

And everything Hill learned throughout the offseason came bursting out Wednesday at the Catholic Community Center as he and his teammates made a big early season statement against a strong Muncy team.

Hill scored 36 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and made five steals, while every Knight player produced positive contributions as Neumann defeated Muncy, 73-40 in a big early-season Mid-Penn game. Tyrick Moy dominated inside with 14 points and 11 rebounds as Neumann (1-1, 1-0) rinsed out the bad taste it had after losing its opener two nights earlier against Bloomsburg.

“It wasn’t good to lose, but we needed that for down the stretch. I’m just glad we got that loss out of the way early,” Hill said. “This is a completely new team, and everyone is getting adjusted to the game and I think we’ll be fine.”

“Muncy has some tough players, but we clicked tonight. We played together. That’s the biggest thing,” first-year Neumann coach Louis Roskowski said. “We really came together. The other night we didn’t play together. Bloomsburg was solid and they had six games in and that was our first game. We needed to get those nerves out a little and I was proud of the guys. They were great.”

That is an accurate adjective for Hill’s entire scholastic career.

A three-time first team all-state selection, Hill has grown better each season and the offseason grind is playing huge early dividends. He looks even stronger and more explosive than in the past. Hill drained five 3-pointers, ran the court at will and made a big defensive impact. He scored 22 points by halftime, twice hit buzzer-beating 3-pointers and was virtually unstoppable underneath.

He basically has become the whole package and Hill tied a bow around Muncy (4-1, 1-1) all night, while helping Neumann built a 38-18 halftime lead. And as dominant as he was scoring, Hill also set up his teammates, twice finding Kane Wright for 3-pointers and Angelo Fernandez for a layup. He was outstanding from outside, off the dribble, in the post and in transition. Basically, there was no slowing Hill down.

“It definitely was good playing against guys being recruited by schools like North Carolina and Duke and right down the line during the summer,” Hill said. “It taught me how to play basketball in different ways and helped me with a lot of little things. I think it definitely helped me elevate my game.”

That’s likely not what opponents want to hear. Hill already has put together a decorated high school career and is a three-time district champion who helped Neumann reach its first state final in 40 years last March. The only thing greater than this talent is his will and that shined through again against Muncy. Hill did a bit of everything to help the Knights take command in the first quarter and never look back.

The work put in the past offseason has helped both Hill and Neumann win. The Knights showed why they are a District 4 Class A title contender and Hill played in front of Division I coaches all summer, boosting his profile. Also an all-state running back, Hill said he has narrowed his college choices to Ohio State, Purdue, Missouri State, Arkansas and Missouri State. He added that his decision could be coming within the next three weeks.

For now, the focus is on making the most of his final high school season.

“We watched the game when Muncy beat South (Williamsport) and that’s our rival, so we knew they were coming to play,” Hill said. “We just wanted to win and move on and keep winning.”

Hill has helped Neumann do that a lot the last three years and his teammates showed why that could continue this season. Every player did his part and Messiah Baldwin efficiently ran an explosive offense while Wright and Joe Savage combined for 13 points. Freshman Daiton Thompson played well off the bench, too, and provided a spark when Savage was in early foul trouble.

The big difference was Neumann’s defensive intensity. The Knights switched up defenses and executed both man and zone well, communicating and providing excellent help. Corey Agnew was a big part of that, and his repeated early hustle plays helped Neumann allow just one point over the final seven minutes of the first quarter as it built a 14-4 lead. The Knights also forced some costly turnovers and after going up, 38-18 at halftime, never let Muncy pull closer again.

“We said it’s one thing to lose, but it’s another thing if we don’t learn from losing. We really focused on defense at practice (Tuesday) because we weren’t closing out well and our man-to-man wasn’t solid,” Roskowski said. “They really did a good job with the defense tonight and I was really pleased.”

Moy took over at times as well and was relentless on the boards. The junior forward nearly had a double-double by halftime and missed just one of eight shots in the paint. He also was part of the stellar defense and negated Muncy’s length with his tenacious play.

“Tyrick played awesome,” Roskowski said. “He played really hard and battled on rebounds and putbacks.”

Muncy never stopped battling either but ran into a team which was operating like a runaway freight train. The good news for Muncy is that the season is young, and it will see Neumann again later year. And with both in Class AA this season, these two also could cross paths in the playoffs.

Learn from what wrong Wednesday and Muncy could be a much different team the next time around.

“You have to keep it in perspective,” Muncy coach Jason Gresh said. “They always play well here and it’s a great atmosphere. We got blown out here last year and it was a good battle the second time, first time, so we watch some film, make some adjustments and we’ll get another opportunity.”

Ross Eyer, Branson Eyer and Mike Fry all scored 10 points for Muncy. Ross Eyer’s double-double streak ended at a remarkable 29 games, but he gave extending the streak a good run, pulling down eight rebounds and adding six assists. Fry also grabbed eight rebounds and both he and Branson Eyer had three assists.

Muncy is scheduled to host its tournament this weekend and will face Line Mountain, while Mifflinburg faces Towanda in the other semifinal.

“At the end of the day 4-1,” Gresh said. “If we can go 4-1 every chunk, I’ll be pretty happy.”

MUNCY (40)

Ross Eyer 4 1 -3 10, Branson Eyer 5 0-2 10, Mike Fry 4 0-0 10, Noah Confer 2 3-4 7, Eli Weikle 1 1-2 3, Brady Ryder 0 0-0 0, Patrick Zalonis 0 0-0 0, Owen Bigelow 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 5-11 40.

NEUMANN (73)

Davion Hill 15 1-3 36, Messiah Baldwin 2 0-0 5, Kane Wright 2 0-0 6, Tyrick Moy 7 0-0 14, Joe Savage 3 0-0 7, Corey Agnew 0 0-0 0, Dalton Thompson 1 1-2 3, Angelo Fernandez 1 0-0 2, Malachi Coleman 0 0-0 0. Totals 31 2-5 73.

Muncy 4 14 11 11-40

Neumann 14 24 14 21-73

3-pointers: Muncy 3 (Fry 2, R. Eyer); Neumann 9 (Hill 5, Wright 2, Baldwin, Savage).

Records: Neumann 1-1, 1-0 Mid-Penn. Muncy 4-1, 1-1.

Starting at /week.