Springfield, Ohio — Shawnee started off 4-0 last year for the first time since 2014, and the Braves had a chance to do just that again this year. R.J. Griffin would drop a career high 28 points as he went 12/16 from the field in a dominant 65-36 win for Shawnee.
Following the Braves’ first district title in over forty-four years, the departures of Jamon Miller and Drew Mitch were expected to hurt Shawnee’s production on offense. But the duo of Zion Crowe and R.J. Griffin picked up right where Mitch and Miller left off. Both came into Saturday night averaging double figures.
Shawnee junior Zion Crowe
Jaden Journell has been the go-to guy for Greenon for the past couple of seasons and it will be no different this year. The senior has scored in double figures in five all the Knights’ games so far this after. Coming off of a junior year where Journell averaged 14 PPG and was named all-OHC first team, the senior seems to be hungry for more in 2022.
Greenon senior Jaden Journell
Shawnee got off to a 7-0 start as Zion Crowe went to work in the paint for a pair of baskets and then Crowe kicked it out to Cooper Bair for a corner three. Bair then hit his second three and made an assist to R.J. Griffin a couple plays later as the Braves jumped out to the early 12-2 lead.
Clayton Minteer hit a three for Greenon but Griffin and Patrick Fultz countered it with threes of their own. An R.J. Griffin extended Shawnee’s lead to 20-5 and forced Greenon to call their second timeout of the quarter. Shawnee led 24-5 at the end of the first quarter.
Shawnee junior R.J. Griffin
Griffin continued to work in the second quarter as he found success driving to the basket. Jaden Journell was the main focus on offense for Greenon as he used his size to get in the paint. A late three from Wright State baseball commit Patrick Fultz gave Shawnee a 40-21 lead at the half.
Shawnee came out hot in the second half as the Braves extended their lead to twenty-five following a pair of layups from Griffin. R.J. Griffin then showed off his range as he hit a three from the win to put Shawnee up 53-26. A pair of baskets from Clay Hough cut Greenon’s deficit to 53-30 at the conclusion of the third quarter.
Zion Crowe picked up an and-one to begin the fourth quarter. Then a three from Zane Mercer suddenly put the Braves up by twenty-eight as this game began to get away from the Knights. Crowe continued to play well down the stretch as he hit a transition three and drove coast to coast for the easy layup. The Braves would eventually roll to the 65-36 victory as they improve to 4-0 on the season.
Shawnee junior Zion Crowe
Jaden Journell was the only Greenon player to reach double figures as he had 11 points in the loss. Greenon drops to 3-3 (1-2, OHC) after tonight’s loss. The Knights only have one game next week as they’ll face Southeastern on the road and they’ll attempt to move their OHC record to .500.
Springfield Shawnee junior R.J. Griffin had a career high of 28 points as he went 12/16 from the field in an extremally efficient performance. Fellow junior Zion Crowe had 13 points as he played a solid all-around game. The Braves will face their third CBC opponent of the year when they travel to London on Friday. They then face Botkins at Centerville on Sunday afternoon as they’ll be competing in the Elk Elite Showcase.
Shawnee junior R.J. Griffin