Month: January 2020

January 31, 2020May 4, 2020 by Rob Ellis

Springboro’s comeback effort falls just short in OT

Springboro sophomore forward Sam Feldman

Springboro, Ohio — Springboro and Franklin met on Tuesday night as the two schools who are not in the same conference play each other every year in what has been a very back and forth matchup. Springboro defeated Franklin 85-54 in last year’s matchup as Will Emrick and the Wildcats looked to get revenge against their cross-town rival.

Mount Vernon Nazarene University commit Will Emrick got Franklin off to a fast start as he drilled a transition three to put Franklin up 3-2. Caden Johnson and Sam Feldman traded buckets, but Zack Minton and Will Emrick could not be stopped from three. The show that the senior duo put on in the first quarter gave Franklin a 16-8 lead after one-quarter of basketball.

Springboro sophomore forward Sam Feldman got the second quarter started off with an and-one. Emrick followed that up with a jumper but Springboro senior guard Willieon Yates matched that with a layup of his own. Caden Johnson started to turn up the intensity as well as hit a tough layup and then a couple plays later hit an and-one to put Franklin up 23-15. Springboro forward Noah Moser hit a jumper but it was erased after Aiden Kinser hit a three to put the Wildcats up 26-17. A Kahleel Trent three would make it just a 26-20 lead for Franklin heading into the locker room at halftime.

Will Emrick came out of the gate firing as he opened up the second half with another three. Then after a pair of layups from Caden Johnson and a nice backdoor pass to Emrick who got an easy layup, the Wildcats were suddenly up by 11. Emrick would hit two more threes before the end of the quarter but Sam Feldman would lead a charge for Springboro that would keep the game close. Feldman scored bucket after bucket as he cut into the deficit but the Panthers still trailed 43-33 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

After Caden Johnson hit a couple of layups early in the 4th, it looked like the Wildcats might just run away with this one. Willieon Yates wouldn’t let that happen though. The senior guard drilled a pair of threes to cut the lead to just 6. Senior forward Noah Moser then hit a three and after that Yates converted on a layup to make it a 4 point game. Landon Palmer’s extremely friendly bounce on a jumper tied the game at 50 apiece with 1:06 to go. Then with 12 seconds left Caden Johnson drove down the lane but was blocked by Palmer. Willieon Yates slowly dribbled up the court before Springboro burned a timeout. The final play of regulation was a hail mary from Kahleel Trent that fell just short as the Panthers and Wildcats were heading to overtime.

The overtime period felt like an extension of the first half as Zack Minton, Caden Johnson, and Will Emrick went on a 7-0 run to begin overtime. A deep three from Noah Moser cut it to a 57-53 game. Moser then hit another three to make it a 2 point game with just under 30 seconds remaining. Then on the inbounds pass it appeared Kahleel Trent got mostly ball on his steal attempt but the referees called a reach-in-foul which sent Zack Minton to the line. Minton would convert at the line which put the game on ice. To seal the deal, Moser lost his handle on the ball while dribbling up the court and Franklin held on to stun Springboro in overtime 62-56.

Caden Johnson, Will Emrick, and Zack Minton combined for 52 points (22, 20, 10) as Franklin rolled over their rival. Springboro was led by Sam Feldman who had 22 points. 14 of those coming from the paint while the other 8 came from the free-throw line. Noah Moser had 15 points including 3 three’s and Willieon Yates had 12.

Franklin has three upcoming SWBL road games as they play Valley View, Eaton and Brookville. Springboro will look to bounce back against a struggling Northmont team who they lost to earlier in the season.

January 25, 2020May 4, 2020 by Rob Ellis

Cedarville commit Grant Whisman drops 37

Milton-Union senior guard Nathan Brumbaugh

Milton-Union freshman guard Blake Brumbaugh

West Milton, Ohio — The 10-3 #4 Milton-Union Bulldogs hosted Cedarville University commit Grant Whisman and the 13-2 #5 Middletown Madison Mohawks. Milton was looking for a chance to claim the top spot in the SWBL Buckeye division with a win in this game and Madison was looking to continue their dominant season and beat the Bulldogs to gain first place in the SWBL.

Milton-Union got off to a 4-0 start but Grant Whisman responded nailing a three in the face of the defender. Whisman continued to play well as he hit a jumper and then hit a corner three to put Madison up 10-4. Jake Edwards got a pair of layups and suddenly Madison was up 16-4. Senior Nathan Brumbaugh was not ready for Milton to be out of it already as he drilled a corner three. The score at the end of the 1st was 16-7, all Mohawks early.

Freshman Blake Brumbaugh got the second quarter started off with a jumper and then Nathan Brumbaugh got a steal and score to cut the deficit to 5. Whisman electrified the small but present Madison student section with a dunk and then extended the lead to 21-11 with another contested three. Brandon Lavy hit a corner three for Milton-Union, and that would be your halftime score as Middletown Madison led Milton-Union 21-14 after one half of basketball.

Whisman began the second half with a bang as slammed home a dunk to put Madison up 9. The Bulldogs responded though, Blake Brumbaugh hit a mid-range jumper and gave a nice inside pass to Nathan Brumbaugh to cut the Mohawk lead to 7. Right when it looked like Milton had a chance to tie the game, Whisman hit a corner three to extend the lead back to 6. Nathan Brumbaugh responded with a contested three of his own. A pair of layups including an and-one from Whisman made it a 9 point game again. Milton-Union junior Justin Randall got an and-one of his own to put the Bulldogs back in the game. The freshman Blake Brumbaugh then went to work and got an and-one as Milton-Union cut the deficit back down to 5 points at the end of the quarter as Madison led 40-35 heading into the 4th.

Nathan Brumbaugh started off the final quarter with a three from NBA range to cut it to a 3 point game. Whisman and the Brumbaugh duo traded buckets down the stretch until with around 1:30 to play, senior Tristan Sipple drilled a dagger to put Madison up 8. Whisman finished off whatever the Bulldogs had left in their tank with a transition layup. Milton-Union was defeated 59-45 by Middletown Madison. The score doesn’t show what kind of game and fight the Bulldogs put up as they competed with a top D-III opponent.

Grant Whisman led Madison with 37 points and 9 rebounds as he powered the Mohawks in the win. Jake Edwards also finished with 9 points for Madison. Milton-Union was led by Nathan Brumbaugh who had 20 points as he went 8/13 from the field. Freshman Blake Brumbaugh had 8 points, which is below his 15 points that the freshman guard usually averages.

Middletown Madison has out of conference games against Bethel and Middletown Christian next week and Milton-Union has games against SWBL foe Brookville and CCC opponent Tri-County North. Both of those games will be good tests for Madison.

January 20, 2020May 4, 2020 by Rob Ellis

Frankie Collins goes off to beat Centerville

Kettering, Ohio — The end of the day on Sunday was met with a matchup between #3 Centerville and AZ Compass. AZ Compass was loaded with talent as their squad featured five-star forward Sadraque Nganga and four-star Frankie Collins. Gabe Cupps looked to put on a show for the remaining crowd as college scouts were still very prominent in the reserved section seating.

Centerville started off the game hot as Kebba Njie got a layup and Gabe Cupps nailed a deep three to put Centerville up 5-0. Sincere Parker got a pair of buckets and Frankie Collins got a putback layup to put AZ Compass up 7-5. Tom House hit a pair of threes and Jayson Hayes hit a three as well. Ty Ty Washington hit a jumper and Frankie Collins had a monster dunk after a euro step to tie the game at 14-14. Some Centerville free-throws put the Elks up 16-14 at the end of the 1st quarter.

Jabari Walker and Sadraque Nganga both started to heat up to start the second as Walker hit a jumper and Nganga hit a three to put the Dragons up 19-18. Kebba Njie added on another layup and Nganga slammed home a dunk to keep AZ Compass up 23-20. Kebba Njie played some good interior defense but Ty Ty Washington kept AZ Compass in the lead with an and-one to put them up 28-22. Then Frankie Collins got another dunk to put them up 30-22. On the very next play, Ty Ty Washington got a steal and threw it ahead to Collins who dunked it with authority as the crowd went wild. AZ Compass led at halftime 34-24.

Sincere Parker hit a three to open up the second half. Frankie Collins made a nice behind-the-back move before finding Maxwell Lewis who dumped it off to Seryee Lewis who then slammed it home to put AZ Compass up 39-24. Sincere Parker then hit a heavily contested three and Gabe Cupps started to lead a Centerville comeback as he nailed a three. Ty Ty Washington quieted the comeback effort with a three of his own. AZ Compass led at the end of the 3rd 50-32.

Cupps and Collins traded buckets in the fourth but Centerville could never get a run started to make it back into the game. Frankie Collins got a steal and threw it ahead to Isaiah Floyd who dunked it home to expand AZ Compass’ lead to 54-39. AZ Compass won by a final score of 57-41.

Sincere Parker finished with 11 for AZ Compass, Frankie Collins, Seryee Lewis, and Ty Ty Washington all had 8 points. Gabe Cupps led the Elks with 14 points as big man Mo Njie was injured and did not play the rest of the second half after suffering a foot injury in the first half.

Centerville will need to bounce back quickly as they have a matchup at Fairfield on Tuesday as the Elks look to find some new momentum heading into the final stretch of their season.

January 19, 2020May 4, 2020 by Rob Ellis

Lutheran East dominates Alter at FTTH

Lutheran East junior forward Jalin Billingsley

Kettering, Ohio — The first Dayton team to play at Flyin’ to the Hoop was the Alter Knights of the GCL Co-Ed. Alter followed a blowout game between Woodward and Walnut Ridge. Walnut Ridge, a city league team from Columbus destroyed Paul McMillan and Cincinnati Woodward as UD head coach Anthony Grant watched from the stands. Grant stayed for the Alter game as well, Dayton has offered Lutheran East three-star Jalin Billingsley.

The first quarter was very back and forth as both teams shot the ball very well. B.J. Busbee and Jack Smith went at it as both players made shot after shot. Smith’s work on the offensive glass also paid off but Lutheran East still led after the first, 16-12.

Both teams continued to trade buckets in the second quarter but then the Falcons began to pull away. Jalen Knott nailed a three-ball that put Lutheran East up 9. Alter called a timeout and tried to start a run of their own as Uhl got a layup but then Knott hit another three and suddenly Luthern East was up 10. Alter senior Brady Uhl added another layup but a Jalin Billingsley dunk was all Alter could remember heading into the locker room down 10 at halftime.

Jack Smith continued to hit threes but the relentless scoring of B.J. Busbee and Sirr Hughes made it almost impossible for Alter to mount any type of comeback. Brady Uhl played well in the third quarter as he kept Alter in the game with layup after layup. Alter cut the deficit to 8 but Jalin Billingsley hit a big three that put the Falcons up 11. After some free-throws and Jalen Knott steal and score, Lutheran East led 52-34 which was the biggest lead of the game. Knott extended that lead with an and-one that put the Falcons up by 20 points. He would convert on the free-throw and after a wide-open three missed by Brady Uhl at the buzzer, Lutheran East led 55-34 heading into the final quarter.

The fourth quarter felt like Jack Smith versus Lutheran East as Smith seemed to be the only player scoring for the Knights and whatever he did it was quickly matched by either Jalen Knott or Jalin Billingsley as that duo for Lutheran East proved to be deadly for Alter in the second half. Conor Stolly hit a three in the fourth and Jack Smith hit yet another three making it his fifth of the day. In the end, it was just too little too late as Lutheran East ran over Alter 72-52 in blowout fashion.

Jack Smith finished with 21 points for the Knights in one of the best games of his career and Uhl added on 14 points as well. In end it wasn’t enough as Jalin Billingsley’s 20 points, B.J. Busbee’s 18 points, and Jalen Knott’s 15 points were too much for the Knights to handle.

Alter will need to bounce back quickly as they have a major GCL Co-Ed showdown versus McNicholas on Friday and the Knights will be well prepared for that matchup as they have another week to get ready for one of the top games of the season in the GCL Co-Ed.

January 16, 2020May 4, 2020 by Rob Ellis

Darren Rubin leads the way in a big league win

Oakwood, OH — Our next stop was at “The Pit” in Oakwood to watch Denison University commit and one of the best players in the Dayton area, Darren Rubin. Rubin is a guard that possesses talent that is hard to come by. Not only is he an elite shooter and scorer but he is a team player and is extremely unselfish. He not only sets himself up but also helps his teammates get open shots and points as well. Rubin got the scoring started for Oakwood as he nailed a deep three and then he dished a beautiful pass inside to freshman Will Maxwell who has established himself as one of the top freshmen in the Dayton area. Senior guard Daniel Hu made the Valley View defender miss with a nice spin move which got him to the bucket and led to a layup. Rubin extended the lead even more with a ridiculously long three-pointer to put the Lumberjacks up 13-5, which would also be the score at the end of the 1st quarter. Valley View junior guard Max Kozarec nailed a deep three as the Spartans tried to claw their way back into the game. The duo of Maxwell and Rubin struck again though, as they both finished transitions layups. Maxwell’s layup also resulted in a foul so he went to the line for the one more. Oakwood was now leading 20-8. Rubin then dished out a beautiful pass to Maxwell who drilled the open three to extend the lead even more. Maxwell then handed the ball off to Rubin who took a dribble and hit the three from NBA range to put the Lumberjacks up 26-8. This massive run from Oakwood would end up deciding the game. The Spartans weren’t done just quite yet though as junior J.T. Ferguson hit a nice jumper. Daniel Hu hit a jumper and then some role players for Oakwood tacked on some points as well. Hu got another layup which put the ‘Jacks up 35-10. After another Daniel Hu three, Oakwood went into halftime up 42-14. Valley View tried to make a comeback, but Rubin’s relentless defensive pressure and the number of turnovers that Valley View had kept them out of the game. Rubin nailed a near half-court shot to end the third quarter as Oakwood now led 56-29. Darren Rubin got the 4th quarter started out with a three but was then sat for the rest of the game due to the score. Oakwood ended up winning by a final score of 70-43 as Rubin finished with 22 points. Freshman Will Maxwell had 13 points and senior Daniel Hu had 14 points. Valley View was led by J.T. Ferguson with 12 and no other Spartan player had double digits scoring. Overall a pretty rough night for Valley View as they fall to 7-4 on the season and Oakwood improves to 8-5.

January 13, 2020May 4, 2020 by Rob Ellis

Gabe Cupps goes off for 22 in Centerville’s big win

Springfield, OH — Freshman phenom Gabe Cupps has been hyped up a lot this season but has yet to have a true breakout game. This all changed on Saturday night when Cupps dropped 22 points to lead the Elks over #1 Springfield in a hostile environment. Junior guard Josh Tolliver got the scoring started for Springfield with a three. Cupps got the Elks on the board with a pair of contested layups. Toledo football commit Larry Stephens tied the game up with a deep three-pointer. Jalan Minney came off the bench and hit a jumper to give Springfield back the lead. Centerville’s Tom House’s only points of the game came when he hit a three to cut the lead to 11-9. Sophomore Kebba Njie hit a jumper at the buzzer to give Centerville a 13-11 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. Centerville big man Mo Njie tied the game with a dunk that went. Jalan Minney kept his strong shooting performance going as he made a jumper to put Springfield up 15-13. Both teams traded buckets the rest of the half, but Centerville led at halftime 26-24. Centerville senior Mo Njie got the second half started with a dunk and Centerville continued the momentum. Mo Njie controlled the paint and his younger brother Kebba Njie added on a bucket as well. A Gabe Cupps three gave the Elks a 34-26 lead. The score heading into the 4th was 36-29 in advantage of the Elks. Gabe Cupps added on another three-ball to get the fourth started as Centerville was up 39-30. After some defensive stops, Springfield cut the deficit to just 4 but big Mo Njie got a monster slam to put Centerville back up by 6. After that, Centerville ran away with this game as Cupps got an and-one and stomped his feet in celebration as he was hyped after the bucket. He then got another and-one and again stomped his feet in celebration as his teammates also went crazy for the freshman’s great plays. Kebba Njie added on another dunk and that was all she wrote as the Centerville Elks knocked off #1 Springfield in a hostile environment on the road and shocked a packed house. Gabe Cupps finally had his breakout game he’s been waiting for and he will look to improve off of that performance next time on the court. Cupps finished with a game high 22 points and Mo Njie had 14. For Springfield, Josh Tolliver had 9 points and Toledo football commit Larry Stephens had 7.

January 11, 2020April 14, 2020 by Rob Ellis

Butler stuns Tipp at the buzzer

Vandalia, OH — The rivalry has been restored. Tippecanoe and Butler met for the first time this season. Tipp came off of a massive win over Sidney on Tuesday and looked to continue that momentum with snapping a multi-year long losing streak with their rivals from the south in Butler. Quincy Rackley got the game started off with a layup to put Butler on top early. Tippecanoe also turned the ball over on four straight possessions to start the game which Butler had trouble taking advantage of. The Aviators also had a slow start. Tipp’s Ben Knostman drove past the Aviator defense to cash in on an easy layup to make it a 4-2 game. This slow start from both teams led to a very low scoring affair. Tipp star Nolan Mader was also playing in just his second game back from a shin injury that has made him miss the whole season up to this past Tuesday where he made his senior debut vs Sidney. Butler senior Tyler Montague’s three-pointer gave Butler a 7-2 lead but a pair of buckets from Mader made it just a 7-6 game at the end of the 1st quarter. Ben Knostman got an and-one to start the second quarter but the 90% foul shooter missed the free throw to tie the game. Nolan Mader gave Tipp back the lead on a tough layup but appeared to hurt his hand on the shot as he was visibly shaking it later in the game. A deep three from sophomore Gavin Garlitz gave Tipp a 13-9 lead. Then, Butler senior Cooper Justice caught fire. He went coast to coast and made a layup plus some contact which he was awarded a foul call on. Then Justice nailed a three-pointer which gave Butler a 17-13 lead. Heading into halftime, the Aviators led 17-13. Gavin Garlitz got the second half started off with a deep three. Zach Frederick made some nice defensive plays. One of his two blocks on back to back possessions was corraled by Ben Knostman who went coast to coast before handing it off to Cole Coppock who in return gave it back to Knostman for the easy layup and the lead. Butler junior Quinton Hall started to catch fire in the second half as well. He nailed a contested corner three and then made a nice up and under layup off of the pass from Cooper Justice to give Butler a 22-19 lead. Butler led at the end of the third 24-21. Tyler Montague’s running floater gave Butler a 33-30 lead in the fourth, but Tippecanoe sophomore Gavin Garlitz tied the game up with a massive three to tie it a 33 apiece. Quincy Rackley missed a three but got his own rebound and made a putback to give Butler the lead. Then, Nick Robbins’ three was too strong and Ben Knostman’s putback was called for an over the back. Nolan Mader stole the inbound pass and was fouled going up for a layup. He ended up missing both free throws to keep it at a 36-35 Butler lead. Tipp had the ball with 30 seconds left down one. Tyler Montague was pushed over which was called as an illegal screen giving them the ball back. Cooper Justice was quickly fouled which put him at the line shooting two. Both free throws were short and Gavin Garlitz pulled down the rebound. With 15 seconds left, Ben Knostman drove down the lane and kicked it out to Griffin Caldwell who gave it to Nolan Mader. Mader did a dribble move before finding a wide-open Knostman standing in the paint. Knostman was fouled on the layup attempt but his shot went in and out. The 90% free throw shooter made both to give Tipp the one-point advantage with 6 seconds remaining. Then the play of the night for Montague. He drove coast to coast in 6 seconds before throwing up a prayer in Mader’s face which somehow found the bottom of the net. 39-37. Ballgame. Montague finished with 11, Quincy Rackley with 9, Cooper Justice with 8, and Quinton Hall with 7. Tipp was led by Ben Knostman with 12, Gavin Garlitz with 11, and Nolan Mader with 9. Butler will look to keep the tides rolling as they battle Piqua on Tuesday and Tipp will look to rebound versus Stebbins on Tuesday as well.

January 8, 2020April 14, 2020 by Rob Ellis

#4 Stebbins barely hangs on at Troy

Troy, OH — Two top MVL teams in Troy and Stebbins battled it out on Tuesday night. Stebbins came in at #4 in our Divison 1 Power Rankings, while the Trojans are unranked. It was a good start for senior guard Jalen Tolbert as he got an up and under layup to get the scoring started for the Indians. Sophomore guard Jaden Owens responded for Troy with a high-arching floater than tied the game early. Owens then got a friendly roll on his three-pointer as Troy took a 5-2 lead. Junior Jakob Reed and Jalen Tolbert both continued scoring for Stebbins in the first quarter. Shaeden Olden contributed some buckets for Troy and Nate Keller played well in the first quarter as well. Stebbins also saw some quality minutes from their bench but Tre Archie nailed a deep three at the buzzer to cut Stebbins’ lead in half at the end of one, as they led 21-18. The second quarter was very back and forth as both teams traded buckets throughout. Jaden Owens and Jakob Reed both played well in the second quarter as well. It was a narrow 34-33 lead heading into halftime for Stebbins as they looked to regroup before the second half. Stebbins started the second half off right as Jalen Tolbert and Nate Keller both played well. They both got big defensive plays which led to easy baskets on the other end. Jaden Owens wouldn’t let Troy go away as he hit shot after shot to keep the Trojans in the game. Even when Tolbert found himself in foul trouble in the third, Stebbins’ bench depth saved them and made some big plays to keep the Indians on top. Jakob Reed hit a contested layup at the buzzer to add onto Stebbins’ lead as they were up 53-49 going into the 4th. Tre Archie immediately hit a three to make it just a one-point game in the fourth. It was a defensive battle in the fourth quarter, though as both teams played aggressively. The big names for both teams played well and stepped up down the stretch as Tolbert and Reed played big minutes for Stebbins and Owens and Olden had some big buckets for Troy. Tre Archie missed the game-tying shot as Troy was down 63-60 with around a minute to go. Shaeden Olden picked off Jalen Tolbert’s pass on the other end, which led to Tre Archie being fouled by Jakob Reed while going up for a layup. He connected on both shots at the line to make it just a 63-62 game. Then, Jalen Tolbert dribbled up the court and was called for an offensive foul while trying to make a move past a defender. This gave Troy the final shot. Tre Archie drove to the basket, but had the ball stripped and it went out of bounds remaining Troy’s ball. Then with 16.8 seconds to go, Shaeden Olden handed it off to Tre Archie who made a spin move but his floater was too strong. His miss was tipped out by Olden. It was then picked up by Jaden Owens who missed a prayer and Stebbins pulled down the rebound. They missed the front end of the one-and-one but with only one-second remaining Austin Stanaford for Troy had to chuck up a prayer. His prayer fell well short as Stebbins held on and stunned Troy on the road and picked up a massive league win. Stebbins was led by Jakob Reed’s 15 points and Jalen Tolbert’s 14 points. The Trojans were led by Jaden Owens who finished with 22 and Shaeden Olden and Tre Archie who finished with 13 and 12 respectively. Stebbins returns to action on Friday against West Carrollton.

January 6, 2020April 7, 2020 by Rob Ellis

Anderson nails deep buzzer beater for the win

Trotwood-Madison senior guard Sammy Anderson

Thurgood Marshall junior guard Anthony McComb

Trotwood-Madison senior guard Carl Blanton

Thurgood Marshall junior guard Chanze Amerson

Thurgood Marshall sophomore guard Mekhi Elmore

Trotwood, OH — #1 Trotwood-Madison and #2 Thurgood Marshall battled in a rematch of last year’s district final at UD Arena. This game sold out two days before the tip-off as this highly anticipated matchup had the whole city of Dayton wanting to watch. Thurgood Marshall entered this game having not played since before the new year as they fell to Princeton in Coach Q’s Holiday Classic. Trotwood won a hard-fought game against Beavercreek the night before as they only won by 5. Thurgood started off red hot as the Cougars jumped on the board first as Prophet Johnson got an early layup to go. The Cougars continued and went on an 18-5 run that started the game. The run was capped off by an Anthony McComb layup to put Thurgood up huge in the first quarter. Sellers Littles and Carl Blanton both had some big buckets in the first quarter to bring the Rams back. It was the sophomore guard Littles who hit the three to make it an 18-16 game. Carter Mims than got a steal which Littles finished at the other end to tie the game at 18 apiece. Sammy Anderson then hit a three to give Trotwood their first lead of the game. Trotwood led at the end of the first 23-21. Sammy Anderson and Carl Blanton both played very well in the second quarter. Well enough that the Rams led 48-40 at halftime as Thurgood blew another giant lead in a big game. Mekhi Elmore and Anthony McComb both had giant third quarters for Thurgood Marshall as they led them right back into the game and a Chanze Amerson dunk cut the deficit to just 4. Anthony McComb then hit three straight layups to tie the game at 63-63. Carter Mims and Sammy Anderson both hit a pair layups to make it a 6 point Trotwood lead. Anderson stole the inbounds pass to get one of those easy layups. The score heading into the fourth was 73-69, Trotwood-Madison still led. The big three of Anthony McComb, Chanze Amerson, and Mekhi Elmore for Thurgood would not give up down the stretch. Whenever it seemed like Trotwood was ready to put the game away, that trio sparked a run for the Cougars. One of the best plays of the whole night came when Anthony McComb dumped off a pass to Chanze Amerson and Amerson dunked in over the Trotwood defender standing in his way. This ignited the Thurgood crowd and made it just a one-point game. Prophet Johnson then stole the ball from Blanton and laid it in with 1:20 remaining to give the Cougars a 91-90 lead. Chanze Amerson then stole the ball and threw it ahead to Elmore for the easy bucket. This gave Thurgood a 93-90 lead but Sellers Littles hit a deep three from NBA range to tie the game at 93. Prophet Johnson and Chanze Amerson both added layups to Thurgood’s lead as that put them up 97-94. Then Sellers Littles drove past McComb and kicked it out to a wide-open Carl Blanton who drilled the three to tie the game at 97. Thurgood had the ball with 15 seconds remaining, they gave it to Anthony McComb who drove to the hoop and was fouled by Carter Mims who was slammed to the floor and had to leave the game with an injury to his head. McComb missed both free throws and Trotwood pulled down the rebound. Littles threw it ahead to Sammy Anderson but the ball was tipped out of bounds with 0.4 seconds remaining, Then, out of the timeout, Sellers Little made the bounce pass to Sammy Anderson who made the 40-foot buzzer-beater to stun Thurgood Marshall and win the game. Fans rushed the court as the Rams improved to 8-1 on the season in dramatic fashion. This was a great contest by two amazing teams who have a very good chance to meet again in March.

January 5, 2020April 14, 2020 by Rob Ellis

Sidney takes down West Carrollton in an MVL battle

West Carrollton junior guard Stanley Shrivers

West Carrollton junior guard Jye’Ton Howard

Sidney, OH — Two MVL heavyweights went down to the wire as West Carrollton traveled north to battle #3 Sidney in a game that could either give Sidney a 9-0 start and complete control of the MVL Valley or a game that could completely shake up that division and give West Carrollton a chance at a league title. Sidney came out firing right out of the tip as Aigbokhai Kadari won the tip-off uncontested but it was recovered by Sidney’s Trey Werntz who got an easy layup on the other end. West Carrollton junior Stanley Shrivers got his night started off right as he made a three to give the Pirates the early lead and then on West Carrollton’s next possession he got a friendly bounce to give the Pirates a 6-2 lead. Then, West Carrollton led by Shrivers and junior Jye’Ton Howard went on a run that would put them up 19-9. Avante Martin got a putback to make it a 23-16 and West Carrollton star Kalen McKinney’s only action of the first quarter was taking a charge committed by Sidney forward Jaden Swiger. The score at the end of the 1st quarter was 23-16 West Carrollton led. Avante Martin got the scoring started in the second as he got a steal and slam to put Sidney within 5 but then Howard hit a three for the Pirates and McKinney got a layup to extend the lead to 9. Jye’Ton Howard then hit a filthy crossover which sent Devin Taborn flying back and Howard drilled the three. Darren Taborn got a layup on the other end to make it just a 10 point game. Howard then broke Devin Taborn’s ankles with another crossover which sent the West Carrollton side into a frenzy. Sidney slowly crept back into the game as Darren Taborn hit a jumper and Devin Taborn hit a deep three to make it a 33-33 tied game. Lathan Jones gave the Yellow Jackets the lead with a layup and Austin Jones countered that with a layup of his own. Avante Martin gave Sidney a lead and it was back and forth heading into the fourth. Taborn started to take over in the late third quarter as he made a layup and his missed jumper was tipped in accidentally by a West Carrollton player to give Sidney a 45-41 lead. Avante Martin and Jaden Swiger both made layups to extend the lead to 49-41. Then double technicals were assessed to Stanley Shrivers and Camden Vordemark as both players got tangled up but it was warranted of a technical foul. Then at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Jaden Swiger got called for an offensive foul which was one of the worst calls I’ve seen all season and Swiger started to talk to the other players on West Carrollton and the Pirates’ Kalen McKinney who had a season-low 4 points started to get near Swiger and the officials gave McKinney a techincal fouling him out of the game. Darren Taborn took over after that hitting shot after shot and pushing the lead out to 62-42. Sidney ended up winning by a final score of 64-48 as the Yellow Jackets improved to 9-0 and take complete control of the MVL Valley. They held West Carrollton star and the MVL leader in points per game to just 4 points and Kalen McKinney struggled offensively. Stanely Shrivers tried to step up in his place and Shrivers had 18 points which was a career-high for him. Jye’Ton Howard had 13 points for West Carrollton as well. Darren Taborn had 17 points and Avante Martin finished with 12 for the Yellow Jackets. Sidney returns to action with a giant MVL game versus the Miami division leader Tippecanoe on Tuesday night at Tipp.

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