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King Hill: Davion Hill breaks Lycoming County boys scoring record as Neumann defeats Wellsboro

By Chris Masse 7 min read

WELLSBORO--The crowd grew larger as the minutes passed. All the young, aspiring basketball players excitedly awaited their hero exiting the locker room.

And when Davion Hill re-entered the Wellsboro gymnasium, those kids erupted in cheers. It was a reception fitting a king, coming after Hill ascended the Lycoming County scoring throne.

Hill scored 34 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and broke the county boys scoring record Monday night, helping St. John Neumann rally past Wellsboro for a hard-fought 70-62 win. The senior guard needed 33 points to tie Jim Nolan’s previous record of 2,106 and both tied it and broke it when he drained consecutive free throws with 55 seconds remaining.

Eclipsing that 37-year-old record was nice, but the reception Hill received afterward might have been even better.

"It’s big. I feel like it took a long time to get to this," Hill said. "Ninth and 10th grade year, it wasn’t like that. I feel like I built my way up and it definitely feels good that a lot of kids want to be like me, and I can influence them in a way through basketball."

Those admirers who asked for pictures and autograph Monday are envisioning themselves someday being a lot like Hill. He’s a great player to emulate but there’s a catch.

Hill is one of a kind.

Coming from a royal basketball family, Hill picked up where his brothers, NBA veteran Alize Johnson and Missouri State guard David Hill, left off at Neumann. Frequently playing against his older brothers made Hill better and he already was a polished athlete by the time he first stepped on the high school court.

Hill has put together one of the most impressive resumes in county history since that night. In addition to the points, Hill stuffs the stat sheet in each category on a routine basis. Most importantly, he is a winner. Neumann is 68-17 during Hill’s four years, capturing three district and three league titles, while reaching last year’s Class A state championship. That season ended with Hill being named the state’s Class A Player of the Year.

"He’s just a force," Neumann coach Louis Roskowski said. "He’s beast. There’s no other way to put it."

Hill also broke Neumann’s scoring record Monday night. He was third on the county scoring list and eight behind Neumann leader Brad Litchfield coming in but reached the program milestone less than six minutes into the game.

Wellsboro (4-3) constantly double-teamed Hill and held him scoreless during the second quarter while building a 30-28 halftime lead. But Hill erupted in the third quarter, scoring 15 points, showing exactly how he has become the county’s scoring champion.

Hill scored in transition, hit from the outside, dazzled with his ball-handling and was a force on the glass. Hill put Neumann ahead to stay by attacking the basket and beating two defenders late in the third quarter. He went to the line with a shot at history in the final minute.

Hill swished both shots as the doors to history opened and Neumann took a 68-60 lead. Once upon a time, Hill was like the kids who admire him now. He knew what could be attained, then relentlessly worked to make it happen, becoming the county’s first three-time boys first team all-state selection as well.

"Coming into this year I was nervous. I definitely wanted it bad. Ever since I was in fourth grade, I would come to pep rallies and look on the wall and see all those top scorers," Hill said. "Brad Litchfield, he was a guy I looked up to. His dad (John) was my English teacher through 11th grade. We would talk about it a lot and I always said I would break his son’s record.

"To be the county’s leading scorer, too, feels good. It’s a surreal feeling."

His brothers were both all-state players and each topped 1,700 points. But as excellent as they were, they never drew the consistent attention that Hill does. Central Mountain and Wellsboro have double teamed Hill the last two games, shadowing him everywhere he goes.

And yet Hill has scored 73 points in those games.

"A smart team is going to try and double me and make other people score and I think that I have just stay calm and let the game come to me," Hill said. "I hit some shots early so that definitely got me going and kept my head on for the rest of the game."

Hill was quick to acknowledge his teammates as well, all who delivered key contributions to help Neumann defeat a quality Class AAA team. Messiah Baldwin (8 points) masterfully handled Wellsboro’s pressure defense, Joe Savage pulled down eight rebounds, Kane Wright added five and Daiton Thompson was strong off the bench.

Corey Agnew also shined off the bench and came up huge in the fourth quarter, hitting two timely 3-pointers on his way to a career-high nine points. Agnew made those shots on consecutive possessions as Neumann took its biggest lead, 62-50, with 2 ½ minutes remaining.

"Corey coming off the bench did awesome, and we needed that," Roskowski said. "I was pleased with how everyone contributed. If we keep getting those contributions, we’re going to be all right."

"We did a good job controlling the ball late in the game. That was big," Hill said. "We’re all jelling and trying to find our way and seeing what everyone can do pitch in and help us win."

Wellsboro was down but not out and pulled within six on a Hayes Campbell putback with a minute remaining. Five seconds later, though, Hill broke the record with his free throws and Neumann’s defense sealed the win.

Campbell and Cam Brought formed a dynamic inside tandem and scored at will in the post for stretches. Brought produced a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Campbell scored 10 of his career-high 16 points in the fourth quarter, adding 13 boards.

"They’re getting better and better and we’re going to need that if we’re going to contend," Wellsboro coach Steve Adams said. "We have a tough game Friday in Mansfield, so we have to be at our best because they’re playing well and are coached well and well prepared."

Wellsboro features a strong inside-outside game and Peyton McClure (14 points, 4 assists) helped open up space by hitting three first-half 3-pointers. Brought scored off a putback to make it 45-41 with 2:25 to go in the third quarter but Neumann countered with a 14-2 run over the next 3 ½ minutes and went up, 55-47.

Wellsboro point guard Conner Adams produced a gutsy effort, returning in the second half after suffering a third quarter facial injury. Adams dealt a game-high eight assists.

"We battled hard," Steve Adams said. "It was a good battle between two good teams."

It took 37 years for a night like this to happen. Who knows when it will again? Hill has averaged 24.8 points per game throughout his high school career, a pretty ridiculous total.

Maybe one of those fans who greeted Hill afterward someday will make a run at his record. They certainly are eager to try.

"There’s been times after a game where some kids want to take a picture but nothing like this," Hill said. "To be 17 years old, going on 18 in a couple days, it feels good to be this young and be a role model to them at such an early age."

NEUMANN (70)

Davion Hill 12 9-12 34, Messiah Baldwin 2 2-4 8, Tyrick Moy 0 1-2 1, Joe Savage 3 0-0 7, Kane Wright 2 1-2 6, Corey Agnew 3 0-0 9, Daiton Thompson 2 0-0 5. Totals 24 13-20 70.

WELLSBORO (62)

Conner Adams 1 0-0 3, Peyton McClure 4 2-4 14, Cameron Brought 9 4-5 22, Hayes Campbell 7 1-4 16, Caden Smith 2 0-0 5, Ian Hoose 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 7-13 62.

Neumann 13 15 21 21--70

Wellsboro 16 14 17 15--62

3-pointers: Neumann 9 (Agnew 3, Baldwin 2, Hill, Savage, Wright, Thompson); Wellsboro 7 (McClure 4, Adams, Campbell, Smith).

Records: Neumann 5-2. Wellsboro 4-3.

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