HERMITAGE, Pa. (WKBN) – Last year, Hickory made a deep run in the district tournament by knocking off higher-seed Slippery Rock and the top seed Sharon on their way to the district final.
“Our goal will be to win our very strong region and make a run in the District 10 playoffs,” says coach Chris Mele.
The Hornets are looking to replace seven key contributors from last year’s district finalist team.
Hickory returns a pair of senior guards in Marco Miller and Matt Huff along with two junior forwards in Trevor Borowitz and Noah Kovac.
There’s plenty of talented underclassmen on the roster who could make a splash this season in juniors Ashton Boal, Chris Mele, Ryan Distler, Lucci Brown, Sean Cummings as well as sophomore Jayden Phillips and freshmen Dante Evans, Landon Slevin and Kyler Slevin.
Mele adds, “Our team plays unselfishly and we should be relatively deep in our rotations which should help us improve over the season.”
The season tips off on Tuesday, December 3 against Erie Prep Academy.
Hickory Hornets
Fast Facts
Head Coach: Chris Mele, 8th season
Assistant Coaches: Marco Miller, Gary Swanson, Justin Townsend
2023-24 Record: 17-9 (6-4), 3rd place in Region 5
2023-24 Post-Season Finish: Lost in District 10 Class 4A Finals to Warren (71-52); Lost in PIAA First Round to Hampton (63-43)
Team Stats
Scoring Offense: 59.1
Scoring Defense: 48.7
2024-25 Schedule
Dec. 3 – Erie Prep Academy
Dec. 7 – vs. Beaver Falls (at New Castle)
Dec. 10 – Iroquois
Dec. 13 – at Hubbard
Dec. 17 – at Meadville
Dec. 20 – Erie
Dec. 27 – Sally Ward Holiday Classic
Dec. 28 – Sally Ward Holiday Classic
Jan. 4 – Fitch
Jan. 6 – East
Jan. 11 – at Ron Galbreath Classic
Jan. 14 – at Mercer
Jan. 17 – Farrell
Jan. 21 – at Sharon
Jan. 24 – at Slippery Rock
Jan. 28 – Grove City
Jan. 31 – Mercer
Feb. 4 – at Farrell
Feb. 7 – Sharon
Feb. 11 – Slippery Rock
Feb. 14 – at Grove City
