Dayton, Ohio — A lot of the top teams in Dayton fell this past week as Centerville, Wayne, and Dunbar all suffered losses on Saturday. There’s also a new number one in division three as Greeneview fell to Greenon. With conference championship races heating up, this should be a big week full of exciting games and matchups.

D1

1)Centerville | 10-3 (5-1, GWOC) |

Centerville had a big test on Saturday afternoon as they hosted St. Vincent-St. Mary’s led by Ohio State Malaki Branham. Branham is one of the best players in the state on one of the best teams in the state and it showed. The Elks battelled hard and almost came away with a victory but eventually fell. This week won’t get any easier as they host Trotwood-Madison on Tuesday and then travel to Springfield Wednesday before hosting Fairmont on Friday to close out their week.

2)Wayne | 11-2 (6-1, GWOC) |

Wayne dropped a tough matchup on Saturday against St. Xavier. GWOC player of the year front-runner Prophet Johnson had 24 points in the loss. Sophomore star Lawrent Rice also tied his career high of 22 points in their blowout win over Beavercreek on Friday. Wayne will have a loaded week with GWOC games against Northmont, Springboro, and Springfield, before hosting Columbus Independence on Saturday.

3)Franklin | 15-1 (9-0, SWBL) |

Franklin is looking very convincing. The Wildcats have won six straight by 20 or more points and haven’t lost since December 11th. Their 13 game win streak has been led by high-intensity defense and a good amount of scoring from their junior duo in Noah Rich and Nate Paarlberg. They’ll take on A.J. Eller and Brookville on Friday and then they’ll host their crosstown rivals in Springboro on Saturday.

4)Miamisburg | 12-5 (5-2, GWOC) |

After Miamisburg had a shot to win the GWOC title with a huge game against Wayne, the Warriors would not be denied and had a late comeback to take away that conference title from the Vikings. Miamisburg then dropped back-to-back games after that falling to Wayne again and then Centerville. They got back in the win column with a win over GCL Co-Ed foe Purcell Marian on Tuesday. They have two GWOC opponents in Norhtmont and Beavercreek before they’ll be tested again. This time by the Alter Knights in a big Saturday night showdown.

5)West Carrollton | 11-3 (11-3, MVL) |

Still without star Allen Lattimore, West Carrollton continues to march on and win games. They took down Sidney on Wednesday behind a 22 point performance from freshman Javen Vaughn. Vaughn has suddenly emerged as a top 2024 player in the area, as he has blossomed in Lattimore’s absence. The 5’8″ guard has scored in double figures in the last three games and looks to continue that this week with their third matchup against Butler in the past month and then a game that should be a pretty good fight against a tough Stebbins team on Wednesday.

D2

1)Trotwood-Madison | 6-1 |

After a somewhat surprising early season loss on the road against Whitehall, Trotwood has responded nicely. The Rams have won five straight including a huge win over Taft and then a big road win at La Salle. Anthony McComb played his best game of the season on Saturday as the Rams were victorious on the road against Shawn McCullough’s Springfield squad. Trotwood will have their biggest game yet with a huge matchup at Centerville on Tuesday. It’s unclear where the Rams will be seeded due to their lack of games played so this game will be crucial for them.

2)Tippecanoe | 15-0 (15-0, MVL) |

Winthrop commit Ben Knostman has played out of his mind this season. Knostman is currently averaging a triple-double and will have a very good opportunity at being the first player in the new era of the MVL to be back-to-back player of the year leading the first back-to-back conference champions. To keep their undefeated season in tact, the Red Devils will have to take down Butler on the road in a huge rivalry matchup. Then they travel to Sidney on Saturday for another big road test. Tipp has also added a road matchup at Mason to end their season on February 13th.

3)Dunbar | 8-1 (7-0, DPS) |

After a long delay, Dunbar finally got their season kicked off in early January. The Wolverines have played a somewhat easy schedule up to his point as the Dayton City League is much weaker this season than last year. They lost on Saturday to Paul McMillan and Woodward. At times this year, Dunbar has seemed to lack a true scorer they can give it to at the end of games. Hopefully Justin O’Neal, Antaune Allen, or Chanze Amerson can fully develop into that role as the Wolverines have a lot of potential and are only getting started on their road to a deep tournament run.

4)Jonathan Alder | 13-0 (6-0, CBC) |

Jonathan Alder has owned the CBC this season as senior Jackson Izzard has played great basketball averaging 18 points per game to lead the 13-0 Pioneers. They will have a huge showdown as they travel to Shawnee on Friday. Shawnee lost 47-35 earlier in the season and if Jonathan Alder can knock them off a second time, they will become the outright CBC champs.

5)Oakwood | 12-3 (6-3, SWBL) |

After starting off the season 3-3, Oakwood has rattled off nine straight wins. The duo of Will Maxwell and Keon Wright has taken over their opponents as Maxwell is averaging 17 points a game and Wright is putting up 15 points a game. Junior Jack Epley has also emerged as a factor on this team as the guard is also averaging 12 points a game. Oakwood will face Antoine Jacobs and Northridge on Friday as Jacobs has been one of the most lethal scorers in the SWBL this season.

D3

1)Springfield Shawnee | 8-2 (4-1, CBC) |

After a two-week hiatus, Shawnee will return to action with a home matchup against London. Then they will have a rematch against the only CBC team to beat them this season as they host Jonathan Alder. Senior Jamon Miller and sophomore Zion Crowe will both need to stepup big against Jonathan Alder in order for the Braves to clinch a share at the CBC title.

2)North Union | 13-2 (7-0, CBC) |

North Union only lost one game last season, and it was the game that ended their season. Preston Crabtree has been just as dominant this season as the senior has led North Union to a perfect 7-0 conference record so far. The next three games should be solid wins for North Union as they’ve already beaten those three teams by 20+ points. They’ll then close out their season with a road game at Marysville and a home matchup versus Elgin.

3)Greeneview | 13-3 (9-2, OHC) |

Greeneview was ranked #1 in last weeks rankings, but after a loss at home to Greenon the Rams have dropped down to #3. Because of that loss, Greeneview drops down to second place in the OHC South standings and their season will be decided with a huge repeat of last year with a late season game against Cedarville. The Rams would be tied for first place with a win and with a loss, their hopes at back-to-back conference titles are over.

4)Preble Shawnee | 16-3 (9-1, SWBL) |

After a close loss to Waynesville, Preble Shawnee’s season was completely flipped around. Freshman Mason Shrout has proven to be one of the best players in the area as he lead the Arrows to an outstanding 12 straight wins. They were upset earlier in the week to Valley View but if Preble Shawnee can win their next three games against Madison, Eaton, and Northridge then they’ll become SWBL champions.

5)Anna | 12-5 (8-2, SCAL) |

Anna has been a very impressive team this season, considering all the talent they graduated. The Rockets have had big wins this season over Minster, Botkins and Fort Loramie. They did fall to West Liberty-Salem last Saturday but won over a young and impressive Miami East squad this past Saturday. Anna is currently tied with Botkins in first place in the SCAL. They have conference games against Russia and Jackson Center remaining and they will need to capitalize on those contests if they want to win another conference championship.

D4

1) Tri-Village | 18-0 (9-0, CCC) |

Tri-Village improved to 18-0 on the season with blowout victories over Emmanuel Christian and Tri-County North. Layne Sarver is playing his best basketball at the right time as the Patriots have a big test Friday against a young and tough Miami East team. That game will likely decide the CCC title as Tri-Village can lockup another conference championship right before the tournament draw. They also face Cameron Harrison and National Trail on Tuesday. Harrison is one of the top players in the CCC and it should be a solid test before the Miami East game on Friday.

2) Cedarville | 13-1 (9-1, OHC) |

Cedarville will have its biggest game of the season on Friday as they battle Greeneview for what will decide the OHC South. Greeneview lost last week to Greenon which put the Indians in first place in the division. This exact same game took place last year, but Colby Cross and Cedarville came up just short so revenge would be so sweet this Friday night with a conference title on the line.

3) Botkins | 15-3 (8-2, SCAL) |

After living on cloud nine for most of the season, Botkins was defeated in back-to-back SCAL games by Fort Loramie and Anna. The pressure of a perfect season mixed with a gauntlet of a schedule is the same thing we saw last year with Versailles. Those losses may not be the worst thing after all though because after losing in double overtime to an Antwerp team that could very well be a final four team this season, the Trojans rebounded nicely with a pair of blowout wins against Houston and Fairlawn.

4) Minster | 14-4 (7-0, MAC) |

Minster put themselves in a very good position to win the MAC title with a big win last week over St. Henry. They also took down Aidan Reichert and Jackson Center in overtime to maintain their solid 14-4 record. Minster is a team with district title potential as great coaching mixed with a talent like Justin Nixon should be a problem for any team come March. The Wildcats will have a big battle at Fort Recovery on Friday, but with a win there they will clinch at least a share of the MAC title. Then if they defeat Coldwater the following Friday, the Wildcats would become MAC champs with a perfect 9-0 conference record.

5) St. Henry | 12-5 (5-1, MAC) |

St. Henry will move back into the top five for just the second time this season. The Redskins had a heartbreaking loss on Friday to Minster which might end their hopes at a MAC title. Minster will still have to get through a very talented Fort Recovery team so all St. Henry can do is win out and hope that the Wildcats have a slipup along the way.