Week 3 Key Games:

Here's the results and HEADLINES from last weekends Top Games in Southwest Ohio

Lima finishing on the Wolverines (C/O Don Speck)

Detroit E. English Prep gets throttled  @ Wayne  -
   
       As Wayne continues on the upward rise nationally, they soundly defeated Northmont Friday 88-64 & a tough English Prep squad from Detroit 97-66. The Warriors had multiple players play well (Landers, Smith, and Caldwell) and showed why they will be ranked in the USA Today Top 20 all season.


Lima Senior defeats  Dunbar  -
 
       Lima Senior star guard  & Michigan signee Xavier Simpson dropped 30 on the Wolverines and Lima Sr (4-0) raced out to defeat the Wolverines 92-82.
Terrence Landers Jr. had his season high of 29 for the Wolverines, who now fall to 4-2.



 Northridge undefeated reign falls @  Meadowdale  -
   
         It looked as if Northridge would survive the Lions after 3,  and continue their undefeated ways.  They held a slim lead headed into 4th... However in the 4th, Meadowdale roared out of the block, dominated the 4th (22-10) and was led by dynamic guard Suber's17 points on a trio of 3-balls as the Lions continued their winning ways 63-53.
Northridge falls to 6-1.

Ponitz grabs key victory over Jefferson   -

       Ponitz grabbed a big victory over Jefferson, as they evened their record to 2-2.
 Prayers go up for head coach  DWayne Hansbro as he recovers from surgery.



Thurgood rallies to get a victory over Stivers
 
       Thurgood snapped a 5 game losing streak as they defeated Stivers 49-42 Friday night.
  Darnell Hoskins Jr, came back to to lead the team with 14.
  Thurgood is currently in Myrtle Beach playing in a prestigious Tourney.
Hawes led Stivers with 18 while Paris Minniefield hit 2 3 balls and Joey Williams Jr. had 9.

 


West Carrollton gets win over Bellbrook
  West Carrollton grabbed their 2nd win of the season over Bellbrook. Bellbrook held a slim lead until the Pirates exploded in the 2nd quarter to grab the lead. They would hold off a feisty Eagles squad in the 2nd half to get the victory.

 

Week 2 Recap: Northridge moves to 5-0; Trotowood, Meadowdale, Dunbar all win

Here's our TOP headlines for week 2 in hoops:

Rams gearing for a State Run this season?

(1)  Northridge defeats undefeated Carlisle, move to 5-0
 
      After a breakout year last season,  one couldn't help but wonder about the expectations of this season for the Polar Bears.
    Last season they got to the Regionals for the 1st time in decades; they defeated some teams who they took losses from for decades; & they set the tone for what would happen this year.
 
     After a 71-60 defeat of Carlisle, it's safe to say the Polar Bears are "In it to win it"  as they move to 5-0.
  They have already defeated the State Champions (Tri-Village)  this season, ending a huge winning streak (32) in the process.

      Leading scorer Averon Ely Jr. led the Bears with 21, while Malik Akbar had 19 & D'Anthony Ivery 17.

  Could the Polar Bears be headed for a State run?
Sure looks that way. Early to say, but a huge statement has been made. And don't be suprised to see Northridge in the State polls next week.



  (2)  Meadowdale takes out Thurgood, Coach Chastain gets his first City League W

    After Meadowdale came out flat against Dunbar in their opening game, Coach Chastain knew one thing:
 He didn't want that to happen again.
 
    After playing Thurgood to a near even 1st quarter, Meadowdale dominated the 2nd quarter 16-4 en route to their first City League win over Thurgood 62-43 @ Meadowdale HS.

 Jarvis Smith (18) and Gary Smith (16) combined for 34 points -
almost as many as Thurgood had itself (43).
 
      Thurgood is still missing it's "Big 3" of  Hoskins Jr. (concussion), Evan Claiborne (transfer), & Derrick Daniels (Grades)  and hopes that Daniels and Hoskins Jr will be back within next week or so.

   Meadowdale moves to 2-1 while Thurgood falls to 1-4.



(3) GWOC Action: 
Trotwood dismantles Piqua; Elks star guard leads them to W's over "The Field & Xenia; Wayne make debut :

    In GWOC action, Trotwood handles Piqua as star guard T.Patten drops 32 on the Indians.....Trotwood also defeated Fairland 79-62 Saturday as well to move to 4-0...

     Centerville (4-0) squeaks by a tough Springfield (1-2) squad 56-55 as former Alter guard Keegan Saben dropped the GW 3pt-play to defeat the Wildcats in Springfield.... Saben hit the GW FT with a ruckus crowd going crazy....
His response to crazy fans?.
After hitting huge FT's last year against Dunbar in  that epic District Finals game, this pressure was,

"Nothing compared to the thousands of fans at that game."....
Keegan dropped 26, while Danny Davis led Wildcats with 16....The Field had a final shot but it didn't drop....
Then the next night they defeated Xenia as Keegan scored 25 against the Bucs. Xenia was 4-0 & coming off a big win but came out slow and was down 21-11 after 1st quarter. The Elks held that lead throughout the game and won another close one.
 
Wayne opens season with thumping of Beavercreek

    The Defending Champs opened its season with a 71-38 thrashing of the Beavers in Beavercreek....UD Flyer signee Trey Landers poured in 27 points and was unstoppable, while rising star L'Christian "Blue" Smith dropped 15 and plenty inside presence for the champs.




(4)  Dunbar rolling, routs Belmont in Versailles
 
      The Wolverines look to be back on their fast, frenetic, dominant style as they cruised to 2 easy wins this weekend.
    Dunbar was led by Junior PG Stormi Cook and star Forward Terrance Landers Jr. as they routed Belmont and Versailles this weekend.

      Landers scored 21 on the Bison and led 4 players in double figures as they cruised to a W 92-55.
   Cook led the Wolverines against Versailles as they jumped out to a 27-13 lead and never looked back, winning 73-54.

      Dunbar is averaging 24 points in the 1st quarter this season while giving up 10. The most points scored in the 1st quarter against the Wolverines?
  Versailles with a whopping 13.





 


 

Top 5 Games for Week 2

Here's the key games for week 2 of high school basketball in the Miami Valley:

Can Jackson lead Wolverines to win at home tonight?

Trotwood   vs  Piqua -
    Can the Rams continue off of great start in defeating Thurgood?



Thurgood   @ Meadowdale
   Can Thurgood overcome the loss of their 3 stars?.or will a hungry Meadowdale team get a big home W?



Wayne   @   Beavercreek
    The State Champs open the season at Beavercreek; will they be ready?



Belmont  @  Dunbar
   Can Belmont pull off a epic upset against the the mighty Wolverines?



Northridge  @ Locking Valley  (Newark, OH)
  Can the Polar Bears continue on their incredible early season success with a key road win?

Dunbar, Franklin, Centerville, C-J, Northridge, Springfield, and Wayne Train remain in State Title Hunt; Dayton teams smack Cincy teams

With so many teams still in the tourney, its no wonder why Dayton is the epicenter for hoops in March. Entering this week, there are 6 teams from Dayton area vying for a spot at state, & there could be as many as 3 teams in the Ohio High School State Championships.
Here's the recap on what went down last weekend:

Dunbar rolls through Cin. McNicholas

Dynamic Backcourt Duo A.J. Harris and Doriane Dawson

Dunbar was much more offensive in this game and AJ Harris and Doriane Dawson led a balanced charge as they defeated Cin McNicholas 69-57. The Wolverines never really seemed in trouble, even with the score under double digits late in the game. Hughes, coming into the game on a hot streak, quite frankly, didn't have enough muscle and only one player who was consistently hitting shots. Assistant Coach Darran Powell felt like the Wolverines were much more offensively in tune, as opposed to the clash with Alter last week.
The Wolverines will take on Col. South (19-6) on Thursday.


Franklin survives with Kennard in foul trouble, defeats Shawnee

Franklin came in with a swagger and a confidence that was brimming from their dismantling of Ponitz last week. But Shawnee provided a valuable lesson to the Wildcats:
Don't sleep on anyone this late in the tourney.

  Shawnee went toe to toe with Kennard and Franklin, grabbing the lead early in the second quarter, and seemingly having momentum. Then the Kennard Show began, and Franklin grabbed the lead back - a lead they would expand to 10 until late in the third, when Kennard picked up his 4th foul.
The entire city of Franklin took a gasp. Could Shawnee take advantage?
No
Senior Forward Austin Doliboa kept the ship steady with a couple of big buckets and Franklin was able to play even with Shawnee for half of the fourth quarter, which was enough time to get Kennard back in the game.
Shawnee got it to 5, but Franklin hit free throws, executed late and will move on to its first Regional in decades winning 62-55.
They will face Bellfontaine (16-9) Thursday night (8pm)


The Wayne Train continues to roll

This season at Wayne has to rank among the best in their sports history, as the Warriors throttled Cin. Milford 63-39. The Warriors had a balanced attack, and have been downright scary in the tourney, winning by a average of 50+ points. The Warriors will be tested in the Regionals, as they face one of the only teams to defeat them - Centerville - next. I'm sure the Warriors will be fired up for the matchup, as they look to avenge the late season loss to the Elks.



Northridge magic ride continues, faces C-J in Regionals
  The Polar Bears (21-2) great ride continues as Northridge defeated Cin Roger Bacon 74-61.  Before the game, there were still some skeptics, as the Polar Bears have reached heights that haven't been attained in decades. When they defeated Stivers last week, it was, "Oh but they will lose to Cincy Schools"
Not so fast my peeps.
Northridge controlled the game, and showed its next opponent (C-J)  that, if you underestimate, you will lose.
Speaking of C-J, the Eagles continued its late season surge with a 61-56 victory over Cin Hills Christian Academy; And now will face Northridge at Trent Arena (Wed) for a chance at another Regional Final.

The "Field" back in the Regionals
Springfield (19-7) is back in the Regionals after a strong showing at UD Arena with a 54-41 thumping of Cin. LaSalle. Danny Davis led the Wildcats and after a average regular season, they haved turned up in the last month or so, and the results are a Regional berth. This, along with a rejuvenated football program, could start a sports rebirth in the "Field" which has been on the downslope in recent years. Up Next: Cin Moeller (18-8)


Dayton Teams punish Cincy schools this year.

Every year the talk of the Districts is: Who wins the battle? In the more recent years, it has been back and forth, but this year? Dayton area schools dominated the matchups, winning all of them.
There is only one Cincy team left in D-1 or D-2 (Moeller) and  2 teams left in D-3 (Purcell Marian & Schroeder).

Heres the final results from the matchups of  Dayton vs Cincy  2015


Dunbar            defeats   McNicholas
Wayne             defeats   Milford
Centerville      defeats   Elder
Northridge      defeats   Roger Bacon
C-J                  defeats   Hills Christian Academy
Springfield     defeats    LaSalle


Noted:
Bellfontaine  defeated Taft
Moeller          defeated  Wilmington

So while every year is different, but for this season?
Dayton won this round of HS hoops

Wayne smashes Tecumseh by 50; Dunbar squeaks out win vs Alter; Stivers, Ponitz, Xenia fall; Luke Kennard shows why he's going to Duke

With the Hoop Tourney sectionals pitting the best against the best in the city, its usually one of the biggest and most hyped times in the Dayton area. Last weekend was no different as we recap the biggest storylines and games this weekend - and how they played out.

Dunbar defeats Alter in final seconds

 

 In the game of the day, a rivalry that is as big as it gets in the Miami Valley, the game was equally as close as no team was able to muster a double digit lead the entire game. Dunbar held a lead - albeit slight - for most of the game, but could not deliver a knock out punch, which kept the game tight - and low scoring - which fell right into the Knights hands.
After Dunbar held a 4-point lead with 2 minutes to go, they seemingly were rattled, missing 3 one and ones and a 2-shot free throw to keep Alter afloat. After a made basket to tie the game with 35 seconds, Coach Pullen called timeout to call the final play.
After running the time down, A.J. Harris kicked it to Dorianne Dawson who slid by a defender, drove baseline, and shot a double pump 10-footer that banked cleanly off the glass and swished into the basket, with little time left.
Alter actually had 1.5 left on the clock, and got a Christian Laettner like look, but the shot was short, and a huge sigh of relief and jubilation occurred for the Wolverines, who will battle the Cincy sectional winner this week in the District Finals. After the game the coaching staff knew they had stolen one from Alter.
Coach Pullen was quoted as saying, "Win and advance," which is all that matters.
March Madness is upon us, no doubt.

Wayne smacks Tecumseh
The Warriors had no problem taking out the Indians as they won by almost 50, dispelling any rumors about a upset. The Warriors were dominant from the start and UD signee Xeyrius Williams and D'Mitrik Trice led the squad.

Northridge defeats Stivers
The Polar Bears continued to show why there no fluke in defeating Stivers to win the Sectionals. Stivers, who were thought to be the team to beat in the division, were stunned by the Bears D who froze out the Tigers offense in holding them to 38 points total for the game. Northridge will move on to District Final as they enjoy their most successful season yet (20-2).

Kennard, Franklin shows out vs  Ponitz
After three straight years of being eliminated by city league schools, this game would be the tell tale game of Luke Kennard's legacy. Can he beat a City League champion in a game that matters? Last season I watched as Kennard was hounded into a average game against a tough Thurgood team. It was a one-man show and Thurgood was too talented to let that happen.
With a sold out crowd in attendance - a first for a high school game - since LeBron James high school game, this would be the, "Defining moment" of his career.

Luke Kennard drops 42 in Sectional Final

This time Franklin would not get behind as they dropped 5  3-balls in the first quarter (4 by Matt Thompson), and they were off to the races. Ponitz, playing in its first Sectional final ever, seemed a little uneasy in the first, and the Wildcats took full advantage jumping out to a 10-point lead in the first. Every time Ponitz would make a move, Franklin would respond.
And then there was Kennard.
Despite double teamed half of the game, the Duke signee still managed to score 42 - and hit ALL 23 of his free throws.
Ponitz couldn't seem to get away from the deficit, and the 11- point halftime lead grew exponentially after Franklin withstood Ponitz's hot shooting in early 3rd quarter, then got Ponitz in foul trouble, reaching the bonus midway in 3rd, which sent Kennard to the line. All night. He made all the right decisions, never looked rattled, and battled through a super physical game, (being poked in the eye, pushed, shoved, etc.). And he led his troops in the thickest of physical altercations, showing that he will not be punked.

Even ESPN TV analyst and former Centerville Elk Kirk Herbstreit was at the game, tweeting about how incredible the Kennard following is.
Like I said before, the only other High School hooper to EVER sell out UD Arena in our era?
LeBron James.
Next game is Friday Night at UD Arena.
How far can the "Luke Kennard" show go?

March Madness is in full effect here in Dayton.