Hononegah survives East 53-47 in a defensive nail-biter

Hononegah pulled out a close win against the East High School E-Rabs in a rock fight that saw both basketball teams struggling to find their offensive rhythms on Wednesday night, Jan. 28, 2026.

Hononegah saw some success through seniors Oba Fasalojo, who made some tough shots from the mid-range and had success getting to the line, and Caleb Hart, who hit a huge three-pointer at the end of the third which gave the Indians momentum heading into the final quarter.

Hononegah improves to a 19-4 record and are currently 9-2 in the NIC-10 conference heading into a big stretch where they play #1 Guilford in a rescheduled game on Monday.

Hononegah coach Tom Schmidt, speaking on the quality of his offense tonight, said, “Whenever that ball goes through the net you feel like it's pretty.”

He highlighted areas of the game that could use improvement, though, citing how they can improve their spacing, be better in the fundamentals, and be more physically active on the boards.

East point guard Brian Harper had a significant night, scoring 21 out of the team’s 47 on 5 three-pointers.

For Hononegah, Fasalojo scored an imposing 17 points with some magnificent jump shooting. This was an impressive performance for him as he came into the game sick and could be seen hunched over a trash can in pain between minutes.

He took a pretty big hit towards the end of the game on a foul and received a standing ovation as he walked down to the bench and Jay Gilbertson entered to shoot the free-throws.