Weekend Recap: Springfield knocks off #1 Wayne; Trotwood drops 121 on Xenia; Dunbar clinches City League;

Here' the Top headlines, Recap of the Weekends Games:

(1) Springfield defeats #1 ranked Warriors 
The Springfield Wildcats feel like they are one of the top teams in the State, and with a 13-0 record from the start? The Cats were on a roll. After 3 losses in 5 games, the Cats were reeling a little bit.
With the Wayne train rolling in, the Cats knew their time was now to make a statement.

And statement they made.

 With all the players back in tow, the Cats were able to knock off the #1 ranked Wayne Warriors in Springfield on Friday night by a score of 55-47.

 Led by Junior Sensation Raheim Moss and senior big Leonard Taylor, the Cats controlled the game and was able to keep the Warriors guards off balance as the Warriors shot (24%) 14-53 on the night. The loss is the first for Wayne (19-1). Darius Quisenberry led the Warriors with 21pts, 10 boards, while Blue Smith provided 14 and 10 as well.

The Cats led from nearly start to finish, and was able to thwart all of #1 State ranked Wayne game-changing runs.
Springfield moves to 16-3 on the season and 9-2 in the divison, sitting 1-game behind Wayne, who currently sits in top spot in GWOC at 10-1.

Could we be looking at a precursor at a Regional Final matchup, where the winner could be headed to a OHSAA State Berth come Mid-March?
Hmmmm.....

(2) Trotwood drops 121 on Xenia, wins 10th in a row
Trotwood continued to drop record numbers on opponents as the Bucs were no match for the Rams vaunted offense, which scored 34 points in the 1st quarter and never looked back. Rams improve to 17-3 and have won 10 straight since the loss to Wayne.

Star Senior Myles Belyeu and Junior Star Amari Davis led the Rams to their 8th 100-point performance of the season, an incredible feat in itself.

(3) Dunbar clinches City League title with big 2nd half over Stivers
The Dunbar Wolverines clinched the Dayton City League Championship with a  convincing 2nd half and runaway victory over the Stivers Tigers.
   Stivers, who held a 7-point lead at half and 3-pt lead in the 4th quarter, couldn't stop Dunbar in the 2nd half and the 24-5 run in the 4th quarter sealed the deal. The Wolverines had balanced scoring with 5 guys in double figures. The Wolverines started slowly, but has been nearly unstoppable of late, winning 15 of last 17 games, and showing they could be a player come march.
City League football signees JoJo Scates (Iowa State) and Tavion Thomas (Cincinnati) led the Wolverines balanced scoring.
Dunbar coach Chuck Taylor and staff has done a great job of prepping the Wolverines through the ups and downs this season.

Salute the Wolverines.

(4) Belmont keeps pace with complete team effort 
The Belmont Bison came off a tough stretch, and was able to keep pace in the City League with a big win over Thurgood Friday night; It was a team effort as the Bison outscored the Cougars in every quarter. Belmont sits at 6-2 in the City League and 12-6 overall.
Can the Bison find their rhythm for the OHSAA tourney?

(5) Miamisburg stops Lebanon, clinches division title, wins 7th straight
The Burg has been on a roll, and after a showdown with Lebanon for the top spot in the divison, it was clear; The Vikings are the GWOC West Champs (6-4) with a 41-29 victory over Lebanon. In a game that was tight at half, the Vikings unleashed a 15-2 run to seal the deal and grab the big victory.  Jason Hubbard (15) led the Vikings in scoring, as Miamisburg have won 7 straight and have great momentum heading into OHSAA Playoffs.
Lebanon falls to 4-6 in the division and 14-6 overall.

(6) Ponitz upends Meadowdale behind Juice Smith, Sealey
The Ponitz Panthers garnered a nice win over rival Meadowdale with a 70-60 win at Ponitz HS.
The Panthers had 5 guys in double figures, led by Senior Eric Sealey and Jaren "Juice" Smith. Sealey led all scorers with 16 while Smith added a great all around performance with 15 pts, 8 dimes, 3 reb, and 3 steals on the night. Meadowdale was led by Jabali Leonard, who had 17 points on the night. The win puts Ponitz in 3rd place (4-5) in the City League, while Meadowdale falls to 2-7 in City League play.



(7) Butler stays at top of division after trouncing Troy as Justice prevails
Butler star G Court Justice  has had a good season so far, and with the game against Troy?
It got even better, as Justice led the Aviators to a 65-29 beatdown of Troy. The win keeps Vandalia in the top spot in the GWOC North (11-2) and 18-2 overall. Butler leads Sidney by 1 game for the race for supremacy.
  Justice dropped 24 on 8-16 shooting with 4-3ptrs on the night.


(8) Franklin regroups, take out Eaton
The Wildcats shook off a tough loss earlier in the week to post a big win over Eaton.
Franklin now sits tied with Bellbrook (9-2) for the SWBL lead, while Middletown Madison sits atop the Buckeye Division (11-1).
  Franklin sits at 16-5 on the season.

City League Recap (Tues): Belmont falls late; Dunbar regains top spot, stops Thurgood; Lattimore leads Stivers;

Here's what went down in the Dayton Public City League last night:

Dunbar Star F Tavion Thomas goes up for 2 against Thurgood 

Dunbar stops Thurgood as Fab Frosh, bigs dominate 
In a series that was marred by a scuffle at the end of the JV game in the last meeting between these two teams, this game was played without the students, who were not allowed to attend due to the situation from last time.

Nevertheless, these two teams always provide a great game and, the Dunbar-Thurgood series could arguably be the Rivalry of the Decade in the Gem City.

So it was no surprise that the game would come down to the final moments as the Wolverines were able to hold off a young Thurgood team 69-61 and reclaim the top spot in the Dayton City League with only a couple weeks left in the regular season.

The Cougars would get the game to a 2 & 3- point deficit in the final minutes, but timely passing, good execution late by the Wolverines and key FTs by Allen sealed the deal.

 The Wolverines were led by senior bigs Tavion Thomas (17 pts), JoJo Scates (11 pts, 7 dimes, 4 stls), big fundamental and star junior Johnathan Allen (14 pts, 7 reb, 5 blks) and Fab Frosh DaShaun Huffman - a 6'3 combo G-F - who had a breakout performance (14 pts, 6-7 FGs) and could be headed for a more prominent role with the injury to Jamar Walker and suspension of Dylan Craver.

Dunbar now sits at 8-1 on the season and with 2 more games left, sit in the driver seat for another City League Championship.
Major shoutout to the staff as they have maintained consistency over the last month despite all the turmoil that has ensued.



Bailey leads Ponitz to upset over Belmont 
Ponitz big man Damonte Bailey lead the Ponitz Panthers to a big win over the top-seeded Belmont Bison in a 3-point win at Ponitz HS.

 Bailey who earlier in the season had a string of eight consecutive double-figure games,  was able to get back on track and scored 17 pts with 9 boards and 3 steals in the big win. He was one of three scores in double figures for the Panthers who have been playing well in the last 10 games. Eric Sealy Jr. (10) & Derrick Henderson (11) also supplied solid offensive outings.

Bison fall to Ponitz; Can they get back to top spot?

Belmont had an opportunity to win but couldn't take advantage of a couple late baskets. Combine that with solid free throw shooting and big shots to notch the upset win.

Panthers Head Coach Steve Pittman knows that his team has been playing better and seems geared up for a possible run in a tournament but on this night? They were able to stop the Bisons great run this season, which now puts Belmont at one game behind Dunbar for the City League Championship.

Belmont Head Coach Art Winston was pleased with the effort, and knows his team still has a legit shot at the City League title.

Young studs takes out Meadowdale as Stivers gets back on winning track

Fabulous freshman Allen Lattimore has had a good season by all standards, but he continues to get better each and every week and with that being said Lattimore was able to lead the Tigers over Meadowdale & their player of the year Candidate in Jabali Leonard and defeat the Meadowdale Lions 67-53 halting a losing streak in the City League.

Lattimore has been very consistent this season, and with his play along with Trevon Ellis, the Tigers were able to jump out in the third quarter and seize control of the game. Lions Star G Leonard did his thing (20 pts, 11 reb) but it was not enough as the Tigers had two guys with 20 points, and Ellis almost with the triple double himself (9 pts, 7 reb, 8 dimes).


Season Standings 
                    Conf.   Overall 
Dunbar     (8-1)      (13-4) 
Belmont   (5-2)      (11-5) 
Thurgood  (4-5)    (7-12) 
Ponitz       (3-5)     (7-11)
Stivers      (2-5)     (9-10)
Meadowdale  (2-6)  (6-11)