Moeller High School 2008-09 Basketball Articles

C8 SUNDAY, APRIL d• 2009

THE ENQUIRER

BoYS' BAS ~THALL .ALL- TARS . -SELECTED BY REPORTER MIKE DYER ON RECOMMENDATIONS FROM AREA COACHES ·

DIVISION I FIRST TEAM. Bobby Capobianco, loveland · The Indiana signee averaged 17.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1. 6 blocks for the Tigers. He was first-team all-dis~ trict and special mention.all-state.

Congratulations~

winter standouts!

DIVII U-IV FIRST TEAM

The Enquirer today honors the area's top athletes in basketball, wrestling, swimming and diving, gymnastics, bowling and ice hockey.

The tribute begins here and continues through page C12. · Need more copies? Log on to Cincinnati.Com for downloadable and. printable PDFs. Search: high school- sports l .

. Quinten Rollins, Wilmington The junior guard was Division II firSt-team all-district. He averaged 14.7 points and 5.0 rebounds.

Jordan Berlin, Wilmington The junior guard was Division II second-team all-district. He averaged 14.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists.

Erik Stenger, St. Xavier The senior forward averaged 17.6 points and 7.8 rebounds. He was · . first-team all-district and hE?Iped lead the Bombers to the regional semis.

He was special mention all-state.

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Richard Harris, Taft The senior was the District 16 Division II coaches' player of the year. He was first-team all-district and CMAC player of the year. He averaged 18.3 points, 12.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists. He was speci~l mention allstate.

Bill Edwards, Middletown The senior forward averaged 17.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1. 7 steals for the Middies. He was first-team all-state and all-distriqt

Jordon Crawford, La Salle

DIV. 1 PLAYER OF THE.YEAR

The senior guard was the GCL South player of the year. He was second-team all-state. He has committed to play at Ashland (Ohio).

DanliY McElroy, la.Salle The senior forward was first-team aii-GCL South. He averaged 16 points and six rebounds and was honorable mention ~11-state. He has signed with Bowling Green. ·

Adolphus Washington, Roger Bacon

Orlando Williams, Princeton

The freshman led the Spartans in scoring with 13.8 points per games and in rebounding, at 7.0. He was Division II second-team all-district.

The senior was the Southwest District player of the year and first-team all-state. He has signed with Miami University.

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DIV. I COACH OF THE YEAR Josh Andrews, Princeton

· Sam Hendricks, Indian Hill

He led Princeton to its first state tournament appearance since 1972.

The Vikings were the state runnersup. Andrews was Associated Press Division I coach of the year.

The junior forward was Division II second-team all-district. He averaged 12.9 points; 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks.

DIV. II PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Jess Chadwell, Georgetown

Joriarro fliruur!ls®n, Roger Bacon

The junior forward averaged 26 and three assists: He was DivlsionlVfirst=team all~ district.

lach Brown, Mason The senior averaged 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.2 steals for the Comets. Brown, who liascsigned"with Lipscomb;~was-seC--~ ond-team all-district.

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The junior guard averaged 13.5 points and 3. 7 rebounds for the Spartans. He started 23 games and led the team in total minutes. He was first-team all-district. ·

Jordan Sibert, Princeton The junior guard has orally committed to Ohio State. He was second- · team all-district and honorable men. tion all-state.

Evan Yates, Walnut Hills The senior forward averaged 20.3 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists for the Eagles. He was second-team all-district and honorable mention all- . state.

DIV. II COACH .OF THE YEAR

The senior forward averaged 21.9 points and was a CMAC first-team honoree. He has committed to play at Findlay.

The junior guard was Division IV first-team all-district and all-Miami Valley Conference Sca~let division.·

Brian NeaD, Roger Bacon He led the Spartans to th'e GCL Central division· title -the first time they have won a GCL title sjnce the · 2001-02 season. Roger Bacon (20-4) won its second consecutive sectional title. It was the first time the school had 20 wins since the 2002-03 season.

Khiry Hankins, Summit Country Day The senior guard helped lead the Silver Knights to the Division IV regional final. He was third~team .alldistrict. ·

DIV. HI PLAYER OF THE YEAR Ro~

Jack Smith, Hughes

Ricardo Maxwell, lockland

Tudor, Madeira

He averaged 13.4 points, 4.8 assists, three rebounds and 1.8 steals for the Mustangs. He was the CHL player of the year.

Jalen Billups, Shroder Paideia The sophomore was Division Ill · third-team all-district He was secondteam aii-CMAC. He averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and three' blocks.

DIV. III COACH OF THE YEAR Jim Reynolds, Madeira

Tony Harris, Moeller The senior guard led the Crusaders to the district final. He was first-team aii-GCL South. He averaged 12.5 points, 3.5 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals. ·· ·

He led Madeira to a Division Ill district runner-up finish. The Mustangs went 19-4 overall and 13-1 in the CHL. Madeira was CHL co-champion with Indian Hill.

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Wes Carlson, CHCA The junior forward averaged 17.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and two blocks.

He was Division Ill second-team alldistrict.

DIV. IV PLAYER OF THE YEAR DIV.I HONORABLE MENTION Aiken - Darren Goodson; · : Anderson -John Runk, .' Michael Wilkison; Colerain . Ken Kunkel; Edgewood .·Xavier Fugate, Brian Weber;· ·: Elder- Erich Vogelsang; ·• Glen Este - Curt Wesp; Hamilton - Robert Merz; La Salle - Ryan Reming, Brandon Neel; Lakota East · - Daniel Lyons; Lakota West . -Brandon Candella, Jordan · Hicks, Alex Smith; Loveland - Brian Wo~niak; MasonLuke Sutphin; Middletown Tony Peters, Allen Roberts;

Milford - Zach Baker, Mark Bryant; Moeller- Alex Barlow, Charlie Byers, Tim Stamper, Brian Vonderhaar; Mount Healthy ..: DeSean Flagg; Northwest - Preston Brown; Oak Hills - Alex Rogers; Princeton- StefonJohnson, Marquis Home; St. XavierLuke Massa; Sycamore - Brett Simek; Western Browo- Tyler Morgan, Ethan. Fite; Western Hills - Andre Thomas; Winton Woods - Dominique Brown, · Allen Payne

Jake Davis, Seven Hills ·

DIV. II• IV HONORABLE MENTION

The junior was the Division IV district player of the year and first-team all-state. He averaged 17.4 points and 10.1 rebounds. He was named the MVC Scarlet player of th.e year.

Batavia - Eric Roberts, Zach Heber; Bethel-TateLouie Schaljo; BlanchesterNash Ballinger; Cincinnati Christian - David Mann; Cincinnati Countty Day Spencer Wright; Clark Montessori- Idress Ramsey; CNE -Jake Terry, Justin Messinger; Deer Park- Bryan Barthelmas; East Clinton - Matt McFadden; Felicity- Lenny Hinkston; Finneytown - Brandon Robinson; Georgetown -

DIV.' IV COACH OF THE YEAR Ricll1 Hoyt, · Summit Country·~ay He led Summitto its first regional appearpnce..since 1988. Summit finished with a 14-10 record.

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(Calvin Cahall; Goshen- Nick , \Wake, Cody McClanahan; lndi<lln Hill- Matt Griggs, Ryan !Murphy; Lockland -Jordan · Smith; Madeira- Nate Gulick; l!~ew Richmond- Justin Wilson; N.orwilod -Taylor Wellman; Ross- Alex Cole, Casey Vatter; st. Bernard - Phillip Torbert; Summit Country Day - Brad Evans; Talawanda Josh Claytor, Darryl Wallace; Taylor- Petey Bucalo; .

Williamsburg- Elliot Young

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SPORTS

THE ENQUIRER

SUNDAY, APRIU2, 2009 C7

Xavier: Huge call to make

High school basketball

Ky~

boys, girls sweep

From Page Cl

Ohio stars fall in 18th annual event

By Richard Skinner Enq!(irercontribtetor

CRES1VIIEW

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Ky.- Kentucky Girls' Basketball All-Stars coach Stacy Pen~ dleton decided if he couldn't match the Ohio Girls' AllStars in quality post players, he simply would try to outnumber them.

Pendleton went to using an extra post player and then rotated several different players throughout the fourth quarter as the Kentucky All-Stars rallied from a 12-point deficit to a 91-85 victory Saturday night at Thomas More. College.

The win snapped a two-game Ohio All-Stars winning · streak.

In the boys' game, Kentucky defeated Ohio 100-91.

Among locals playing for the Ohio boys were Middleton forward Bill Edwards, Midclletown guard Allen Roberts, La Salle forward Danny McElroy and Princeton guard Orlando Williams. Boone County forward Steven McFarland of Boone County was the only local on the Kentucky All-Stars.

The Ohio Girls' All-Stars featured 6-foot-2 Ohio State recruit Emilee Harmon of Pickerington <mel 6-2 Stanford recmit Makala Ruff of Beavercreek on the inside and while Harmon tallied 15 points and Rt1ff 12, it was the play ofKentucky's Alex] in the fourth quarter that keyed the rally. Jones, a 6-1 center from Elizabethtown High School who is bound for Eastern Kentucky University, was n'amed Kentucky's Most Valuable Player after tallying 12 of her 18 points in the final . quarter.

'We had six Division I post players; so we just decided to go bigger and use as many of them at the same time as we could," said Pendleton, who is the coach at Louisville DuPont ManuaL 'They really made a big difference on defense against their bigs."

Rules for the game change in the fourth quarter to a coach's decision when to substitute after the first three 10minute quatters are broken down into five-minute incre: melits in which five subs at a time enter the game.

Pendleton said he challenged his team prior to the game to play to win rather than treat it like an exhibition . game.

"I think wG were a little bit

The Enquirer/Amanda Davidson

Tessa Elkins of Lakota West draws a foul against Kourtney Tyra of Jackson County during the Ohio-Kentucky All-Star game at Thomas More. The Kentucky girls won 91-85.

of an underdog and told them to play for Kentucky," he said.

'This is really a special group that' bought into being a team ..

I know it was more fun to win it than it would have been to lose it."

A couple of Northern Kentucky high school products got Kentucky off to an 18-6 lead in the first five minutes as Simon Kenton's Chelsea Tolliver and Conner's Allison Long combined for all 18

points. Both players will attend Thomas More.

'That was awesome for us, because I think we showed we could play well agairist good competition.'' said Talliver, who finished with a game-high 19 points. "I think our whole team took this game as a challenge, because we knew what kind of playei·s Ohio had. We played this game to win it."

Kentuckyextendeditslead

to as much as 23-8 in the first qmuter before Ohio rallied to within 40-39 at halftime. .

Ohio took control in the first five minutes of the third quarter behind Ruff, who scored 10 points to spark a 1910 run that. gave Ohio a 58-50 lead. Ruff was selected as Ohio's MVP. Ohio led 68-58 through three qua1ters and pushed it to 70-58 early in the fourth quarter before Kentucky rallied.

in-house assistant who is unproven as a head coach won't help, at least not until he puts together a couple deep NCAA Tournament runs. · Bobinski, as a member of the NCAA Division I men's basketball committee, is as well-connected as an athletic director can get in college basketball. His networking ability and Xavier's profile suggest Bobinski should be capable of luring an up-andcoming head coach, such as South Carolina's Horn (who · issued a statement denying his interest), Tulsa's Doug Wojcik or Wright State's Brad Brownell. Horn, in particular, would be a noteworthy hire because he would be leaving a destination conference, the Southeastern Conference, for Xavier, which is trying to define it. self as a destination program. If any athletic director could· close that deal, it would be one with an engaging but authoritative person, ality like Bobinski.

ReachingtheFinalFouris the stated goal at Xavier.

Who is better able to deliver it:aprovenheadcoachorthe assistant who knows the systern and the players but has never been in charge?

Bobinski might determine that the ans\ver is Mack. There is evidence to support that case. Tom Izzo was never a head coach before he inherited the Michigan State program and took the Spartans to five_ Final Fours, winning a national titie in 2000.

Mark Few was a 10-year assistant at Gonzaga when he took over for Dan· Manson in 1999. The Bulldog~ have won an average of 26.4 games per season since then.

And Miller himself never had led a program unti(Matta left for Ohio State.

And in fact, Miller's first two regular seasons were a struggle. It wasn't until sea-. son No. 4 thatMillerfeltfully confident alternating among roles as coach, teacher and disciplinarian, depending on what his team's behavior necessitated. · . Itis a risk to hand over a team with so much tlilent to a rookie head coach. It's also a ·risk to hand over the same team to an outsider, as Billy Gillispie demonstrated at Kentucky and Dave Leitao showed at Virginia.

Bobinski has to take one of the risks. His choice, at this moment and' with this roster, could be a legacy-a!. tering decision.

new arena, Cintas Center, that would prove to be a re· cruiting boon.

Eigh,t years later, Bobinski's decision in replacing Sean Miller is markedly different. It is m'ore difficult to call, more controver;;ial and filled with more potential pitfalls - yet balanced by a greater likelihood for tremendous, immediate suecess.

Regardless of who coaches the team next season, whether it is Chris Mack, Darrin Horn or a surprise candidate, the Musketeers . should have a roster that puts them into discussions about the Final Four. Miller might have taken off after a dramatic change of mind, but he left Xavier better than he found it, leaving behind . cornerstones such as Jordan Crawford, Kenny Frease and Derrick Brown.

In fact, Miller and his staff did such a good job winning big games on the comt and recruiting battles off it that in the past two years, XaVier credibly voiced its displeasure with being labeled a "mid-major" by the national media. "lfi had to ask you back to define 'mid-major' for me, how would you define it?"

Miller said in response to a "mid-major" question during the NCAA Tournament.

"We've been in th<' Elite Eight two times in the last five years. When you add the fact that we're alive in ·the S•veet 16 this year, we've now been in the Sweet 16 three times in the last six years. And that, I think, spealcs for itself!'

And that brings us to XU's current coaching search.

What kind of coach does a program such as Xavier which for two straight seasons has been listed nmong the 20 most valuable college basketball programs in the country by F{)rbes Magazine - hire at such a pivotal moment? · Mack is Miller's top assistant and would be stepping into a big, stressful job as a first-time. head coach. But he's the fan favorite, having grown up in Cincinnati, played for XU and coached under two different head coaches with the ivlusketeers. He was also one of the chief architects of the currentrosterandwouldensure its stability through a coaching transition.

But if Xavier is sensitive about its place within college basketball and how it is publicly labeled, then hiring the E-mail ddow@enquirer. com

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·In happy 'state over return<of tourneys :Fine moments, fond memories ·1·· Wyrick's still can see. Beckham foreann slamming irito LeBron : James' chest in 2002.

- !'still can see Mel Thorn: as, leaping for joy in the iinal seconds as Mount Notre . Dame ian a favored Dayton Charrrlnad~Julienneteam

off the court in 2004.

Those ani among many memorable moments I re- . call from cover'ing the past seven state basl(etball touma. ments at Ohio State's :Yalue City . . · 'T' .

Arena. . · .I om ' As the 2009 Groeschen finals approach (girls next w¢ekend, boys i:he foll,gwing week), I thoughtit might be fun to recap somerec~nt Cincinrtati teams' state highlights. _ Most memorable game: Roger Bacon's 71-63 upset of LeBron's Akron St.Ymcent-St. Mary team in the · 2002 Division II state iinal.

That one inade national , headlines. i ~ Best play: Wyrick, the ,rugged Roger Bacon forward, smacked a forearm to James' chest on his first ttip . downcornt: We're. here to play, Bacon alerted the Chosen One. Nicesurprise: Mount Notre Dame, rated No. 9 na- · tionally by, USA Today, .dominated No. 1~rated Dayton Chaminade-Julienne 59Mfor the 2004 girls' Divi: sion I title. FutureUConri star Thomas scored 2~ · .points.. .,.. - ·. .. ,. .1 ..·. , , '·BeSt team(s), boys: Hard top the '05 and '06 champions of North College Hill,·· Di..jjsion ill, led by future NBA players 0 .J. Mayo and BiUWalker.

Best team, girls: Aniong Mount Notre Dame's four state champs, the '04team probably gets then~dfor going unbeaten. and finish- · ing No. lor 2 in national ··polls, 1

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Best teams that didn't win it aii:W'mtonWoods, Divi-

sion I in 2002 (Robert Hite, DeForrest Riley, C.J. Anderson). Moeller, Division lrin 2004 (Josh Duncan, Andrew .

Brackman, Bubba Walther).· ·Moeller's Big Three did win state, however, as juniors' in '03. , Bestiglrts' team that didn't

win: Little Miami, 2006 in Division Il. Ranked No.1 entering the state semifinals, the Panthers admittedly were undone by the tour1H~Y auni at Value City Arena. Still, a tremendous team. · Top weekend: Moeller, :North College Hill and ·Georgetown boys won Divi· .sion I, ill '<llld IV titles, re-c ' ,spectivelY, in '07.

- Most .controversial. game: ', MND's 69-67 win over Laka:, ta West in the '07 girls D-I :finals. Did 1Kathryn Reypolds' final shot get off in ·time? That.debate might ·never end. , Quote No.1: LeBron James; the day before the Bacon game: . , "I'm guaranteeing I'm not ~onna let my team lose." · Quote No.:2:James, after :his club was upset: " "Irespectthem a lot.If ,you can beat:us, I have even ,more respectfor you. I'm . :upset with myself because I guaranteed a victory and we didn't come through."

While at The Enquirer, I :have helped cover the Su-.perBowl,World Series and .NCAA Final Four. Yet many of my top memories are of prep events- in this case,' basketball. In Kenttreky, I covered Northern Kenrocky's oruy boys' state title .{Simon Kenton, 1981). In. Ohio there were.many of the games Ilisted above, ·and more.

Time for more memoties. pnce again; I can't wait.

THE ENQUIRER

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HIGH SCHOOLS

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Insider

Decade has produced 10 area boys' state titles rapping up the boys' basketball season: Princeton lost in the Division I title game last weekend, but it still was the top decade in Greater Cincinnati history for state championships.

The decade of the 2000s saw our area win 10 boys' state titles: Tom St Xavier (Divi- Groesc:hen sion I, 2000); Roger Bacon (Division II, 2002); Moeller (Division I, 2003 and 2007); Reading (Division III, 2003); Hamilton (Division I, 2004); North College Hill (Division III, 2005, '06 and '07) and Georgetown (Division IV, 2007).

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The best previous decade for area teams, including Middletown, was eight state titles in the 1950s. Middletown won four titles that decade, now-defunct Lockland Wayne won two, and Mariemont and Hamilton won one each. The OHSM began its boys' state basketball tournament in 1923.

MR. MAYOR: Dan Pillow retired as Taylor girls' basketball coach last week after 14 seasons. Pillow will remain rather busy in his day job: Mayor of Addyston.

Addyston is a small community (pop. 1,010 in the 2000 census) located about 10 miles west of Cincinnati.

"I have just under three years remaining in my term," Pillow said.

Pillow was 169-130 as girls'

coach at Taylor.

"It was a labor of love. I really appreciate what everyone at Taylor has done for me," Pillow said.

Pillow's daughter, Shalon Pillow, was a Parade Magazine All-American at Taylor in the late 1990s and played for Pat Summitt at Tennessee. Shalon Pillow now is an assistant coach for the Hofstra women's program.'

LAKOTA HALL: The Lakota district recently inducted its 2009 Hall of Fame class (Lakota split into East and West in 1997): Stephanie Comisar {Lakota West 2003, soccer/basketball, track); Meghan Connelly (West '03, soccer/track); Zach Flake (West '03, wrestling); Jason Hotaling (West '99, golf); Jenny Hurst (West

'99, diving); Andy Lee (Lakota '95, baseball); Erin Lee (East '03, basketball/volleyball); Frank Wren (Lakota '75, baseball); Jaime Wyckoff (East '01, cross countryI track/basketball).

ALL-STARS: The Enquirer winter all-star teams will be published next Sunday.

SPRING: Starting Monday, I will be assisting John Fay on the Reds baseball beat this season. I am still covering Ohio high schools, but will be getting help from Mike Dyer. Please continue to send prep e-mails to Mike and me. For the very latest, please also continue to check out our Cincinnati. Com blog and Twitter updates.

E-mail tgroeschen@enquirer .com, mdyer@enquirer.com ,

Htgh school roundup

The Enquirer; Joseph Fuqua II

Lakota East's Mark Minch (left) looks to pass as he's guarded by Middletown's Allen Roberts in the second quarter Tuesday. Roberts finished with 15 points for the Middies.

Edwards guides Middies to win vs. Thunderhawks E71quirer staff reports

Bill Edwards scored a gamehigh 27 points as Middletown cruised to a 69-42 victory over visiting Lakota East in a boys' basketball game Tuesday night.

"He's the type of player that really causes a lot of matchup problems with other teams," Middletown coach Bob Ronai said of Edwards, last season's Greater Miami Conference Player of the Year. "He really means a lot to us."

Edwards shot 11-of-16 from the field, including 5-of-6 from beyond the 3-point arc. The senior forward also had 12 rebounds for the Middies (8-1), who are ranked second in the Enquirer Division I area coaches' poll.

"The thing I like about this team is that we haven't come close to our potential," said Ronai, who is in his sixth season at Middletown. "We just have to keep working hard every day."

Lakota East (3-5) was led by junior forward Trae Broadnax, who scored 10 points.

- Cedric Brown

career-high 17 points for Milford.

Colerain 57, Hamilton 44: Colerain forced 18 turnovers and got 19 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks from Ben Vonderharr.

CCD 56, Taylor 54: Taylor had four field-goal attempts to tie or win in the last six seconds but missed all four. Lawrence Ervin had 18 points and five steals for CCD. Taylor's Petey Bucalo had 22 points and six steals.

Western Brown n, Beltlei-Tate 61: Tyler Morgan had 30 points and 15 rebounds and Ethan Fite added 27 points and 22 rebounds for the Broncos.

Amelia 68, Clark Montessorl64:

Amelia senior guard Donovan Schwalbach had 27 points.

La Salle 74, CarTOII53: La Salle senior forward Danny McElroy led all scorers with 21 points.

Loveland 62, Turpin 41: Junior Adam Engel had 12 points for Loveland and seniors Chris Stahl and Bobby Capobianco added 10 points each.

Talawanda 62, Wyoming 55: Senior forward Josh Claytor totaled 25 points, going 11-of-12 from the foul line, and six rebounds for TaMoeller 69, Purcel Marian 48: A lawanda. Teammate Daryl Wallate 18-4 run put away the game lace added 24 points, four assists for the Crusaders, who are No. 3 and five steals. in the Enquirer Division I poll. SeRoger Bacon 51, St. Xavier 45: nior guard Tony Harris scored 28 Juniors Willis Fleming and Jorian points for Moeller and senior Hudson and freshman Adolphus guard Brian Vonderhaar had 18.

Milford 83, Northwest 61: Sophomore forward Nick Hittner had a

Washington scored 11 points each for the Spartans.

East CHnton 60, Williamsburg 48: East Clinton's Matt McFadden scored a game-high 30 points.

Girls' basketball Mount Notre Dame 66, McAuley

35: MND improved to 11-0 behind senior forward Kendall Hackney, who scored 21 points.

Indian Hill 56, Ross 28: Nicole Bell had 18 points for the Braves.

Batavia 55, Flnneytown 48: Kay!a Emstled Batavia with 23 points.

Mariemont 51, Reading 38: Lauren Ferguson had 16 points and nine rebounds for Mariemont.

SCPA 60, Milford Christian 30: Sophomore guard Ronia Steele scored 22 points and Easter Fredrick added seven points and a career-high 17 rebounds for SCPA Cincinnati

Countll Day 62,

Shroder 46: Freshman guard Ricci Snell had 17 points to lead Cincinnati Country Day. Senior guard Morgan McCoy scored 15 points and senior center Whitney Stokes had 14 for Shroder. They combined for 32 rebounds and 10 blocked shots.

Boys' bowling Mason 2,887, Sycainore 2,420: Senior Ryan Ackerman bowled a high series of 540, helping the Comets improve to 8-0.

High school roundup

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SUilllilit's Bite scores

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~~;2~~Jt point vr~ ~~!±~~, Summit Country Day senior guard Ashley Hite surpassed the 1,000-point mark of her career Saturday, but it came in a 51-34 loss to visiting Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy.

CHCA cruised to its fifth win behind senior forward Courtney Kust, who scored a game-high 20 points.

Hite, a guard, scored a teamhigh 17 points. She is only the second player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.

Seton 62, Roger Bacon 56: Junior center Morgan Beard scored a game-high 21 points and · also grabbed eight rebounds to lead Seton to its first victory.

Colerain 49, Fairfield 38: Colerain junior guard Ashley Wanninger had 14 points and seven rebounds, and senior forward Kara Patterson added nine points and 16 rebounds.

5eYen HiUs 66, Madison Central (Ky.) 58: Seven Hills competed in

center Mashya White had 15 Po.iilts and 10 rebounds to lead Withfow.

Turpin 46, Kings 42: Kings juflior Tara Jones scored 14 points.:~:;,~ Cincinnati Christian 71, DaJ.lon Jefferson 25: Cincinnati Christian was led by junior forward Sarah Carroll, who scored a career-high 41 points and grabbed 18 rebounds.

Carroll broke her own school record for points in a game, ecliPsing last season's mark of 40. '"'l~u !(rif~

Boys' basketball

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Mason County (Ky.) 62, St. xnt'er 55: St. X senior center Erik Stenger had 24 points on 10-for-15 shoot:irlg in the Buckeye Bluegrass ClassiC-at Northern Kentucky Universicy-.L'0 Moeller 61, Scott 37: Moeller~ot 16 points from senior guardltony Harris in the Buckeye-Bluegrass Classic. '"''" 0 Nikola Gligorevic led the E:gles 1 with 18 points. ~ ·~ Lakota West so, Hamitton 1:62: Lakota West junior Jordan HicKs contributed 28 points, eightsi'ebounds, and seven assists. ~ ' ~ Anderson 49, Sycamore.i-~'48: Junior center Andrew Norwe1fled Anderson ¥~ith 17 points to help" the Redskins earn their first win.''·,o .

the Kentucky Challenge at Lexington Catholic and got a game-high 23 points from junior Sarah Evans.

St. Ursula 60, St. Ursula Academy· Toledo 35: St. Ursula senior forward Kelsey Sharkey scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. .

Clark Montessori 83, St. Bernard Kentucky football Class 6A championShip: EOuis41: Freshman guard Morgan Cartville Trinity shellacked Simon' Kener led Clark (5-0) with 13 points.

New Miami 44, North College Hill ton 48-0 to win its state-best· 19th 43: Sophomore forward Alyssa Ri- high school football title.

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Class 2A championship: Junior son rolled off a screen and made a layup in the final seconds to give quarterback Antonio Andrews•accounted for four touchdowns,, inNew Miami its first victory.

Rison finished with a game-high cluding the game-winner with.1:44 22 points and seven rebounds. It to play, to lift Fort Campbellto its was her first game this season since second stnugilt 2A title, 25-23 over Newport Central Catholic. • ,;r spraining a knee ligament.

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High school roundup

Middies football standout Hunter visiting Bearcats '

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Had committed orally to Tennessee . ~

"~- 1I 3 '-<>S Enquirer{t'a.fTI/porfs

Middletown seriior cornerback Deejay Hunter is visiting UC this weekend, Middies football coach Jason Krause confirmed. Krause said Hunter will take his ACf this morning and will visit the campus after that Hunter, who is orally committed to Tennessee, plans to make . two more visits after this weekend !• before visiting Knoxville.

Hunter, who is 6 feet and 196 pounds, took a visit to West Virginia last weekend. He is rated the nation's 15th-best cornerback in the 2009 class, according to Rivals.com.

Phillip Fulmer stepped down as Volunteers coach this season and was replaced by former Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin, the youngest head coach in the Foot-. ball Bowl Subdivision.

MONROE: David Farrish is staying as girls' basketball coach at Monroe, Hornets athletic director Dave Bauer said Friday.

Earlier this week, school officials indicated Farrish might be replaced. Bauer said there were "philosophical differences" in coaching styles among the coach, the administration and the school board.

The Monroe Board of Education met Friday to address the situation, and no action was taken. At the meeting, Farrish presented a plan for the direction of the program.

KENTUCKY FOOTBALL: Beechwood and Highlands won their respective state titles at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium at the University of Louisville.

Beechwood defeated Hazard 14-7infrontof3,316fans.Itwasthe Tigers' 11th state championship in 15 finals appearances. With the win, Beechwood defended its title and the No. 1 small-school ranking it held most of the season.

Highlands defeated Christian County 35-15 in the 5A final. Highlands is tied with Louisville Trinity atop the state's all-time state title list with 18.

Two other Northern Kentucky teams will go for state titles today.

Newport Central Catholic plays Fort Campbell in the 2A final at 11 a.m.

Simon Kenton plays Trinity in the 6A final at 7 p.m.

- Mike Dyer, Ryan Ernst and Tom Groeschen

Boys' basketball Purcell Marian 56, Elder 49: Senior point guard Greg Davis scored 18 points and senior forward Orlando Hubbard added 15 points and five rebounds to lift visiting Purcell Marian.

Elder· was ranked No. 9 in the Enquirer Division I coaches' poll.

The Cavaliers are ranked No. 10 in the Divisions II-IV poll.

"As I told Joe (Schoenfeld), I'm glad we got them at this time of year,". Purcell Marian coach Dave Campbell said. "It was 'kind of a p~rtect storm with them coming off that football run.

"We talked to the kids about opportunity. It was about composure. The kids responded in a real positive way today."

Senior guard Jason Knauer scored only four points, but Campbell credited him with helping to control the tempo in a hostile environment.

"Davis and Knauer did a nice : job under pressure with a loud crowd keeping control of everything," Campbell said. 'They controlled the tempo and did a nice

job." .

Senior forward Alex Eppensteiner scored 15 to lead the Panthers.

La Salle 60, Roger Bacon 58: La Salle's senior guard Jordon Crawford hit the game-winning shot as time expired to lift the Lancers.

Crawford scored 18 points. Senior Danny McElroy, a Bowling Green recruit, scored 15 points.

Roger Bacon freshman center Adolphus Washington had 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Winton Woods 50, Anderson 41: JuniorforwardAllen Payne had 14 to lead the Warriors. Andersonjunior guard Michael Wilkison scored 10 points.

Lakota East 63, Sycamore 44: Senior forward Daniel Lyons had a team-high 14 points along with eight rebounds to lead Lakota East. . Wyoming 52, Reading 48: Sophomore guard Kyle Seyfried made five of six free throws in the fourth quarter to help lift Wyoming. The Cowboys made 18 of 23 free throws.

Sophomore center Eric Price and senior point guard Derek Brockman each scored 11 points for the Cowboys.

Indian HiH · 100, Deer Park 37: Senior guard Wes Bonekemper had 17 points to lead the host Braves (2-0, 1-0 Cincinnati Hills League).

Walnut Hills 62, Turpin 49: Evan Yates registered a double-double in leading Wamut Hills to its third consecutive win. The senior forward scored a game-high 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Junior guard Shawn Melton had nine points for the Eagles. Senior guard Sam Curran scored 17 points for host Turpin.

Loveland 61, Glen Este 44: Junior forward Tony Hamman made 10 oflO free throws for the Tigers, six of those coming in the second quarter. Hamman added a field goal and finished with 12 · points for Loveland, ranked No. 6 in the Enqu,irer Division I area coaches' poll.

Mason 66, Oak Hills 53: Mason jumped out to a 16-6 first-quarter lead and held on to that for the remainder of the game.

Mason was led by senior guard Zach Brown, who scored a gamehigh 28 points. Oak Hills junior guard Kurt Kolish scored a teamhigh 21 points.

Taft 58, Hughes 49: Senior forward Richard Harris had 26 points and 14 rebounds to'go along with eight assists. Forward jack Smith scored 25 points for Hughes.

Woodward 73, Western Hills 60: JuniorforwardJeremiah Chancellor led Woodward with 33 points.

Chancellor made 13 field goals.

Mervin Taylor chipped in with 19 points. Andre Thomas led visiting Western Hills with 23 points.

Moeller 54, Badin 30: Moeller sophomore guard Charlie Byers had 15 points, eight rebounds and five steals to lift the Crusaders, ranked No. 3 in the Enquirer poll.

Badin's Scott Purcell led the Rams with 18 points.

St: Xavier 53, McNicholas 31: St. Xavier went on a 9-0 run at the end of the first half and never looked back. Junior guard Alex Longi led the Bombers with 17 points. St. Xavier senior center Erik Stenger scored 14 points, going 7-for-8 from the field.

Wrthrow 79, Shroder 64: Kevin Jones scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the TI~rs, who put four pt~yers in double figures.

Elder advances to tourney fmal n.f3'1fo5

Ettqu1rer stiff ~eports

·

The Elder boys' basketball team defeated Miami Springs ~381\tes­ day in the semifinals of the Fort lauderdale Beach Classic. , · Senior forward Alex Eppensteiner led the Panthers with 16 points and seven rebounds. :Elder plays host Westrninster Academy in the fi. nal at 7:30p.m. today."

Pun:el Marian 47; .Glen Este 43: Purcell Marian seniorforward David Anderson and senior guard Greg Davis scored 15 points each.

La Sale 69, Lakewood (Fla.) 67: Senior guard jordan Crawford had a gam~high 21 pofuts and was named to the all-tournlunent team of the Kingdom of the Sun event in Ocala, F1a. Senior forward Danny McElroy added 16 points for the lancers.

Cincinnati Counby Day 45, Nashville Mc:Gavoc:k 36: Spencer Wright scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead CCD at the Murray (Ky.) Bank Holiday Classic.

Wrlght scored 70 points over t:hree' games en route to being named to the all-tournament team.

Moeler 81, San Francisco Marin Catholc 49: Tony Hafris scored 13 points and Tun Stamper scored 12 points to lead four Moeller players in double figures.

Moeller was to play San Francisco Monte Vista in thefinaloftheDon Bambauer Classic late Tuesday.

St. Xavier 52, Seatlle Prep 37: Luke Massa hit four 3-pointers, scoring a gam~high 14 points, to lead St Xavier in the. third-place game at the Georgetown Prep Classic in Washington, D.C. Sycamore 47, Kings 43: Brett Simek scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for Sycamore.

McNicholas 59, Twpln 28: Cody Bryant scored 10 points and Andy Jostworth nine to lead McNicholas.

Girls' basketball

.

.

.

Tony Tribble for The Enquirer

McNicholas forward Matt Staubach (42) grabs a rebound from Turpin's Jeff Groene during their game Tuesday night.

High school roundup Tournament was the 100th career victory for Western Brown coach Jon Crall. lauren Davis scored 18 points and Kayla Howard added 11 points and 10 rebounds to lead WestemBrown.

Geoigetown 57, Fay~ 46: Freshman Casey Carter scored a team-high 22 points to lead Georg~

town in the consolation game at the Brown County Tournament McNicholas 53, CHCA 47: Stephanie Krusling scored 14 points and lauren Mazzaro 12 as McNicholas won the championship game of the CHCA Holiday Tournament Courtney Kust scored 28 points in the loss for CHCA, giving her 1,024 in her career.

Dayton Can'OI41, Hantson 29: ~

nior forward Megan Lange had 10 Western Brown 40, Eastern Brown points and 16 rebounds for Dayton 37: The win in the Brown County Carroll in the championship game of

the Hanison Holiday Tournament Milford 56, Goshen 50: Milford ~ nior center Kim Strunk and freshman guard Morgan Wolcott combined for 27 points.

Winton Woods 48, Aiken 32: ~ nior guard Dayeesha Hollins led Wmton Woods with 13 points.

Ross 41, Roger Bacon 38: Senior guard Hannah Ellinghausen had 10 points to lead Ross.

Roger Bacon senior guard Style Harper led all scorers with 18 points.

FOOlBAll COMMITMENT: la Salle standout Ricky Steele has changed his commitment to play football from Bowling Green to Toledo.

Steele said he chariged his mind after newly appointed Toledo coach Tun Beckman hired some of the assistant coaches from Bowling Green that recruited Steele to play for the Falcons.

"Toledo is an up-and-coming program, and I'm excited to be heading there," Steele said.

{r ·:,J ' ~·'"

'· I._ ';)I~ -~:> -":)

HIGH SCHOOLS

In Sports: 3 Moeller jumped out to an . early lead before cruising to a 51-40 win over No. 9 St X. C1

Moener· 5I, St. Xavier 40

,; 2-/ ~

Th~ Enquirer/Jeff Swinger

Moeller's Tim Stamper drives to the hoop against St. Xavier's Erik .....u,,nm>ron Friday at St. X. Moeller · led by as many as 18 before cruising to a 51-40 win.

Bombers battered by first-half runs No.3 Crusaders lead by as many as 18, then cruise

By Mark Schmelzer Enquirer contributor

The symbolism was undeniable.

Luke Massa lay underneath the Moeller basket, blood spwiing from the St Xavier junior's left nostril midway through the first quarter of Friday's Greater Catholic League South Division game at St Xavier.

At the same time, the Bombers were getting their collective nose bloodied by the Crusaders.

Moeller, the No. 3 team in the Enquirer Division I coaches' POll and defending GCLS champion, jumped out to leads of 12-2 and 204 before settling for a 51-40 win over ninth-ranked St Xavier.

'These guys got introduced to the GCL South tonight," St Xavier coach Scott Martin said. "We've only got one guy who played varsity minutes last year."

Senior Erik Stenger, the only Bomber with experience from last season's Division I state semifinal team, scored a game-high 21 points to lead St Xqvier (1-2, 1-1).

Sophomore Alex Barlow scored 12 points and classmate Charlie Byers added 10 for the almost-as-

yotmg Crusaders, who won their previous two games by 24 points each and had an average victory margin of 20 points in their. first three games.

'Those guys have exceeded our expectations," Moeller coach Carl Kremer said. "Whafs really special about them is they're competitors.

They get it Ifs special to have those two guys."

Senior guard Tony Harris added 11 points for the Crusaders, who were picked to finish third in the four-team GCL South in the Enquirer's preseason poll of division coaches.

"We don't have a lot of players back fr<>m last year's team- just me and a couple of other guys," Harris said. "Everybody thinks we're going to be bad, butwewanttoprovethem wrong.'' . · Barlow scored nine points in the first half, during which Moeller enjoyed two 18-point leads, one on one of his two 3-pointers..

Moeller senior Brian Vonderhaar also made two 3-pointers, one for Moeller's other 18-point lead and the otherthal:hittherim and bounced in at the buzzer for a 29-12 halftime

lead.

St Xavier had six turnovers and just five field goals in the first hali "I think our defensive pressure has come along faster than we expected," Kremer said. ''We made some mistakes out there, but our defensive pressure allowed us to make up for them."

The Bombers got off to a rocky start, making just one of their first five shots while falling behind 12-2 before Stenger sank a left-handed jump hook with 5.9 seconds left in the first quarter.

St Xavier senior Kyle Rolfes scored five of his six points in the third quarter, when the Bombers who turned up their intensity in their zone defense - got as close as eight points, but Moeller opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run to regain control.

Moeller {4-0, 2.0 ~c--. ' - Sooolll) Duncan 215, Stamper 12 4. Harris 5111. Ballow 3 412. Byer.; 3 210, Vondemaar 3 0 9 Tota~: 17 8 51.

St. XIYior {1·2, 1·1 GCIS) - ~ 2 0 4. Rolfes 2 1 6.

Stenger? 7 21, Carroll! 0 2, Massa 2 0 5. t-lehausl 02. T~: 15840.

Moellor---12 17 6 16 -51 St. xmor - - - - 4 a 13 ts -40 3-pointeiS: M 9 (Vondelhaar 3,. Ballow 2, Stamper 2, Harris, Duncan), St X2 (Rolfes, Massa).

/. ¡.

.

The Enquirer; Jeff Swinger

Moeller's Jeremy Duncan goes up high over La Salle's Keen en Gibbs

to put up a shot in the second quarter. The Crusaders remained unbeaten in the GCL at 4-0.

Moeller: Retooled

team still setting the pace in GCL From Page Dl Any nerves?

"No," Barlow said. "We just do anything to get a win. We know the tradition. We've heard it from the fonner players who come back."

La Salle missed a desperation shot from halfcourt at the buzzer. ¡ The Lancers (&-2, 2-1 GCL) is ranked No.4 in the Enquirer poll.

Senior guard Jordon Crawford led La Salle with 15 points. Senior forward Danny McElroy had 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Moeller built a 12-point lead in the first half at22-10, with its typically tenacious defense.

The Lancers fought back to take the lead by late in the third quarter.

Then, the lead changed hands eight times in the final period.

"When we'd get up one, we couldn't get the shot that put us up two or three possessions," Lancers coach Dan Fleming said. ''I'm proud of the character we showed in coming back. Winning at Moeller is tough."

Moeller has 21 consecutive wins against its fellow GCL teams, including postseason play. The streak dates to a loss at La Salle in February 2007.

"These kids have been hearing people say they would not be a very good team this year," Moeller coach Carl Kremer said. "They

The Enquirer/ Jeff Swinger

La Salle's Danny McElroy, shoot-

ing over Moeller's Rudy Delois, was one of three Lancers in double figures, with 13 points. come and play hard every day in practice, and they're determined to win.~

LISIIo (8-2, 2-1 GCl-$1- McEimy 4 5 13, Neel4 3 II. Crawfold 7 0 15. Fleming 2 2 6. Woeste 2 0 4. Totals: 19 10 49, It-I, 4-G GCl-$1- Duncan 0 rl. Starrc>tr 2 3 9. Hams 3 411. Ba11<1w4 513. Byots 2 o 4, - k 2 o 4.

O.lols 3 0 6, Gresky 12 4. Totals: 1715 52.

LISIIo - - - 1 10 18 13 -49

-

---15

13

15

3-pointeiS: L I (Crawford I. M 3 (Stamper 2, HarrisI.

-52

â&#x20AC;˘ BOYS' BASKETBALL: MOELLER 52, LA SALLE 49

'Down' season appears to be on the up-and-up for Moeller 'I

-

By Tom Groeschen tgroeschen@enquirer.com

Tony Harris had heard the whispers, too. This was supposed to be a down season for Harris and the Moeller basketball team.

Instead, Moeller is 9-1 after beating Greater Catholic League South rival La Salle 52-49 at Moeller on Friday night Harris, a senior guard who had )1 points Friday, was the only re-

turning Crusader who had a significant scoring average last season, when he averaged 7.1 points per game. The Crusaders were Associated Press regular-season state poll champions in Division I before being upset in district play.

"People thought we wouldn't be very good, and that really motivates us," said Harris. 'Then, we were supposed to be even worse with Griffin out."

That would be 6-foot-9 junior

Griffin McKenzie, Moeller's top college prospect, who has missed the season with a back ailment.

Yet, Moeller is No.3 in the Enquirer Division I coaches' poll and is setting the pace in the GCLat 4-0.

Sophomore guard Alex Barlow led Moeller with 13 points and nine rebounds. He made three foul shots in the final 27.7 seconds to send Moeller ahead from a tie at 49.

See MOELLER, Page D3

Moeller's Rudy DeLols gets off a

pass on a drive in the first quarter of Friday's Greater Catholic League-South game against La Salle. DeLois scored six points.

The Enquirer/ Jeff Swinger

Moeller hoops rises to the top

By Mark Chalifoux

mchalifoux@communitypress.com The Moeller High School basketball team was an afterthought in most preseason discussions.

That changed after the Crusaders went 8-1 through the first month of the season and now Moeller looks like one of the top teams in the city.

"I think these guys have exceeded our expectations," head coach carl Kremer said. "They have played extremely hard and have been very, very unselfish. These guys are doing the things we think are important, which makes them great to coach."

Moeller recently returned from a holiday tournament in California. The Crusaders went 3-1 in California, losing in the finals of the tournament to a tough Monte Vista team that's ranked second in the Northern California polls.

"One reason we really love these trips is because it b';lilds commun~ty; it's a unique expenence for a ht&h school kid to get to travel and play m a different region of the country," Kremer said. "We were out there almost a week and it was a great time for the parents and players to come together."

The Crusaders have been relatively healthy after a preseason marred by injury and the defense has set the tone for Moeller.

"First and foremost has been our ability to deliver consistent pressure and we've been pleased with that," Kremer said. "Our guys have bought into guarding the ball hard and being an aggressive defensive team and that's worked very well for us."

Kremer said the team has also been shooting the ball very well. The team is shooting 50 percent from the floor, 70 percent from the free throw line and the Crusaders have four players shooting better than 40 percent from behind the arc.

Senior Tony Harris leads the team in scoring with 13.3 points and senior guard Brian Vonderhaar has averaged 9.9 points per game. Two soph-

FILE PHOTO

Moeller's Jeremy Duncan put:; up two points against St.Xavier's Erik Stenger at St. X.

omores have also stepped up in a big way for the Crusaders.

"Alex Barlow has been our leading rebounder, and he's really a perimeter guy we're getting to play inside and he's had a great start. Charlie Byers has played exceptionally and both of those sophomores start for us," Kremer said. .

Moeller also received some positive news regarding forward Griffin McKenzie. McKenzie was thought to be out for the season with a back injury but could possibly return for the final few games of the regular season and in time for the postseason. McKenzie was expected to be one of the go-to players for Moeller this season.

The schedule for Moeller becomes more difficult in the second part of January and in February. A pair of games against Elder ~nd games against La Salle, St. Xavter and Bedford (Cleveland) are the highlights of the schedule for the final stretch of the regular season.

"If we can continue to play great defense and share the basketball we'll be pretty good," Kremer said. "If teams can negate our pressure and run good offense, that will be a problem for us."

D6 SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 2009

Roundup

No.1 Princeton tested

by East Enquirer staff reports

Princeton, ranked No. 1 in the Enquirer Division I area coaches' poll, overcame a first-half scare to pick up a 73-47 Greater Miami Conference victory at home over Lakota East Friday.

East led 9-6 after the first quarter, but Princeton outscored the Thunderhawks 15-10 in the second quarter and took a 21-19lead into halftime.

Princeton wasn't able to pull away until outscoring Lakota East 33-18 in the fourth quarter.

Junior Jordan Sibert scored 13 of . his team's points in the final period and finished with a gamehigh 18 points.

Junior Darrian Wilkins added 15 points and senior Marquis Home 13 points for the Vikings (10¡1, 5-0 Greater Miami Conference).

JuniorTrae Broadnax led the Thunderhawks with 15'points.

Taft 88, Shroder 58: Seniors Billy Richardson and Richard Harris scored 16 points each for the Senators, No.2 in the Enquirer Divisions II-IV poll. Harris also had 12 rebounds.

Elder 67, Badin 50: Elder shot 8-for-13 from beyond the 3-point arc in the first half. The Panthers were led by junior guard Steve Newmann, who totaled 14 points with three 3-pointers. ~ The Rams are tied for No. 7 in the Enquirer Divisions II-IV poll.

Aiken 68, Western Hills 56:

Aaron Thomas scored 15 points and Chane Behanan 14 for Aiken. The Falcons (9-2) are No.5 in the Enquirer Division I poll.

St. Xavier 79, Fenwick 41: Eric Stenger had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Bombers, No.10 in the Enquirer Division I poll.

Mason 42, Hamilton 41: Senior guard Derek Cox hit a foul shot with two seconds left to clinch the win for the Comets, No. 7 in the Enquirer Division I poll Teammate Zach Brown led aU scorers with 16 points.

Hamilton senior guard Robert Merz scored 14 points.

Indian Hill 84, Finneytown 58:

Ryan Murphy scored 16 points to lead the Braves, No.4 in the Enquirer Divisions II-IV poll, to their eight win of the season.

Moeller 56, Chaminade-Julienne 31: The Crusaders, No. 3 in

the Enquirer Division I poll, cruised behind senior guard Tony Harris, who had 14 points

and fonr :l~~i<:t<:

1

!;

Enquirer staffreports

1-7..L.J- .

Taft won the battle of the ~op feams in the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference, beating Aiken 7467 Friday night.

The Senators, ranked No. 3 in the Enquirer Divisions II-IV coaches' poll, were led by Cameron Mitchell's 20 points.

Senior forward Marlon Hill added 17 points.

"Marlon and Cameron knocked down big shot after big shot," said Taft coach Mark Mitchell. 'They both played an under-control style of play tonight."

Sophomore forward Chane Behanan scored 20 points for Aiken, No. 5 in the area Division I poll. Senior forward Darren Goodson led all scorers with 25 points.

"Aiken is big, and throughout the game you hope you hit some big shots or secure a big rebound," said Mitchell. 'We got those tonight, and once we started being patient; we took over the game."

Woodward 61, Withrow 50: Junior guard Aaron Cephas and junior forward Mervin Taylor scored 15 points each to lead No.9 Woodward, which improved to 6-1 in the CMAC. Princeton 68, Sycamore 41:

Princeton senior guard Orlando Williams hit four of the Vikings' 13 3-pointers en route to a game-high 25 points.

No. 1 Princeton opened the second quarter with a 28-13 lead and never looked back. The win improved Princeton to 11-1 on the season and 7-0 in the Greater Miami Conference.

Middletown 64, Hamilton 37: Tony Peters scored 20 and Bill Edwards 17 for the No.2 Middies.

Moeller 76, Elder 70: No. 3 Moeller improved to 11-1, hitting four free throws in the last25 seconds to clinch the victory. Senior guard Tony Harris scored 21 points.

Elder senior forward Josh Jones had 31 points and 12 rebounds.

La Salle 61, St. Xavier 31: Senior Danny McElroy scored a gamehigh 20 points to lead host La Salle. · TheLancers,rankedNo.4inthe· Division I poll, also got 13 points apiece from senior Jordon Crawford and sophomore Brandon Neel.

Junior Alex l..ongi's 14 points led St. x; tied for ninth in the poll.

Loveland 64, Glen Este 56: Bobby Capobianco's game-high 28 points

led the No.6 Tigers.

Mason 56, Colerain 39: Zach Brown led all scorers with 25 points, including three 3-pointers, for No.7 Mason. The senior guard also grabbed 10 rebounds.

Senior guard Luke Sutphin added 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Comets.

Milford 70, Hamson 51: Sophomore forward Nick Hittner went 9of-12 and totaled a career-high 20 points to lead No. 8 Milford.

Walnut Hills 67, Turpin 33: Senior forward Evan Yates led Walnut Hills with 13 points.

Alex McGlothin, a sophomore, made two 3-pointers and totaled 12 points for the Eagles, tied for ninth in the Division I poll.

Seven Hills 52, North College Hill 29: Junior forward Jake Davis scored 17 points for Seven Hills, ranked No. 6 in the Divisions II-IV coaches' poll.

Lakota West 46, Oak Hills 44 lOTI:

With 'seven seconds left in overtime, Lakota Wesfs Jordan Hicks made a steal and drove to the hoop for the game-winning layup. The Firebirds were led by Alex Smith's 17 points. .

Tal.awanda 69, Mount Healthy 64: Darryl Wall ace tied aTalawanda record for most free throws made in a game by going 18-of-24. Wallace, a junior guard, scored 30 points.

Senior forward josh Claytor added 20 points and 19 rebounds for the Braves. · DeSean Flagg led Mount Healthy with 20 points and 17 rebounds.

Lakota East 38, Fairfield 34: Lakota East outscored visiting Fairfield 13-9 in the fourth quarter.

Daniel Lyons led Lakota East with 12 points. .

Phillip Harris scored a gamehigh 20 points for Fairfield.

Western Hills 69, Shroder 51: West Hi senior guard Mike Hill led all scorers with 18 points and also had five assists. Senior forward Andre Thomas added 15 points and six rebounds.

Anderson 68, Winton Woods 55:

Junior Michael Wilkison went S. for-8 from the foul line in the fourth quarter as Anderson held off awillton Woods comeback.

Wilkison finished 10-for-10 froin the foul line and scored a gamehigh 26 points.

Junior Allen Payne led Wmton Woods with 25 points.

La Salle 55, Moeller 53

The En<;uirer; Joseph Fuqua II

Moener's Chartle Byers (321 goes up for a layup and gets fouled by La Salle's Matthew Woeste in

the third period. The Crusaders led by as many as 15 points in the period.

Lancers- make most of home advantage

By Tom Groeschen

La Salle's Brandon Neel puts

tgroeschen@enquirer.rom

The La Salle gymnasium is small, hot and loud. The Lancers' , best player is also small and on Friday night, he was hot Senior point guard Jordon Crawford, who stands 5 Jeet 6, scored 25 points and hit the clinching free throws in a 55-53 comeback win over Moeller.

A sellout crowd of 900 watthed Crav.iord hit two foul shots tD decide it with 5.1 seconds left. Moeller had trouble with the ensuing inbounds play, and the Crusaders missed on a desperation shot from beyond halfcourt.

"Jordon made alotofbigplays," La Salle coach Dan F1eminR said.

"That, and I guess ifs something about this gym. SomethinR happens in here, and I don't koow what it is."

The Lancers rallied from a 15point third-quarter deficit to beat their Greater Catholic ¡ Sonth League rival.

The Lancers' cozy confines are tough on visitors. With stands on one side, a stage on the other and fans standing on the baselines, there isn't much room to roam much less breathe or think.

"We love playing here at home," Crawford said.

Crawford, who ....111 play college ball at Ashland (Ohio), ha:; led La Salle with a 17.3-point scoring average this season.

Moeller cruised to leads of 4Q. 25 and 42-27 mostly with a barrage of layups, until La Salle turned up its defense a notch.

Buoyed by the crowd and 25 Moeller turnovers, the Lancers came back.

"During practices last year. we'd just quit," Crawford said.

"This year, we fight through ad-

up a shot over the Moeller defense.

Nee! scored 14 points for the Lancers, who were led

by Jordon Crawford's 25.

1

Enquirer;

J. Fuqua II

versity in ~;~ractice and games."

La Salle is ranked No. 4 and Moeller is No. 3 in the Enquirer Division I coaches' poll.

La Salle1ost52-49atMoelleron Jan. 9, but Moeller often struggles at La Salle's gym. The Crusaders' last loss to a Cincinnati team had been 27 games and nearly two years ago, a defeat at La Salle on Feb. 9, 2007.

"I was proud that our guys played so well for three quarters, but I credit La Salle for coming back," Moeller coach Carl Kremer said. "They kept bringing the heat and we turned it over. A lot of the credit for that goes to them."

Neither team had played all week, with snow having canceled most games.

"We were having trouble catching our wind at first, but once we did we were fine," Crawford said.

Crawford, 12-for-12 at the foul line, also had three assists. Sophomore forward Brandon Nee! backed Crawford with 14 points.

La Salle won des,p,ite its second-

leading scorer, 6-7 senior forward Danny McElroy, being held to three points, The Bowling Greenbound McElroy averages 17.0 points.

For Moeller, sophomore guard Charlie Byers had 12 points and senior Tony Harris scored 11.

Moeller 6-foot-8 junior Griffin McKenzie, who has missed most of the season with a back injury, saw action for only the second time. McKenzie, the Crusaders' top college prospect, scored seven points.

"We held them to 19 poUtts in the second half," F1eming said.

"That was big. We just kept guarding them and guarding them, and we stayed with it" (13-2, G-1 Ga.-$1- Morelock I o2, Ba~ow 2 2 &.Duncan 2 0 4. Stamper 4 0 a. Byers 3 612, Harris 3 4 ll R<llinettO II. Gre!lc) I 0 2 . - 2 2 7. Tota~: 18

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The Enqu:rert Jcosep~ FJqua II

Meeller's Charlie Byers (32) shoots against St. Xavier's David NiehaJs, who tries to block it. t:y:rs scored seven points in Moeller's victory.

Moeller: Defeats St. X

7th consecutive time !=rom Page Dl

::'riday's game also an equally intrnse ddensive struggle.

Stenger's two-handed dunk on St. Xaviers first possession was ont- of jus: two field goals by the Bor:tbers in the first quarter.

"We're both GCL schools," said Harris. "We always play hard against ea.::h other. It's usually a low-scorin~game. We'vejusthappened to have the edge lately."

After S,enger's second dunk cut the C{ficit to 10-9, Massa sco~ed to put the Bombers ahead 11-loJ.

Massa l:c-d all scorers with six points in the first half [Jespite shooting just 28 percent in the first half, Moeller managed t> lead by one point at haltime.

Barlow scored four points sparking a 6-0 run to put Moeller ahe;1d 23-1'~. matching its largest :ead of the game.

Harris' Jane jumper made the score 2&19.

A 3-pointer by Massa ended the 9-point run, but the Crusaders had brie·ly gratbed the momentum.

S'. X re~nded with consecutive 3-poinlers by senior Kyle Rolft"s to tit- :he score at 28.

A1 alley-oop dunk by Stenger on a pass from Massa made the scort! 33-30 in favor of Moeller

T~e

Enquirer( Jog,p~

f'~qua

II

St. xavier's Luke Massa goes up for a shot between Moellar's Josh Morelock (4) and Alex Barlow (10)

heading into the foLrth quar:er.

Harris scored to give the Crusaders their large::.! lead, 37-30 with less than seven rninutt-s remaining.

The Bombers fought back with a &0 run, making ti-e score 37-36 on Rolfes' layup.

But, that was the last gasp for St. X. McKenzie'slayupgavetheCrusaders a 47-40 lead with 2:4J remaining.

"Basketball is a game of match-

Lps," said Bombers coacl: Scott Martin. "Moeller has had ,;orne nc.tchups that ;1ave bet>n t>·Jgh f.Jr us. Turnovers hurt us lt•night.

We just have to get better."

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Moeller's still a hex to St. X

St. X's Will Muethlng, driving against Moeller Tony Harris, scored eight points in a losing effort.

The Enquirer/ Joseph F uqua 11

Crusaders defeat the Bombers 7th t~~~v~n row

By Jeff WaRner Enquirer rontributor

In the past three seasons, St XaVier has reached the statefinalfourtwice. What the Bombers haven't done is beat Moeller.

The Crusaders' dominance continued Friday night, with senior guard Tony Harris scoring 14 points to lift Moeller, ranked No. 4 in the Enquirer Division I coaches' poll, to a 54-48 victory over No.8StX. The Crusaders now have won seven straight against St X, including a victory in the 2007 state title game. The Bombers last beat Moeller on Feb. 17, 2006.

"Ifs pure happenstance," said Moeller coach Carl Kremer. "St X is a gi-eat program. They've had their runs in this series. To sweep them this year took a great effort by our kids. I'm proud of them."

Griffin McKenzie added 13 points, and Alex Barlow had eight for the Crusaders.

Erik Stenger and Luke Massa each scored nine points fur St X. Stenger contributed three blocked shots.

Moeller won 51-40 at St Xavier on Dec. 19.

See MOELLER, Page D7

The Enquirer/ Joseph Fuqua II

St. Xavier's David Niehaus (left) fouls Moeller's Alex Barlow as Barlow drives to the basket in the first quarter. Barlow scored eight points in Moeller's victory.

Roundup

Walnut Hills rallies to beat Wilmington in OT Teams tied for first in FAVC Cardinal 2

/t¥.1()<?

Enquirer staff ;~ortsl

·Walnut Hills rallied from a 10point fourth-quarter deficit to send the game into overtime en route to defeating Wilmington 6759 Friday in boys' basketball.

Walnut Hills is now tied with Wilmington, ranked No.3 in the Enquirer Divisions II-IV area coaches' poll, for first place in the Fort Ancient Valley Conference Cardinal Division.

Walnut Hills, tied forlOth in the DiVision I poll, was led by senior center Evan Yates with a gamehigh 26 points and 11 rebounds.

"Our post players were tough," said Walnut Hills coach Robert Moman. "Our guards played very smart, took care of the ball and limited their mistakes."

Wilmington junior guard Quinten Rollins had 25 points.

North College Hill 59, Lockland 58 (Ol): North College Hill was down 58-57 with 11 seconds to play, when sophomore guard Greg Sevilla made the game-winning layup as time expired to beat Lockland, ranked No. 7 in the Enquirer Divisions II-IV poll. Sevilla finished with 15 points. NCH sophomore forward Chris Lowe scored a team-high 20 points.

Mariemont 55, Deer Park 46 (Ol): Mariemont went 11-for-12 from the free-throw line en route to outscoring Deer Park 13-4 in overtime to pick up the road win.

Deer Park freshman Brandon Reeves hit a shot with 25 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.

Talawanda 48, Ross 42: Talawanda senior forward Josh Claytor led scoring with 24 points and added 15 rebounds. He was 9-for-9 from the free-throw line and he joined the Braves' 1,000-point club.

La Salle 67, Badin 48: La Salle senior guard Jordon Crawford led scoring with 25 points, going 5for-5 from behind the 3-point arc.

Brandon Neel added 13 points.

La Salle is ranked No. 3 in the Enquirer Division I coaches' poll.

Badin is eighth in the Divisions II-IV poll.

CNE 54, Goshen 38: CNE senior forward Justin Messinger scored 16 points. Teammates Jake Terry and Brad Mummert each added 10 points, including Terry's 1,000th career point CNE is ranked No. 9 in the Divisions II-IV poll.

Smith earned Qis 250th win.

Mason 74, Hamilton 50: Senior Derek Cox scored a game-high 18 points and Zach Brown chipped in with 14 points and 10 rebounds for No. 10 Mason.

Roger Bacon 62, Alter 58:

Junior guard Jorian Hudson led No. 1 Roger Bacon with 22 points.

Anderson 57, Milford 54: Junior Michael Wilkison made two free throws with seven seconds remaining to ice the game.

Cincinnati Christian 60, CHCA

54: Cincinnati Christian snapped a three-game losing streak. Junior power forward Nick Brandts scored 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and senior small forward David Mann added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Cougars.

Princeton 50, Lakota East 34:

Princeton came away with the win over host Lakota East and improves to 15-1 on the season and 11-0 in the Greater Miami Conference. Top-ranked Princeton was led by Orlando Williams' gamehigh 17 points.

Loveland 53, Winton Woods 48:

Senior center Bobby Capobianco, an Indiana recruit, led No.5 Loveland with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Dominique Brown scored 23 points and added 11 rebounds for Wmton Woods.

Summit Counby Day 47, Cincin· nati Counby Day 44: Freshman

Tommy Kreyenhagen sank a 3pointer with five seconds remaining to give Summit the win and a share of the Miami Valley Conference Gray title.

Middletown 63, Oak Hills 45: Senior Allen Roberts scored 16 points and fellow senior Bill Edwards chipped in with 15 as No.2 Middletown stayed perfect at 11-0 inGMCplay.

Senior Erik Stephens led Oak Hills with 18 points.

Turpin 50, Amelia 41: Senior Sam Curran scored a game-high 25 points for Turpin.

Kings 49, Little Miami 39: Senior Derrick Harris and junior Spencer Berlekamp each scored 12 points to lead Kings.

Moeller 75, Fenwick 41: No.4 Moeller led 23-4 after the first quarter and cruised.

Elder 50, McNicholas 31: Senior forward Alex Eppensteiner scored 12 points for Elder and was the only player on either team to score in double figures.

McNick is No.10 in the DiviMiddletown Madison 60, Dixie sions II-IV poll.

Edgewood 74, Norwood 59: 48: Middletown Madison junior guard Mark Maloney scored 15 Senior forward Xavier Fugate points. Teammate Tyler Dietz scored 32 points and grabbed 13 added 13, and Madison coach Jeff rebounds for Edgewood.

lsider .

Z, 22- o 1

Princeton could meet Moeller in regional semis

r

he road to the state the regional semifinals basketball tournament March 18 at XU's Cintas in Columbus is always Center. unpredictable, includ• No.3 La Salle could g the occasional blizzard. face the Moeller-Princeton A 20-inch snowfall buried winner in the regional finals olumbus on the 2008 girls' March 21 at Cintas.

Tom ate finals weekend last • No.. 2 seed Middle(Msr.hen town, going the Columbus [arch. This year; barring 10ther natural disaster, route, could meet state No. 1 ere is a glance at how some of Columbus Northland in a regional 1e brackets might develop as we final March 21 at the Fairgrounds. ead upstate: • Middletown could meet DMSION I BOYS: Moeller/Princeton/La Salle in the state finals at Value City Arena.

• No. 1 sectional seed Prince>n could meet No.4 Moeller in DMSION I GIRLS:

• No. 1 seed Mount Notre Dame could play No. 3 Wmton Woods in the regional finals March 13 at Wright State.

• No.2 seed Lakota West, going the Columbus regional route, could face Mount Notre Dame or Wmton Woods in the state finals March 21 at Value City Arena.

As this is written, there were several could-go-either-way tournament games being played Saturday. Thus, we1l beg off on some of the Divisions II-IV seenarios for now.

BlANKED: The Cincinnati area

had no boys or girls make the 2009 McDonald's All-America basketball teams, announced this past week.

Only three local boys have been chosen since McDonald's began picking its teams in 1977: Rick Calloway (Withrow, 1985), Damon Flint (Woodward, 1993) and Chris Kingsbury (Hamilton, also 1993).

McDonald's began choosing girls' All-Americans in 2002, including Dee Davis (Princeton, 2003), Mel Thomas (Mount Notre Dame, 2004) and Amber Gray (La~

kota West, 2008).

BIG LUKE: With Middletown retiring Jerry Lucas' basketball number last week, I recalled an interview I did with Lucas in 2006.

Topics included recruiting.

Lucas announced that he did not want to be recruited during his Middletown senior season (1957-58). Lucas said he would choose a college after the season.

Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp, however, shQwed up in the hallway one day outside Lucas' English class at Middletown High.

Rupp had a UK assistant with him.

"I was very polite," Lucas said.

"I told them, 'I'm sorry you had to make the trip, and you1l never have to make it again.' The story hit the newspapers, and that never happened again."

Lucas eventually chose Ohio State.

"After the year was over, I went up to Ohio State on a recruiting trip," Lucas said. "I loved the university and I loved (OSU coach) Fred Taylor. I actUally visited no other school."

E-mail tgroeschen@enquirer.com

HI;HSC

C6 TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2009

Boys' basketball sectional tournaments

Lakota East, Moeller advance with easy wins

By Jason Williams Enquirer contributor

During last Saturday's practice, the Lakota East boys' basketball team was dealt a potentially devastating gut-punch.

Junior forward Trae Broadnax suffered a broken ankle, leaving a young Thunderhawks team without its leading scorer and rebounder at a crucial point in the season.

But 14th-seeded Lakota East seemed unfazed by the void in its lineup in Monday nighfs Division I sectional tournament game against No. 18 Edgewood at Cintas Center.

Sophomore point guard Michael Boyd scored a game-high 21 points and sparked the Thunderhawks' menacing defense as Lakota East cruised to a 66-32 victory over the Cougars. The Thunderhawks (13-9) surrendered just one point in the third quarter.

"I was really proud of the way our guys responded (to Broadnax's absence) ,"said Lakota East coach Wally Vickers, whose team advances to play fourth-seeded Moeller in the district semifinals Saturday. 'They weren't feeling sorry for themselves.

They accepted it" Broadnax, who averaged 10.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, suffered the season-ending injury to hlsrightanklewhilerunningsprints in practice, Vickers said.

The Thunderhawks, who have just one senior starter, turned to ~ foot-3 sophomore Cameron Lee to fill Broadnax's spot in the lineup.

Playing on the Xavier campus

The Enquirer/ Jeff Swinger

Moeller's Rudy Del.oiis battles for a loose ball against Glen Este's Mike Bouley in their Division I Southwest District game at Xavier.

where hls father, Ralph, was once a basketball star, Lee overcame early foul trouble to score 11 poin1s in the second half. ·"'feel like nowthatTrae's out, I've got to step up my game," sail Lee. Lakota East has won four straight games, matching its longest winning streak of the season. Viclrers· believes hls young team is gaining confidence and hasn't yet reached its full potential. "Basically, the sky's the limit," Boyd said.

Este to just 22.5 percent shooting from the field and 12 total points over the final three quarters.

Moeller has won six stroiight games by an average margin of26.3 points.

l.lloabo Ellll13-tl- Boyd 7 6 21. Goodwin 2 0 4.Lyons 2

Seven Hils 58, New Miami 30, Division IV Sectional, at Loveland: Jwrior forward Jake Davis scored 19 points to lead Seven Hills.

6 10. Lee 5 111. Leppert 113. 081115 2 2 6. Hesre!betg 1 2 5.

Keebler 1 0 2. Minch·! 0 2. Ptllllips.1 0 2. Totals: 23 18 66.

I~ lUll- McCa113 2 8. Mueller 2 l 5. Fugate 53 13. Weber 1 0 3. Kelly 2 0 4. Totals. 13 6 32.

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Maollor IJ9.ZI- Stamper 31 7. McKenzie 216. Hollis 3 3 9. Barlow 2 0 4. B)'OIS II 3. Morelock 2 0 5. Robinett 1 0 2.

Galernmo 1 0 3. Wacker 1 0 2. Clarl< 0 2 2. Vonderhaar 3 0 8.

Del.ols 3 3 9. Gresky 113. Totals 23 12 63.

GleaE'*-14 3 3 6 ....26 ....... _ _ _ 16 18 11 18 -63 3-poin11!15: M5 (Vondertlaar 2, McKerme, Galernmo, Morolock).

Summit Counby Day 60, Middletown Christian 54, Division IV SectionMoeler 63, Glen E'ste 26, Division I al, at Loveland: Summit senior guard sectional: The Crusaders opened Khiry Hankins led all scorers with 27

postseason play with another domi- points. Middletown Christian's Kennating defensive effort, holding Glen neth Gaynor scored a team-high 23;

THE ENQUIRER

Boys' basketball: Division I sectionals

MCKenzie on the mark for Moeller Doesn't miss a shot in win over East $/Bjo9

By Tobi Ramstetter tramstetter@enquirer.com

Griffin McKenzie scored a game-high 20 points and Moeller held off a furious Lakota East rally in the fourth quarter to post a 6156 victory Saturday evening in a Division I boys' basketball sectional game at Cintas Center.

McKenzie was perfect from the field and the line, going 6-for-6 from the·field, including making all four 3-pointers he attempted and all four free throws.

"He's a very capable shooter," Moeller coach Carl Kremer said.

"He turned his ankle in our last game. He didn't practice all week until the noncontact stuff and the walk-through.

"But he's a very capable shooter, that's what he does well. I thought he also gave us a presence ·around the boards rebounding. He certainly was a big part."

McKenzie shared the team lead with Alex Barlow, each grabbing four boards.

The Crusaders led 51-37 early in the fourth quarter after a 3pointer by senior Tony Harris, but the Thunderhawks cut that deficit to five in the last minute before Moeller held on.

"It's tournament basketball," Kremer said. "I thought the game got really physical. It was really difficl.dt for us to make cuts. But I give their kids and coaches credit.

They just kept coming at us." · McKenzie hit his last two free thro~s ;to put Moeller up 61-52 with Just more than a minute to play, butfour straight free throws, two aA1a result of a technical foul on Hdms, cut the lead to 61-56 in the dosing seconds, but Lakota East could get no closer.

"I fHt we got a bit tentative in the seoond half, but that happens," Kremer said. "Sometimes a team Coming from behind is able

''It's tournament basketball. I thought the game got really physical.

It was really. difficult for us to make cuts. " Moeler coach Cali Kremer

to be a bit more aggressive, but· we've just got to stand up to it."

Moeller will play the winner of Saturday's Loveland/Aiken game next Saturday at noon in the district final at the University of Dayton Arena.

Neither team scored in the first three minutes of the game, but Moeller jumped' ahead 8-0 after 3pointers by Josh Morelock and Charlie Byers and a jumper at the top of the key by McKenzie. The Crusaders led by as many as 12 in the second quarter.

Moeller hit five· 3-pointers · in the first quarter and two more in the second to take a 34-23lead into halftime. Griffin hit three ofthose 3-pointers and led the Crusaders at halftime with 13 points.

Cameron Lee led the Thunderhawks with nine first-half points and finished with 19. Mike Boyd added 12 for Lakota East.

Harris scored nine, eight in the second half, and Morelock, Brian Vonderhaar and Tim Stamper each added seven for Moeller.

MoeUer 116-21: Harris 2 4 9, Barlow 1 0 2, Stamper 2 2 7, Vonderhaar 2 1 7, Morelock 3 0 7, Robinette 1 0 2, Byers 2 0 5, Gresky 10 2, McKenzie 6 4 20. Totals 20 1161.

Lakota East (11-11: Goodwin 3 411, Lyons 215, Boyd 4 412, Lee 7 319, Keebler215, Hesterberg 10 2, Leppert 1 0 2. Totals 20 13 56. · Moeller ..........................17 17 14 13 -11 Lakota East ...................8 15 12 21 -56

Horne sidelined for No. 1 Princeton •I

· The Princeton boys' basketball team, which is ranked No. 1 in the Enquirer Division I area coaches' poll, has a key player hurt as a showdown with No. 2 Middletown approaches.

- Marquis Home, a 6-foot-7 senior forward, missed Tuesday night's 67-42 win over Oak Hills. Home is the team's third-leading scorer with an average of 11.3 points per game and its top rebounder at 7.3.

Home was hurt in practice Monday, Princeton coach Josh Andrews said. "It's a lower leg injury," Andrews said. · Andrews said it is unknown when Home will return.

The Vikings play home games against Hamilton on Friday and Middletown on Saturday.

-.:'We're holding out hope he'll be ready this week," Andrews said.

Home has signed with Ohio University.

FOOTBALL: Covington Catholic hired Dave Wuth as its head coach. ·Wirth, who spent five seasons as head coach at Badin, returns to CovCath, where he spent three seasons.

He takes over for Dave Brossart, who resigned in January.after going 10-14 in two seasons. ·:.The 33-year-old Wuth, a Moeller graduate, went 27.,25 with Badin, winning Greater Catholic League Cel'l.tral titles in 2006 and 2008. He was named GCL Central coach of the year in 2006 and 2008 and also was

named Associated Press Southwest District coach of the year in 2006 and Enquirer coach of the year in 2008.

• Roger Bacon coach Kevin Huxel announced three college commitments by Spartans players: offensive lineman Tony Koehling to Thomas More; defensive end/tight end Cody Parker to Georgetown, Ky.; and offensive lineman Shane Coleman to Mount St Joseph.

• Elder tight end Alex Welch has been offered scholarships by North Carolina State and Indiana, coach Doug Ramsey said. Welch, who will be a senior next season, caught 29 passes for 413 yards and four touchdowns for the Division I state runner-up Panthers last season.

BOXING: The Cincinnati High School Boxing Team will close its se11son against New York's high school team, the Aquinas Institution, at 10 a.m. Saturday. JG MMAAcademy will host the competition at 7716 Service Center Drive, West Chester Township.

The Cincinnati team includes boys and girls from Moeller, Elder, La Salle, the Lakota schools, Badin, Mercy, Walnut Hills, Western Hills, Princeton, Mason and Oak Hills.

The event is open to the public and admission is $5.

Information: Kenny Christo, kjchristo@hotmail.com.

- Tom Groeschen and Ryan Ernst .

OHIO HIGH SCHOOLS

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St. X bombs Fairmont for regional berth

By Tom Groeschen tgroeschen@enquirer.com

DAYfON - St Xavier basketball star Erik Stenger and his fellow Bombers cut down the nets here Saturday. Not bad for a team many figured would have turned in its uniforms by now.

Senior forward Stenger had 19 points and eight rebounds and St. Xavier easily beat Kettering Fainnont 57-42 in a Division I district game at University of Dayton Arena After an 11-9 regular season, the Bombers entered tournament play as a No.ll sectional seed. St. Xavier upset state No. 3-ranked Middletown in the sectional finals last weekend, and continued rolling Sa~rday night.

"We got that big V{Jn over Middle-

"Confidence is the biggest thing.

We have it now."

St. Xavier coach Scott Marlin

town and it really set us off," Stenger said. "When we go out, we know we're going to win the game now."

St. Xavier last year made its second consecutive state tournament appearance, with a senior-laden tean1. This season, Stenger was the only returnee with significant varsity experience. ''When guys come in that haven't played a lot, it takes a while for them," Bombers coach &~ott Martin said.

'There's a whole system to learn, and getting used to the quickness and intensity of it. We stayed steady all year, learning here and there."

.3 -I -;'-e> q

And now?

"Confidence is the biggest thing," Martin said. "We have it now."

Stenger agreed. "We knew the talent was here. Wejusthadalotofinexperience ... now, we're confident."

Junior guard Alex Longi had 10 points and five assists for the Bombers, who dominated from the opening minutes Saturday. Junior swingman Luke Massa had seven points and eight rebounds The Bombers (14-9) will play state No. 6-ranked Dublin Scioto (~3-1) in the regional semifinals at~ 7 p.m.

Wednesday at Columbus Fairgrounds Coliseum.

St. Xavier reached the state finals in 2007 (lost to Moeller) and the state semifinals (lost to Lakewood St. Edward) last year. The 2008 team graduated most of its top scorers, including Walt Gibler and Brad Loesing.

"It's been a buijding process," Martin said. "We would learn one thing, then there were two more things to learn. You get those things done, then you move on to the next thing. It's all coming together." st.X.rier (14-91- Stengei8 219, Longi 3 4!0, Massa 21 7, Niehaus 2 0 5, Holcomb I 4 6, Rolfes 2 0 4, Fowler I 0 2, Whelan 10 2, Muething I 0 2. Totals: 211157.

Falmoont (J.5.91- Rucker2 3 7, Shadowens 4 010, Shar1ck 306, Lee215, Westbeld31 7, BeekmanO II, Roalefl03, Trent I 0 3. Totals: 16 6 42. st. Xnlor --··----·-

F.n.l----

9 4

16 7

15 11

17 20

-57 -42

3-pointers: SX 4 (Massa 2, Stenger, Niehaus); F4 (Shod...,.ns 2, Roalef, Trent). · ·--

t)

Division I district boys' basketball.championships

Aiken upsets Moeller 63-59 Enquirer contributor

Guard tandem combines for 28 points

DAYfON - All seasonAiken boys' basketball coach Leon Ellison has been prodding guards Ontiwon Primus and Nick McCoy to step up their games.

TI1e duo stepped them up at just the right time - at the same time- to help Aiken upset Moeller 63-59 in a •Division I district championship game Saturday at University of Dayton Arena.

Primus and McCoy, who combined to average about 16 points per game this season, combined for 28 against Moeller, 19 in a back-andforth second half that saw Aiken finally take the lead for good at 51-49 on McCoy's steal and subsequent layup with 4:20 remaining.

'They were huge," said Ellison. "I've been on them all 'season, threatened to bench them, but about the past month or so - ever since the St. Xavier game - they've bought in and it's been a big difference for us.''

Aiken (16-7), which won the district for the first time since 1997, according to Ellison, has won five straight games since beating St. Xavier on Feb.17.

Having Primus and McCoy complement Aiken's Division !-college caliber inside tandem of 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Chane Behanon and 6-4 senior forward Darren Goodson, which makes the Falcons a tough team to defend, Moeller

By Richard Skinner

coach Carl Kremer said.

Goodson finished with 15 points, eight in a spectacular second quarter, and 10 rebounds, while Behanon, who already has committed to the University of Cincinnati, finished with 13.

"You have to pick your poison," said Kremer. "Our main goal was to keep (Behanon and Goodson) off the glass and if you'd have told me they'd only get six offensive rebounds as a team, I would have thought we would have won, but those other kids made some big shots. It wasn't that we didn't think they were good shooters, we just had to help down a lot on their big guys and try to keep them from rebounding and

they burned us,'' Primus and McCoy combined to make 9 of 16 shots from the field, including 4 of 6 3-pointers.

One possession after McCoy's steal and layup, Primus made a 3-pointer from the top of the key to extend the lead to 54-49 with 3:50 left.

"I've really been working at not rushing my shots and not being tentative either and everything just felt right all game," said Primus, who shot 3-for-4 from 3-point range in the game. 'They left me open a few times, and I just took it as a challenge."

Moeller (20-3) rallied from a 45-39 deficit with just over a minute left in the third quarter and tooka49-47lead onju-

nior forward Griffin McKenzie's layup off a nice feed from senior point guard Tony Harris. McKenzie led Moeller with 11 points and seven rebounds.

Harris missed an open 3 from the comer. Aiken then tied it at 49 when sophomore forward Aaron Thomas tipped-in Behanon's miss. On Moeller's next trip, McCoy came up with his steal when .he snuck behind Moeller senior forward Tim Stamper, poked the ball away and raced to the other end for the basket.

Moelor (20-31- Hams 4 0 9, Ba~ow 1 2 4, Stamper 1 0 2. Byers 3 3 10, Mct<enz!e 4 2 11, Morelock 1 0 3, Vonderhaar 50 14, Delois 1 0 2, Gresky 2 0 4. Totals 22 7 59.

Aiken (16-71- 0 Primus 4 2 13, McCoy 5 4 15, Behanon 53 13, G. Pnmus o11, Goodson 7 1 15, Hicks 1 0 2, Thomas I 2 4. Totals 23 13 63.

Moelor.---··--- 12 16 16 15 ~9 . . . , _ _ _ 17 11 17 18 -63 3-point goals: M - Vor>derhaar 4. Hams. Byers, McKenzie, Morelock. A- 0. Primus 3, McCoy.

Lancers had longed for this win

By Tom Groeschen tgroesrhen@enquircr.com

Princeton fans try to distract Mason's Luke Sutphin as he shoots a foul shot in Saturday's regional fi· nsd at UniverSIIty of Dayton Arena. Sutphin led the Comets with 13 points. •

Princeton ends suspense quickly in win over Mason By iltichard Skinner :3- 1 s. . oc;

34-17 halftime lead.

"I !bought we actually did a pretty good job guarding them DAYrON - Princeton wa1tand co'l.testing shots, but they ed to make sure [t didn't let Magot too many easy baskets off son bang around in their boys' the turnovers.n said Richards. basketball Divl.~ ion I district Princeton junior guard ch<unpionship game Saturday Marcus Davis keved the defenthe way it did when the teams sive assault with five steals. met in the regular season.

"Everybody said we were The ViKings diidn't. sluggish when we played them Princeton used its trapping tlw last time so we wanted to pressure defen!le to force <>nx come out and show what hapfirst-<Juarter tumovers en roule ,ened back then wasn't going to opening the game on a ::!3-5 to happen today," said Davis, run, and then cru>sed to a 62:.40 who had four points and five asvictory at University of Dayton · sists. uwe know that it takes a Arena.

Jot for another team to playwith The Vikings (22-1) advance us. We know offensively we're to play Aiken (16-7) in a regional good enough, but so are a Jot of semiiinal game at 6:15 p.m. other teams so we have to disWednesd.lY at Xavier UniversitJ nguish ourselves on the defenty's Cintas Center sive end."

"If~ E1e first time we played Prinn:ton got a big oftellSive at UD this yt>ar, and you're not Princeton's JordJn Sibert wowed the crowd fa-st quarter from high-tlyingjuguaranteed to make shots and with a reverse dunk in 1he Vikings' "''in. nior guard Jordan Sibert, who we didn't necessarily shoot tk'te scored 10 of his game-high 18 thing welL but our focus was doing just too much for his team, espedru· points in the period. Sit bert put an exthings on the defensive end <111d we ly without injured junior point guard clamation point on his game with a executed what we wanted to do fair- Austir Brune, who sufiered a bro- rever~e dunk off a steal in the fourth ly well," said Princeton coach josh ken wrist in the regular-season fina- quarter. Senior guard Or.lando WilAndrews. le against Fairfield. liams chipped in 11 points - nine in '"The fact that ~ese guys fought "I think they knew they hac! tD the first half- four assists and three us the way they did in our gym back come 01lt and set the kone early,"' steals.

Senior forward Luke Sutphin led in January was exactly what we need said Richards. "We said we had to for this kind of game." try to eliminate the big q e~arter and Mason (14-9) with 13 points.

Princeton won the regular-sea- theystu.:k the big one on us the first 0 0, Billings4 0 B. Co•21 7. son matc!lup 49-43 and had ta pull quarter. That's typically how the!' Brown-114-91-SIWfferO 31 T. Sutphin 5-J 13, King 113,Carden 0 2 2. Tota~s 15 8 40. blow people out." away from <m 18-18 halftime tie.

Princebt 122·1)- 'iW111iams 50 1 Johnson 3 3 9, kome Prin:eton wound up iorcing 11 2 0 4, Dcvls12 4, Sibert 7 31B. Wilkir1s 2 5 g., Martin 0:3 3, Mason coach Greg Richards, ~oper 0 2 2 Baker 1 U 3. Totals 21 i.B '63 whose !.earn was competing in its turnovers in the first half and 19 ior - · · · · - - - - 7 100 12 11 -40 first D11vision I district tournament the game. The 11 first-hali turnovers - - - - - 23 11 11 18 -63 ever, said Princeton's pressure was led to 1;3 points as the VilLngs took a 3-point goah: M - Cox 2. I? - Williams, Sibert, eaker.

Enquirtr cottlribu.'cr

1.,

DAYfON- La Salle is headed back to the Division 1 regional basketball tournament for the first time since the Justin Orr era.

The Lancers beat Huber Heights Wayne 68-64 in the district final Saturday night at University of Dayton Arena. La Salle (22-2) will play Centerville (20.3) in the regional semifinals at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Cintas Center.

Senior guard Jordon Crawford scored 20 points to lead I~ Salle. Shortly after the game. La Salle personnel initially were unsure the last time the progrdiil had reached regionals.

After a while, the consensus was that the last regional trip was 2004. 'lnat was Orr's senior year, when the I..ancers started 19-0 and were ranked No. 1 in the state before losing Orr to a season-ending knee ailment.

La Salle lost in regionals that year.

Orr went on to Murray State and then transferred to Ohio University, and Lancers fans still ponder what might have been.

"It's been awhile," La Salle coach Dan Fleming said. "It's nice for these seniors b,ecause they're a tight, tight group<md they're great leaders. We've gotten great contributions from lots of guys."

Senior forward Danny McElroy backed Crawford with 16 points, six re-: bounds and five assists. Sophomore forward Brandon Neel had 12 points, and senior forward Austin Kummer came off the bench for 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Kummer said the Lancers dedicated the victory to their fans, especially redshitted fellow students who stood several rows deep in one end zone at UDArena.

• "For them to drive an hour to Day-· ton to see us on a Saturday night, that means a lot to us," Kummer said.

La Salle led by nine points (29-20, 35-26) and seemed in control several times, but Wayne kept coming back with Its fast-paced offensive attack.

The Lancers finally got enough stops in the second half, and two Crawford free throws with 39.1 seconds left made it 68-61 to essentially end it.

Crawford said La Salle wanted ·to play a tough, physical style of Greater Catholic League South basketball.

"Our defense won it for us," Crawford said.

Said Fleming. "We just tried to guard them and make them take tough shots. We got enough good shots, especially inside, to get ahead early."

W-IJ8.61-Williams3 2 8, BilDie 7323, Mallooy4210.

Trice 0 0 0, Crider 52 12, Balliett 3 5 !l. Totals: 22 14 64.

Lo- 122-21- Crawfom 6 8 20. McElroy 5 6 16, Neel 6 o 12. Aeming 4 08, Heusmcnn 1 C 2. Kumrr.er 4 210 Totals: 2616

68.

W----·--

... Sdt------

3-p-Jinters: W 6 (BaZile 6). l 0.

17

9

18

20

-64

18

13

14

23

- 88

Bols' basketball: Division I sectionals '3- g -o<j

St. X upsets No. 2-ranked Middletown Noeller holds off rally by Lakota East B,Tom Ramstetter tronstetter@enquirer.com

St Xavier built an early 13-point led in the first half, lost it, then built a A-point lead in the second half and htld on to upset second-ranked Middetown 68-59 Saturday night in a Divi;ion I boys' sectional final at Cintas Qnter.

St Xavier got 19 points from seni?r center Erik Stenger, 15 from juni?r guard Alex l..ongi and 14 from junnr guard Luke Massa and acfanced to play in the district final n¢ Saturday at the University of Dl)'ton Arena against the winner of M)nday's game between Meadowdde 1\lld Kettering Fairmont 'This whole week we were talking in~ractice about how we were going to beat Middletown and we came ba:k and got the win," Stenger said.

The Bombers surged to a 20.7 leil after the first quarter behind nite points by Massa. Middletown st<ged a rally in the second quarter ani tied the game at 25-25 on a free ~w by senior guard Bill Edwards.

BU: Edwards missed the second free thi>w and St Xavier went on a 14-0 ~that took the game into the third quirter. the Bombers raced ahead 39-25 an~ held on. Middletown never led in thegame. ..ongi scored 11 of his points in the fouth quarter, making 11 of 14 free thnw attempts as the Bombers fended )ff the Middies' rally.

1 didn't realize I was at the line tha many times," l..ongi said. 'Thafs a nal focus of ours and it paid off."

Middletown cut the lead to five in thefinal minutes, but could get no clo:er.

'I told our guys at halftime that the ma;t impressive part for us was stoppirg their run," St Xavier coach Scttt Martin said. 'That was the time w~n they had all the momentum." ..illen Roberts led the Middies wid 27 points and Tony Peters added but Middletown shot just 35.4 pecent from the field. The Bombers shjt 54.1 perce!lt from the field and

p,

70 percent from 3-point range, making7 of10.

Six of those 3-pointers came in the first half as the Bombers established that they were there to play with the Middies.

"I think it just made them know that they had to compete," Martin said. 'They knew we could compete with them. They're a great team and they have great players. We knew we had to perform and our guys worked hard all week" ,.._,119-31:.Roberts61127,Edlw!lls317,Petem 4 717, Ramsey 2 0 4, Wright 2 0 4. Totals 17 19 59.

Sl.x..lorll3-91:Stenger7 519, lon!li 11315,Massa 50 ~~ls13, Holcomb 4 0 II, Rolfes I 0 2, Wagner 12 4. , . . _ , _ _ _ _7 18 11 23 -69

i!..s

St. x..lor

20

10

15

23

-68

Moeller 61, Lakota East 56: Griffin McKenzie scored· a game-high 20 points and Moeller held off a furious Lakota East rally in the fourth quarter to post the victory Saturday evening in a Division I boys' basketball sectional game at Cintas Center.

McKenzie was perfect from the field and the line, going 6-for.Q from the field, including making all four 3pointers he attempted and all four free throws.

The Crusaders led 51-37 early in the fourth quarter after a 3-pointer by seniorTony Ranis, but the Thunderhawks cut that deficit to five in the last minute before Moeller held on.

"Ifs tournament basketball," Moeller coach Carl Kremer said. "I thought the game got really physical.

It was really difficult for us to make cuts. But I give their kids and coaches credit. They just kept coming at us."

Moeller will play Aiken next Sat- . urday in the district final at the University of Dayton Arena Cameron Lee led the Thunderhawks with nine first-half points and finished with 19. Mike Boyd added 12 for Lakota East · Moo1or 11.6-21: Hanis 2 4 9, Bariowl 0 2, Stamper 2 2 7, Vondemaar217, Morelock 3D 7, Robinettel02, Byem2 05, Gresky I 0 2, McKenzie 6 4 20. Totals 20 1161.

Llkato Eat (11-81: Goodwin 3 411, lyons 215, Boyd 4 4 12, lee 7 319, Keebler 2 I 5, Hesterbelg I 0 2, Leppen I 0 2.

Totals 2013 56.

Moolor----17 17 14 13 -61 ......... Eat 15 12 21 -S6

C6 TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2009

HIGHSC

Boys' basketball sectional tournaments

Lakota East, Moeller advance with easy¡wins

By Jason Williams Enquirer contributor

During last Saturday's practice, the lakota East ¡ boys' basketball team was dealt a potentially devastating gut-punch. junior fotward Trae Broadnax suffered a broken ankle, leaving a young Thunderhawks team without its leading scorer and rebounder at a crucial point in the season.

But 14th-seeded lakota East seemed unfazed by the void in its lineup in Monday nighfs Division I sectional tournament game against No. 1.8 Edgewood at Cintas Center.

Sophomore point guard Michael Boyd scored a game-high 21 points and sparked the Thunderhawks' menacing defense as lakota East cruised to a 66-32 victory over the Cougars. The Thunderhawks (13-9) surrendered just one point in the third quarter.

"I was really proud of the way our guys responded (to Broadnax's absence)," saidlakotaEastcoach Wally Vickers, whose team advances to play fourth-seeded Moeller in the district semifinals Saturday. "They weren't feeling sorry for themselves.

They accepted it" Broadnax, who averaged 10.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, suffered the season-ending injury to his right ankle while running sprints in practice, Vickers said.

The Thunderhawks, who have just one senior starter, turned to 6foot-3 sophomore Cameron Lee to fill Broadnax's spot in the lineup.

Playing on the Xavier campus

The Enquirer/Jeff Swinger

Moeller's Rudy.DeLols battles for a loose ball against Glen Este's Mike Bouley in their Division I Southwest District game at Xavier.

where his father, Ralph, was once a basketball star, Lee overcame early foul trouble to score 11 points in the second half.

"I feel like nowthatTrae's out, fve got to step up my game," said Lee. lakota East has won four straight games, matching its longest winning streak of the season. Vickers believes his young team is gaining confidence and hasn't yet reached its full potential "Basically, the sky's the limit," Boyd said.

Este to just 22.5 percent shooting from the field and 12 total points over the final three quarters.

Moeller has won six straight games by an average margin of 26.3 points.

l.ololla E'all (13.11)- Boyd 7 6 2!. Goodwin 2 0 4.Lyons 2 6 10. Lee 5 Ill. Leppert II 3. Davis 2 2 6. Hesterbe!g I 2 5.

Keebler I 0 2. Minch I 0 2. PhHI!ps I 0 2. Totals: 2318 66.

Edpolaad IIUI- McCa!l3 2 8. Mueller 215. fugale 53 13. Weber! 03. Kelly2 04. Totals: 13632. l.olollaE'all-9 18 14 25 -Edpolaad__ 6 10 1 15 -az 3-pointers: lE 2 (lteste!tJelg. Boyd).

Seven Hils 58, New Miami 30, Division IV Sectional, at Loveland: Junior

Moeler 63, Qlen Este 26, Division I seclionat The Crusaders opened postseason play with another dominating defensive effort, holding Glen

flloe Esle 17-151- Goedde 3 0 6. lehr 2 15. Wesp 0 3 3.

McCalla 3 3 9. Seclanan I 0 2. Bouley 0 II. Totals: 9 8 26.

Moolor IJ9.21- Stamper3! 7. McKenzie 2 16. Harris 3 3 9. Barlow 2 0 4. l!)9s 113. Morelock 2 0 5. Robinett I 0 2.

Ge!ernmo I 0 3. Waci<ef I 0 2. !lar1< 0 2 2. Vonde!llaar 3 0 8.

Delols 3 3 9. Gresl<y 1!3. Totals 23 12 63.

GloaE'.IIe-- 14 3 3 6 -.26 Moolor--16 18 11 18 -63 3-pointers: M 5 (Vonderhaar 2, Mctlenlle, Ge!ernmo, Morelock).

fotward Jake Davis scored 19 points to lead Seven Hills.

Summit Counby Day 60, Middle-

town Christian 54, Division IV Sectional, at Loveland: Summit senior guard Khiry Hankins led all scorers with 27

points. Middletown Christian's Kenneth Gaynor scored a team-high 23.

PrinCeton could meet Moeller in regional semis

r

he road to the state the regional semifinals basketball tournament March 18 at XU's Cintas in Columbus is always Center. unpredictable, includ• No. 3l.a Salle could o.g the occasional blizzard. face the Moeller-Princeton A 2(}inch snowfall buried winner in the regional finals . ;olumbus on the 2008 girls' March 21 at Cintas. :tate finals weekend last Tom • No. 2 seed Middle.iarch. This year, barring Groeschen town, going the Columbus 1110ther natural disaster, route, could meet state No.1 tere is a glance at how some of Columbus Northland in a regional he brackets might develop as we final March 21 at the Fairgrounds. tead upstate: • Middletown could meet DMSION I BOYS; Moeller/Princeton/l.a Salle in the • No. 1 sectional seed Princestate finals at Value City Arena , on could meet No.4 Moeller in DMSION I GIRLS:

had no boys or girls make the • No.1 seed Mount Notre Dame could play No.3 Wmton 2009 McDonald's All-America basketball teams, announced this past Woods in the regional finals week.

March 13 at Wright State.

Only three local boys have • No.2 seed Lakota Wt:st, going the Columbus regional route, been chosen since McDonald's could face. Mount Notre Dame or . began picking its teams in 1977: Rick Calloway (Withrow, 1985), Wmton Woods in the state finals March 21 at Value City Arena.

Damon Flint (Woodward, 1993) and Chris Kingsbury (Hamilton, As this is written, there were several could-go-either-way touralso 1993).

McDonald's began choosing nament games being played Satur· day. Thus, we11 beg off on some of girls' All-Americans in 2002, inthe Divisions II-IV scenarios for cluding Dee Davis (Princeton, 2003), Mel Thomas (Mount Notre now.

Dame, 2004) and Amber Gray (LaBLANKED: The Cincinnati area

kota West, 2008).

BIG WKE: With Middletown retiring Jerry Lucas' basketball number last week, I recalled an interview I did with Lucas in 2006.

Topics included recruiting.

Lucas announced that he did not want to be recruited during his Middletown senior season (1957-58). Lucas said he would choose a college after the season.

Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp, however, showed up in the hallway one day outside Lucas' English class at Middletown High.

Rupp had a UK assistant with him.

"I was very polite," Lucas said.

"I told them, 'I'm sorry you had to make the trip, and you11 never have to make it again.' The story hit the newspapers, and that never happened again."

Lucas eventually chose Ohio State.

"After the year was over, I went up to Ohio State on a recruiting trip," Lucas said. "I loved the university and I loved (OSU coach) Fred Taylor. I actually visited no other school."

E-mail tgroeschen@enquirer. com

BASKETBALL TOP TEN LEADERS Name, ICbool

BOYS' SCORING

Westem Brown Fugate, Edgewood Smith, Hughes Claytor, Talawanda Wallace, Talawanda Yates, Walnut Hills Hanis, Falr11eld Brown, Mason Young, Williamsburg Schal)o, Bethel-Tate Mo~gan,

- . ..hool

PPG 27.5 24.5 23.8 22.5 21.5 20.4 20.3 19.9 19.9 19.5

G

Ast.

10 13 15 12 10 12 10 12 11 10

87 99 107 78 59 68 54 63 56 50

APG 8.7 7.6 7.1 6.5 5.9 5.7 5.4 5.3 5.1 5.0

11 13 13 13 13 12 10 12 13 13

BOYS' ASSISTS

Howell, Lockland Ervin, Cincinnati Country Day Mitchell, Taft Brandts, Cincinnati Christian Teny, Clennont Northeastern Howard, Walnut Hills Knabb, Eastem VanNatta, Badin Barthel mas, Deer Park Langham, Fenwick

r..-·;J-.

Pis. 303 318 309 292 279 245 203 239 259 253

G

-.schoolBOYS' REBOUNDING

G Reb.

Westem Brown Sdlal)o, Bethel-Tate Claytor, Talawanda Yates. Walnut Hills Cieney, Eastem DaviS, Seven Hills Fugate, Edgewood Hams, Taft Watkins, SL Bemard Frte, Western Brown Mo~gan,

11 13 13 12 10 11 13 15 11 11

BOYS' STEALS -

...hool

Hill, Western Hills Herkamp, Mariemont Crawford, LaSalle Smith, Lockland Mann, Cincinnati Christian Ramsey, Clark Montessori Foster, Colerain Williams, Shroder Paldela Bartllelmas, Deer Park Benin, Wilmington

G 10 12 12 12 11 11 12 15 11 12

BOYS' BLOCKS G -.ochool Billups, Shroder Paldela 15 Cartson, CHCA Flte, western Brown Bryan~ Milford Cole, Ross Mummert. Clennont Northeastern Hanis, Taft Watl<ins, SL Bernard Vonderllaar, Colerain Chancellor, Woodward

12 11 13 12 10 15 11 10 11

RPG

alj GIRLS' SCORING -.school

-.school

511.

46 49 45 46 35 35 38 44 31 34

SPG 4.6 4.1 3.8 3.8 3.2 3.2 3.2 2.9 2.8 2.8

Bennett, Lockland Maynard, Lockland Shaw, Winton Woods Hogan, Martemont Reed, Cincinnati Country Day Rison, New Miami McCoy. Shroder Paideia Davis, Western Brown McClelland, Northwest Sharkey, SL Ursula

BPG

Hi-, scloool

2.9 2.5 2.3 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.0 1.8 1.8

G

Ast.

14 12 13 14 14 13 14 12 14 12

91 69 74

APG 6.5 5.8 5.7 5.1 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.7 4.6 4.6

71

69 64 67 56 65 55

GIRLS' REBOUNDING

-.school Stokes, Shroder Paideia

16.5 12.4 12.2 11.6 11.4 11.3 11.0 11.0 10.8 10.8

43 30 25 28 26 21 31 22 18 20

PPG 26 4 23.2 20.2 20.0 19.6 19.1 19.1 18.5 17.4 17.1

14 14 11 12 15 13 12 14 14 14

GIRLS' ASSISTS

Parker, Summ~ Country Day Hamlet, Glen Este Bennett. Lockland lies, Fayetteville Peny Arington, CHCA Maynard, lockland Sheets, Fayetteville Peny Evans, Seven Hills Jones, Hughes Brunsman, Mercy

182 161 159 139 114 124 143 165 119 119

...

Pis. 370 325 222 240 294 248 229 259 244 240

G

Sheets, Fayetteville Peny Kust, CHCA Beasley, North Adams McCoy, Shroder Paideia Canoll, Cincinnati Christian DaviS, Hughes Dunn, Seven Hills Riddle, Fair11eld Local Emst, Batavia Wanninger, Colerain

Willtams, Clark Montessori Sharkey, Sl Ursula Meckstroth, Mercy Clark. lockland Temme!, Wyoming Canoll, Cincinnati Chrtstian Kees, Merty Constable, Goshen Jones, North College Htll

-.scloool

G 12 14 14 12 13 12 15 12 14 13

GIRLS' STEALS

G 13 13 13 11 13 11 12 11 12 14

GIRLS' BLOCKS

Sharkey, St Ursula Harmon, Turpin jones, Hu~es McCoy, Shroder Paldeta Williams, Clark Montessori Riddle, Fair11eld Local Kees, Mercy Stokes, Shroder Paldeia Hackney, Mount Notre Dame Stanton, Walnut Hills

G 14 14 10 12 14 14 12 12 15 13

Reb.

RPG

183 208 174 145 151 133 163 130 147 135

15.3 14.9 12.4 12.1 11.6 11.1 10.9 10.8 10.5 10.4

511.

80

SPG 6.2 4.8 4.5 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.2 4.2

63 58 48 56 47 52 47 50 59

...

54 46 30 33 33 32 28 28 31 27

BPG 3.9 3.3 3.0 2.8 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.1 2.1

La Salle 55, Moeller 53

1-31-09

Tile Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II

Moeller's Charlie Byers (32) goes up for a layup and.gets fouled by La Salle's Matthew Woeste in the third period. The Crusaders led by as many as 15 points in the penod.

Lancers make most of home advantage

By Tom Groescl~en tgmeschen@tnquirer. com

La Salle's Brandon Neel puts up a shot over the Moeller defense.

NeeI scored 14 points for the Lancers, who were led

by Jordon Crawford's 路

The La Salle gymnasium is small, hot and loud. The Lancers' best player is aiso small and on Friday night, he was hot.

Senior point guard Jordon Crawford, who stands 5 feet 6, scored 25 points and hit the dLnching free throws in a 55-53 comebaek win over ~oeller.

A sellout crowd of 900 watched Crawford hit two (oul shots to decide it with 5.1 seconds left. Moeller had trouble with the ensiling inbounds play, and the Crusaders missed on a desperation shotfrorn beyond hallfcourt.

25.

Enquirer/ J. Fuqua II

''Jordonmadealotofbigplays,~

La Salle coach Dan Fleming said.

'That, and I guess ifs something about this gym. Something ba,~>" versity in practice and games " leading scorer, 6-7 setiior forward pens iri here, and I don't know La Salle is ranked No. 4 andl Danny McElroy, being held to

what it is."

The Lancers rallied from a 15point third-qua..rter deficit to beat their Greater Catholic South League rival.

The Lancers~ cozy confines are tough on visitnrs. With stands on one side, a s~ on the other and fans standing on the baselines, there isn't much room to roam much less breathe or think.

"We love pJaying here at home," Crawford said.

Crawford, who will play college ball at Ashland (Ohio), has led La Salle with a 17.3-point scoring average this season.

Moeller cruised to leads of 4025 and 42-27 mostly with a barrage of layups, until La Salle turned up rrs defense a notch.

Buoyed by the crowd and 25 Moeller turnovers, the Lancers came back.

"During practices last year, we'd just qui1t, ~ Crawford said "This vear. we fi.eht through ad-

Moeller is No. 3 in the Enquirer Division Kcoaches' poll.

La Salle lost 52-49 at Moeller on Jan. 9, but ~'vloeller often struggles at La Salle's gym. The Crusaders" last loss to a Cincinnati team had been.27 games and nearly two years ago, a defeat at La Salle on Feb. 9, 2007.

"I was proud that our guys played so well for three quarters, but I credit La Salle for coming back," Moeller coach Carl Kremer said. 'They kept bringing the beat and we turned it over. A lot of the credit far that goes to theiiL" Neither team had played all week, with snow having calllceled most games.

"We were having trouble catching our wiind at first, but once we did we were fine," Crawford! said Crawford, 12-for-12 at the foul ine, also had three assists. Sophomore forward Brandon Neel backed Crawford with 14 points.

La Salle won despite its second-

three points, The Bowling Greenbound McElroy averages 17.0 points.

For Moeller, sophomore guard Charlie Byers had 12 points and senior Tony Harris scored 11.

Moeller 6-foot-.'3 junior Griffin McKenzie, who has missed most of the season with a back injury, saw action for only the second time.. McKenzie, the Crusaders' top college prospect, scored seven points. ''We held !hem to 19 points in the second half," Fleming said.

"That was bi~. Wejustkeptguarding them and guarding them, and we stayed v.ilh it."

- 路 113-2, 6-i GCL-51 -Morelock 1 0 2, Barlow 2 2 6, Du=n 2 0 4, Stamper4 0 8, Byer.; 3 612, Harris 3 4 11, RObinett Q 11, Grnsky 1112, \1cKenzie 2 2 7. Totals: 18 15 53.

Lo Sdlo 112路2.. :1-1 CCL-51 - Crawford 6 12 25, McElroy 0 3 3, Woes:e 2 0 4, Nee16 2 14, Aem!ng 3 1 9.

Totals: 17 !8 55.

Moellllr路------19 15 8 11 -53 1.1 Sde 11 n 15 18 -ss 3-pointters M 2 (Hal'is, McKenzie); l 3 (Aeming 2, Crawfcrdl.

BASKETBALL TOP TEN LEADERS NH!e,school

Morgan, Western Brown Chadwell, Georgetown Fugate, Edgewood Smith, Hughes Claytor, Talawanda Yates, Wainut Hills Hams, Fairfield Wallace, Talawanda Schaljo, Bethei·Tate Bowlmg, Hillcrest

Marne, school

J;....2j.o'

BOYS' SCORING

Pts. 265 198 222 309 222 231 183 203 221 !55

G 10 8 9 13 10

II

9 10 II

8

BOYS' ASSISTS

Ast. 69 72 92 68 59 46 62 54 57 57

G 8 10 13

Howell, Lockland Ervin, Cincinnati Counl!Y Day Mitchell, Taft Brandts, Cincinnati Christian Teny, Clermont Northeastern Robinson, Hillcrest Howard, Walnut Hills Knabb, Eastem VanNatta, Badin Tudor, Madeira

II

10 8 II

10 II II

BOYS' REBOUNDING

NH!e,school

Morgan, Western Brown Schaljo, Bethei·Tate Yates, Walnut Hills Cierley, Eastern Wesp, Glen Este Bryant, Milford Davis, Seven Hills Rte, Western Brown Harris, Taft Claytor, Talawanda

Name, school

Reb.

G 10 II

167 134 132 114 90 135 124 112 144 109

II

,10 8 12 II

10 13 10

BOYS' STEALS

Crawford, lllSalle Ramsey, Clark Montessori Robinson, Hillcrest Foster, Colerain Smith, lockland Her1<amp, Mariemont Mann. Cincinnati Christian RoUms, Wilmington Williams, Shrader Paideia lewis, Hillcrest

G 12 8 8 II

9 9 10 B

12 8

BOYS' BLOCKS

Name, school Billups, Shroder Paideia Corlson, CHCA Chadwell, Georgetown Bryant, Milford

Rte, Western Brown Mummert, Clermont Northeastern Hams, Taft Vonderhaar, Colerain Bowling, Hillcrest Watkins, St. Bernard '}<

G 12 8 8 12 10 10 13 9 8

II

511.

45 28 28 37.

31 31 33 26 38 24 Blk. 34 19 19 27 23 21 27 18 16 22

Name, school

GIRLS' SCORING

PPG 26.5 24.8 24.7 23.8 22.2 21 20.3 20.3 20.1 19.4

Sheets. Fayetteville Peny Kust, CHCA Beasley, North Adams McCoy, Shroder Paideia Davis, Hughes Dunn, Seven Hills Carroll, Cincinnati Chnsuan Wanninger, Colerain Emst, Batavia Riddle, Fairfield local

APG 8.6 7.2 7.1 6.2 5.9 5.8 5.6 5.4 5.2 5.2

Parker, Summrt Country Day Hamlet, Glen Este Arington, CHCA lies, Fayetteville Peny Bennett, Loc~and Sheets, Fayetteville Peny Brunsman, Mercy jones, Hughes Harper, Roger Bacon Evans, Seven Hills

RPG 16.7 12.2 12 11.4 11.3 11.3 11.3 11.2 11.1 10.9

Name, school

G 12 12

II

12 II

10 II

12 II

12

GIRLS' ASSISTS G

II

12 12 12 10 12 10 12 12 10

Pts. 318 278 222 240 216 190 208 219 198 211

PPG 26.5 23.2 20.2 20 19.6 19 18.9 18.3 18 17.6

Ast. 67 69 63 63 52 59 49 57

APG 6.1 5.8 5.3 5.3 5.2 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.8 4.7

58

47

GIRLS' REBOUNDING

Name, school

Stokes, Shroder Paideia Williams, Clark Montesson Sharkey, St. Ursula Clark, Lockland Meckstroth, Mercy Jones, North College Hill carroll, Cmcinnati Christian Temmel, Wyoming Harmon, Turpin .

Reed, Cincinnati Country Day

Bennett, Loc~and Reed, Cincinnati Country Day Sharkey, St. Ursula Shaw, Winton Woods jones, Hughes Maynard, lookland McCoy, Shroder Paideia Davis, Western Brown Mrtchell, Ripley·Union Par1<er, Summrt Counl!Y Day

BPG 2.8 2.4 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.1 2.1 2 2 2

Sharkey, St. Ursula Harmon, Turpin McCoy, Shroder Paideia Williams, Clark Montesson Stokes, Shroder Paideia Kees, Mercy Hackney, Mount Notre Dame Stanton, Walnut Hills Uttle, Williamsburg Connor, Clermont Nortjastem

Name, school

II

13 10 10 II II to' II

10

GIRLS' STEALS

SPG 3.8 3.5 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.3 3.3 3.2 3

Name, school

'G 12

G 10 10 13 10 12 ID

12 II

12 II

GIRLS' BLOCKS G 13 II

12 .II

12 10 14 II

10 12

183 148 161 114 113 124 123 112 119 107

RPG 15.3 13.5 12.4 11.4 11.3 11.3 11.2 11.2 10.8 10.7

511.

57 46 58 45 53 44 52 47 47 42

SPG 5.7 4.6 4.5 4.5 4.4 4.4 4.3 4.3 3.9 3.8

Blk. 51 38 33 25 28 22 29 23 21 24

BPG 3.9 3.5 2.8 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.1 ,2

Reb.

Defense propels Moeller to win in California tournament Enquirer staff reports If ~ 27 .. e8

Moeller used a stifling defense to wallop Woodside, Calif., 7fr27 in the Don Bambauer Christmas Classic in San Francisco Friday.

Moeller was up 48-6 at halftime thanks to 19 Woodside turnovers.

All13 players scored for Moeller.

a game-high 24 points but it wasn't enough for the Lancers in the first round of the Kingdom of the Sun Junior guard Josh Morelock led tournament in Ocala, Fla. all scorers with 13 points.

La Salle plays today at 11:30 a.m.

Today, Moeller plays a team Hughes 64, Springboro 53: from Sacramento.

Hughes was led by junior forward Eastside (Fla.) 53, La Salle 48: Jack Smith with a game-high 24 Senior guard Jordon Crawford had points. B.J, Lowery added 17.

Boys' basketball

Princeton 64, St. Thomas Aquinas

(Fla.) 53: Senior guard OrlandtJ Williams scored a game-high 26 points to help Princeton win in tlre Tampa Bay Hoops Classic. â&#x20AC;˘ Junior Jordan Sibert and senior Marquis Home combined for 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Vikings, who play today at 9 p.m.

I AP state boys' basketball poll

I

I 3-~ C>.t:;

a.t

How a state panel of sports writers and broadcasters rates Ohio high school boys basketball teams in tile first of seven weekly Associated Press polls of 2009, by OHSAA divisions, with won-lost record and total points (first-place votes in parentheses):

'

DMSNINI

I I, Cols. Northland (12) 7-Q

I 2, Upper Arlington (2) 10-Q

153 125

3, Moeller 121s-1 . 4, Prtncetan 121 9-1

119 115

1

5, Trotwood-Madison (2) S-Q 6, Barbe~on (3) s-o 7, Warren Harding 6-Q S, Cle. Glenville 6-0

9, MiddJeiDwn 1119-1

113 100 91 S7

73

10, Uma Sr. S-O 63 Others receiving 12 or more points: 11, Cols.

Beechcrofi 50.12, lorain Admiral King 47. 13, Lyndhurst Brush (I) 37.14, Lo Sole 34.15, Galfleld Hts. (I) 29.16 (tie), Lakewood St EdWard, Newark (I) 2S. IS, Hudson 27. 19, N. Roya~on 24. 20, S~vania Soutllview 21. 21, Dublin Scioto 19. 22, Walnut Ills 13. 23, Centerville 12.

DMSNINII

I, St Pans Graham (II) S-0 2, Circleville Logan Elm (5) 9-Q 3, Day. Dunbar (4) S-1

19S 142 140

4,1ndian 1111111 7·1 5, Wlmift&lolo 7.0

112 104

6, Dover (2) S-1 100 7, Poland Seminary 7-2 7S S,BayVillageBay(l)7-l 71 9, Cols. DeSales 9-1 70 10, Cle. Benedictine (I) 7-3 65 Otllers receiving 12 or more points: 1!, Spnng.

Kenton Ridge 63.12, Akr. SVSM (I) 58.13, Chlllicotlle (I) 36.141tlel, ~ llocoll, Tol. Cent Cotll. 29.

16, Chagnn Falls 23. 17, Akr. Buchtel17. IS, Tol. Ubbey 16. 19, Day. Col. Whtte 13. 20, Napoleon 12.

DMSNINID

I, Ottawa-Glandorf (19) S-0 224 2, Smithville S-0 125 3, w. Salem NW s-o 94 4, Richwood N. Union (I) 9-Q S7 5, Cle. Cent Catll. (2) S-1 S5 6, casstown Miami E. (I) 7-Q Sl 7. Kirtland 7-0 79 S, Findlay Ube~-Benton 7-I 77 9, Anna 7-1 74 10, Spa~ Highland (I) 7-Q 69 Otllers receiVing 12 or more points: 11, Cortland Maplewood 51.12, BelmontUnlonJ.ocal47.13, Mid· dleluwn ....._ 44. 14, london Madison-Plains 34. 15, Ironton 32. 16, St Henry (I) 30. 17, Day. Chnstlan 2S. IS (tie), Youngs. Ursuline, Cuyahoga ' Falls CVCA 26. 20, Piketon (1), 22. 21, Newton Falls 15. 22, Portsmoutll12.

DMSNINIV

I, New Knoxville (16) 7-Q 2, Bertin Hiland (7) 10-Q 3, Worthington CMstlan (1) 8-2 4, Newark Coth. 9-Q 5, ae. Hts.l.uthefan E. (I) to-o

6, Seven Hils 1117·1

IS5 171 112 105 104

95

7, Delphos StJohn's 5-1 S5 S, Bedford Chanel 8-1 7S 9, S. Charteston SE 8-Q 76 10, Oak HillS·!

67 Otllers receiving 12 or more points: 11, PandoraGilboa 64. 12, Continental (1) 50. 13, McDonald 45.

14, Pettisville 43. 15, Plymoutll 35. 16 (tie), Tree of Ule, Lockland 28. IS, Day. Jefferson 27. 19, Ant· werp 17. 20, Malvem 12.

Enquirer basketball coaches' polls 1 -I~_ o-=t Boys llhlslon I School Points 1. Pnnceton ( 13) 130 2. Middletown 115 3. Moeller 103 4. La Salle 72 5. Aiken 68 6.loveland 52 7. Mason 41 8.Milford 23 9. Lakota West 17 10. St xavier 15 Othem: Winton Woods 12; Walnut Hills 10; Elder 9; Woodward 9; AndeiSOn 7;Talawanda 6; Edgewood 5; Hughes 5; Lebanon 5; Lakota East 4: Oak Hills 4; WestemHills3.

Points 1. Roger Bacon (5) 112 2. Taft (6) 110 3. Wilmington (1) 83 4.1ndian Hill 82 5. Madeira 54 6. Loddand 36 T7. Badin 34 T7. McNk:holas 34 9. Seven Hills 33 10. North College Hill 20 Othem: Purcell Manan 18; Clennont Northeastern 15; Shroder Paideia 8; CHCA 6; Georgetown 5; BethelTate 3; Summit Country Day 3; Ta~or 3; Hillcrest 1.

Points 1. Lakota West (1) 118 2. Mount Notre Dame (11) 110 3. Winton Woods (1) 104 4. Walnut Hills 79 5. Glen Este 66 6. Colerain 64 7. Mason 57 8. Pnnceton 46 9. Sycamore 31 10. Hughes 10 Othem: Loveland 8; St Umula 5; Mercy 4; Turpin 4; AndeiSOn 3; Umuline 3; Mount Healthy 2; Western Hills 1.

Points

I

1. McNicholas (3) 56 2. Indian Hill (2) 55 3. CHCA 3B 4. Wyoming 34 T5. Madeira 29 T5. Middletown Madison ( 1) 29 7. Georgetown 18 8. Ripley-Union 12 9. Seven Hills 11 10. Roger Bacon Othem: Manemont 8; Ross B; Summ~ Country Day B; Fenwick 5; Lynchburg-Clay 4; Talawanda 3; Aiken 2; Badin 1.

II BOYS' BASKETBALL: MOELLER 52, LA SALLE 49

/ .... lo ... C>'j

'Down' season appears to be on the up-and-up for Moeller

By Tom Groeschen t#a4lSchen@enquirer.com

Tony Harris had heard the whispers, too. This was supposed to be a down season for Harris and the Moeller basketball team.

Instead, Moeller is 9-1 after beating Greater Catholic League South rival La Salle 52-49 at Moeller on Friday night.

Harris, a senior guard who had 11 points Friday, was the only re-

turning Crusader who had a significant scoring average last season, when he averaged 7.1 points per game. The Crusaders were Associated Press regular-season state poll champions in Division I before being upset in district play.

"People thought we wouldn't be very good, and that really motivates us," said Harris. 'Then, we were supposed to be even worse with Griffin out."

That would be 6-foot-9 junior

Griffin McKe,nzie, Moeller's top college prospect, who has missed the season with a back ailment.

Yet, Moeller is No.3 in the Enquirer Division I coaches' poll and is setting the pace in the GCL at 4-0.

Sophomore guard Alex Barlow led Moeller with 13 points and nine rebounds. He made three foul shots in the final 27.7 seconds to send Moeller ahead from a tie at 49.

See MORLER, Page D3

Moeller's Rudy Delols gets off a pass on a drive . in the first quarter of Friday's Greater Catholic League-South game against La Salle. DeLois scored six points.

The Enquirer/ Jeff Swinger

The Enquirer; Jeff Swinger

Moeller's Jeremy Duncan goes up high over La Salle's Keen en Gibbs

to put up a shot in the second quarter. The Crusaders remained unbeaten in the GCL at 4-0.

Moeller: Retooled

team still setting the pace in GCL From Page Dl

AnyneiVes? "No," Barlow said. "We just do anything to get a win. We know the tradition. We've heard it from the fonner players who come back."

La Salle missed a desperation shot from halfcourt at the buzzer.

The Lancers (8-2, 2-1 GCL) is ranked No. 4 in the Enquirer poll.

Senior guard Jordon Crawford led La Salle with 15 points. Senior forward Danny McElroy had 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Moeller built a 12-point lead in thefirsthalfat22-10, with its typicallv tenacious defense.

- The Lancers fought back to take the lead by late in the third quarter.

Then, the lead changed hands eight times in the final period.

"When we'd get up one, we couldn't get the shot that put us up two or three possessions," Lancers coach Dan Fleming said. ''I'm proud of the character we showed in coming back. Wmning at Moeller is tough."

Moeller has 21 consecutive wins against its fellow GCL teams, including postseason play. The streak dates to a loss at La Salle in February 2007.

'These kids have been hearing people say they would not be a very good team this year," Moeller coach Carl Kremer said. 'They

The Enquirer/Jeff Swinger

La Salle's Danny McElroy, shooting over Moeller's Rudy DeLois, was one of three Lancers in double figures, with 13 points.

come and play hard every day in practice, and they're detennined to win." t.Salt 18-2,2¡1GCI..SI-Mc£Jroy4 513.Neel4 311.

Crawloro 1 0 15, Aemlng 2 2 6, Woeste 2 o 4. Totals: 19 10 49.

Moolorlt-1, ~GCI..S 1- Ouncan o ll.S1amper2 3 9, Hams 3411. Ba~ow 4 5 13, Byeos 2 0 4. Morelock 2 0 4.

Deloos 3 0 E, Gresky 1 2 4. Iota~: 17 15 52. t.Salt ---JI 10 18 13 --48 ....... ----15

13

9

15

3-poinle!S: Ll (Crawford), M3 (Stamper 2, Harris).

-S2

Moeller 5I, Sl Xavier 40

The Enqui/er; Jetf Swinger

Moeliler's nm Stamper drives to the hoop against St. Xavier's Erik Stenger on Friday at St. X. Moeller led by as many as 18 before cruising to a 51-40 win.

Bombers battered by first-half runs No. 3 Crusaders lead by as many as 18, then cruise

By Ma1rk Scllnetzer

I'

lea~t

The symbolism was undeniable.

Luke Massa lay underneath the Moeller bash.et, blood spurting from the St Xavier junior's left nostril midway thtoogh the :first quarter of Friday's Greater Catholic League South Division game at St Xavier.

At the same time, the Bombers were getting their collective nose bloodied by the Crusaders.

Moeller, the No.3 team in the Enquirer Division I coaches' poll and defending GCI.S champion,

young Crusaders, who won their previous two games by 24 points each and had an average victory margin of 20 points in their :first three games.

'Those guys have exceeded our expectations," Moeller coach Carl Kremer said. "What's really special about them is they're competitors.

They get it It's special to have those two guys."

Senior guard Tony Harris added 11 points for the Crusaders, who were picked to finish third in the four-team GCL South in the Enquirer's preseason poll of division coach-

Xavier had six turnovers and just five field goals in the :first half.

"I think our defensive pressure has come along faster than we expected," Kremer said. "We made some mistakes out there. but our defensive pressure allowed us to make â&#x20AC;˘ up for them." ..,.

The Bombers got off to a rocky start, making just one of the::r :first five shots while falling behinrll2-2 before Stenger sank a !.eft-handed ~ jump hook with 5.9 seccmds left in the :first quarter.

St Xavier senior Kyle Rolfes

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Enquirer contributor

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The Enquirer/Ernest Coleman

Milford's Qulnten Dunn looks up as he tries to get free from the hold of Western Brown's Taylor Lunsford Friday at the G!enn Sample Classic at Oak Hills. Competition will conclude today.

Elder, Moeller, Oak Hills locked in heated battle early

By Tom Ramstetter tramstetter'it.enquirer.com

Elder had an early lead on the competition in the Open Division Friday night at the Glenn Sample Classic at Oak Hills High School with 30 points, just ahead of topranked Moeller's 23 points.

Elder is ranked No. 7 in the latest Enquirer Division I coaches' V.Testling poll. Event host Oak Hills. the No.8 team in the poll, was in third place with 22.5 points.

Jake Schultz's pin of Ryle's Kyle Sparks in 1:23 in the 112-pound

class helped propel the Panthers in the early going. Ben Kurzhals also had a pin for Elder in the 119-pound class.

In the 125-pound class. Moeller's Drew Hammer mad;> quick work of Jake Sefton. pinning the Ross grappler in 22 second>. Brendan Walsh beat Mater Dei's Trevor Appell in a major decision for the Crusaders in the 103-pound class.

Ian Gillespie won by technical fall in the 13().pound class for Elder. Also in the 130.pound class, Moeller's Matt Holtman pinned

Wyoming's Daniel Zimmennan in 2:25.

Third-ranked Lakota West was tied with No. 10 Lakota East for fourth place. each with 14 points.

Unranked Milford led the pack in the Division I competition with 21 points, ahead of Ryle's 20 and Colerain's 19.5 points. Secondranked Harrison was in sixth place early on with six points.

Purcell Marian and Reading topped the Divisions II-III event with 10 points apiece.

Competition will conclude tonight at Oak Hills.

~2.-Ze.-oe

GET THAT BALL!

The Enqlrirer/ Jeff sw;tnger

Moeller's Rudy DeLols chases the ball as St. Xavier's Luke Massa (right) holds his hands to his face after his nose was bloodied during a basketball game Friday night. The Crusaders, No. 3 in the Enquirer Division I area coaches' poll, defeated the No.9 Bombers 5140. Story, more high schools, C7

GREATER CATHOLIC LEAGUE - SOUTH

The Enquirer/Ernest Coleman

La Sane's top returnees are Danny McElroy (left), who averaged 14.2 points and 7.0 rebounds a game, and Jordon Crawford, who averaged 8.9 points and 4.3 assists.

Three of the four GCL South teams received a :first-place vote from one of the league's coaches in the preseason poll. How,ever, Elder was the only team "in the league not to be picked >Jast by a coach, so the Panthers start the season as the slim fa1vorites to win the ever-competitive division.

J Moeller was perfect in GCL play last season, going 14-0, but with most of those Crusaders _gone, another team might rise and take the title. Each team finished above .500 overall and in the league last season, and this year promises much of the same.

Teams listed in coaches' predicted order of finish:

ELDER COACH: Joe Schoenfeld (267127) LAST SEASON: 18-5 (10-4) KEY PlAYERS: F Alex Welch, F Josh Jones, G Alex Eppensteiner, G Selby Chidemo, GErich Vogelsang, FThomas Schneider OUTLOOK: Schoenfeld had to wait on some of his players who were committed to the football field through the Panthers' run to the Division I state final -Nov. 29.

Two of those players, junior Welch and senior Jones, will . man the front court for Schoenfeld now that they've finished catching passes from Mark Miller. At 6 feet 5, Welch returns after shooting 61 percent from the field last year to average 8. 7 points per game to go along with 4.6 rebounds per game. Jones, a 6-3 forward, scored 7.7 points per game and shot 59 percent from the field.

Junior guard Chidemo, along with Welch and Jones, started the most games last season.

Chidemo scored 2.2 points per game and dished out 1.6 assists.

'Schoenfeld said Chidemo is a _,"quick guard who is solid.at :both ends of the floor."

Eppensteiner averaged 2.2 points last season. Vogelsang .will see a Jot of time at point ~guard and Schneider, a sophomore, will see time after leading the junior varsity team in scor- . jng as a freshman.

"I think we will have a really 'good team this year," Schoenfeld said. "It will be a tough, 'hard-nosed Elder team. We 'have strength in numbers - a Jot of talented players. We should be able to play a lot of

MOELLER COACH: Carl Kremer (318120) LAST SEASON: 21-2 (14-0) KEY PlAYERS: G Tony Harris, F Tim Stamper, F Griffin McKenzie OUTLOOK: Moeller lost all five starters and several top subs from last season's Associated Press Division I state poll champion. After compiling a 46-4 record over the past two seasons and winning a state title in 2007, Kremer's Crusaders might be in a rebuilding year- if there is such a thing at Moeller.

Harris, a senior, and McKenEnquirer file photo zie1 a junior, are Division I college prospects, Kremer said.

Elder guard Selby Chldemo Harris averaged 7.2 points, 2.1 (right) averaged 2.2 points assists and 1.5 steals per game and 1.6 assists per game last year. last season.

McKenzie, however, is out indefinitely with a back injury. guys. We have a pretty fair amount of experience returnMcKenzie averaged 3.1 points ing, whidr should help offset a and 3.0 rebounds per game last . season as a sophomore. late start due to football."

Stamper, a senior, averaged LA SALLE 3.0 points and 3.0 rebounds.

'The challenge for the CruCOACH: Dan Fleming (257172) saders will be how quickly this LAST SEASON: 13-10 (8-6) talented but young, inexperiKEY PlAYERS: F Danny enced team can develop the chemistry to be successful," McElroy, GJordon Crawford, F Brandon Nee), G Ryan Flem- Kremer said. "Only time will ing, F Austin Kummer tell about that challenge, but it will be fair to expect another OUTLOOK: McElroy is back for his senior season after lead- hard-nosed, aggressive and uping the Lancers with 14.2 points tempo Moeller team." and 7.0 rebounds per game last ST. XAVIER regular season: COACH: Scott Martin (155-60) Crawford was third on the team with 8.9 points per game, LAST SEASON: 23-3 (12-2) and the guard dished out a KEY PlAYERS: F/C Erik team-high 4.3 assists per game. Stenger, FIG Luke Massa, G With the leading scorer and Will Carroll rebounder back along with the OUTLOOK: Stenger averaged assists leader, Fleming's Lanc4.4 points and 3.0 rebounds last ers probably will contend. regular season for the Bomb"1be team is getting better," ers, but he is the only truly exFleming said. 'We need the se- perienced varsity player Martin has coming back. ¡ niors to have a good year.

'We're just really inexperiEveryone else will follow their enced," Martin said. "Erik Stenlead. The group has worked hard." ger is the only guy that played any (significant) varsity minNee! and Ryan Fleming are sophomores, but each played in utes for us last year. Right now we're a good team, but I can't several varsity games last season. Dan Fleming said Nee! is a predict anything at this time Division I college prospect with these guys."

McElroy and Crawford are A key for the Bombers will both seniors, so this will be be the health of junior forward/ guard Massa. Massa, St. Xavitheir team to lead. But they can't be the only players perer's starting quarterback on the forming. football field, suffered a broken "Our depth must improve," collarbone in the fall. Martin Fleming said. "Shooting is sus- said Massa just started practicing last week. pect. If we keep improving, things could get interesting: - Tom Ramstetter