Division Four Vandalia Sectional Roundup

[SFIND]

By Bryant Billing

VANDALIA- The best basketball around the greater Dayton area was not at the University of Dayton Arena, as it usually is. No, if you wanted to see some great, smash-mouth basketball you should have went North to Vandalia Butler's Student Activity Center. Four games took place at Vandalia yesterday, and most of the games were exciting.

Tri-Village 63 Cedarville 21- Here is the game that was not a thriller. Cedarville, who didn't have a senior on the team. In fact, they had five freshman. Not to mention the fact that their leading scorer was a freshman. So maybe brighter days are in the future for the Cedarville Indians (1-20). But today was not a good day for them, as the Tri-Village Patriots (16-5) never lost their lead and cruised through the game to a big 63-21 win.

Tri-Village jumped out in front quickly, but Cedarville was able to keep it close. That changed fast, though, as Tri-Village closed out the first on a 10-0 run to take a 23-7 lead at the end of one quarter.

That was the tone for the rest of the game.

Cedarville only managed 4 points in the second quarter, as Tri-Village's Ryan Buck dominated underneath. Tri-Village took a 36-11 lead into the locker rooms at the half, and never had to worry about the Indians.

Tyler Evans made a basket for Tri-Village with 3:20 left in the first that gave the Patriots their largest lead of the day at that point at 47-15. Tri-Village had a 52-19 lead at the end of the third. They played at half-speed in the fourth quarter, but still won it 11-2. That made the final score of 63-21.

This game was painful to watch. Cedarville was pushed around and shot over. Tri-Village was just a much more superior team than Cedarville was. The Patriots were lead by a strong showing from Ryan Buck (20 points). Buck much larger and much stronger than anyone Cedarville had on the floor, so naturally he was able to score easily underneath. Buck did not play in the fourth quarter. Cedarville's ray of hope was freshman Taylor Cordic, who was the only one who really ever got any good attempts off.

Tri-Village moves on to play Springfield Catholic Central this Wednesday, February 20, at Vandalia Butler's SAC. The game is at six o'clock.

Individual Scoring: Tri-Village- Brett Foreman 2; Drew Moore 9; Troy Pearson 4; Tyler Greer 9; Tyler Evans 6; Matt Miller 2; Kendall Stutz 7; Tyler Fisherback 2; Ryan Buck 20; Dave Barger 2. Cedarville- Billy Vine 2; Ben Elliott 5; Taylor Cordic 10; Grayson Cato 2; Nathan Miller 2.

Tipp City Bethel 78 Xenia Christian 56- Xenia Christian was able to keep it a close game throughout, but the Ambassadors did not have enough to ever make a comeback. Xenia Christian (2-19) was rarely within single digits of the Bethel Bees (11-10) for the rest of the game. Bethel finished the game out strong, and went away with a convincing 78-56 win.

The game wad tied 8-8 with 3:48 left in the first. It continued to go back and forth, and Xenia Christian even took the lead for awhile. But Bethel finished the first on a 9-0 run, which gave them a 19-14 lead at the end of the first. Xenia Christian never had the lead after that.

Bethel continued their hot streak into the second, but cooled off a little at the end. The Bees still had a 40-29 lead at the end of the second.

Bethel kept their distance from Xenia Christian in a back-and-forth third quarter that Xenia Christian won 14-13. The Ambassadors lost their chance at a comeback when their leading scorer, Joey Nickerson (14 points), fouled out of the game with less than four minutes left in the fourth quarter. Bethel finished the game strong, and went away with the win.

This was a good competitive game. Both teams gave all they had. Xenia Christian could not comeback after Bethel went through their hot streak at the end of the first. In the end, it was a major deciding factor of the game.

Bethel liked to get the ball inside to Daniel Yates (17 points) and Scott Masin (22 points). The Bees had a lot of success inside the arc, as everyone on the team had a nice mid-range jump shot. Xenia Christian, on the other hand, kept themselves in the game by making 7 three-pointers. You can't discredit the effort that the Ambassadors gave. Xenia Christian looked a lot better than it's 2-19 record showed.

Bethel now goes on to play Dayton Jefferson on February 19 at 7:30. The game is at Vandalia Butler's SAC.

Individual Scoring: Bethel- Daniel Yates 17; Tim Walters 6; Jim Sutton 4; Scott Mason 22; Kody Kahle 2; Matt Kley 2; Mike James 7; Nick Mcintosh 10; Grant Samuel 8. Xenia Christian- Phil Stock 4; Matt Callan 8; Andrew McNeely 6; Wes Cooper 9; Joey Nickerson 14; Kevin Clark 12; Nathan Demana 3.

Yellow Springs 57 Mississinawa Valley 43- Sometimes a game is won in one quarter. This was one of those games. The Yellow Springs Bulldogs (11-10) won the won the second quarter 22-5, and that propelled the Bulldogs to a 57-43 win over Mississinawa Valley (6-15).

The game started off slow, as both teams made a lot of mistakes. It seemed like both had a hard time settling in. The game was tied a 9-9 at the end of the first quarter.

Yellow Springs was quick to settle down in the second.

Yellow Springs stopped making turnovers and started capitalizing on them. Mississinawa Valley could not hold on to the ball in the second, and Yellow Springs 'took it to the hoop' and won the lopsided quarter 22-5.

Mississinawa Valley kept it close in the third quarter. They made three critical three-pointers to keep their hope alive. Mississinawa Valley won the third 15-12.

Yellow Springs wasn't about to blow it.

The Bulldogs controlled the tempo in the fourth quarter, and kept Mississinawa Valley in check. The fourth quarter finished at a 14-14 draw, thus the Bulldogs went away with the 57-43 win.

Yellow Springs was clearly the more athletic team in this game, and their speed hurt the slower Mississinawa Valley squad. They turned out to be too streaky when it came to scoring, while the Bulldogs were able to score evenly throughout. Mississinawa became to cautious after the were blown out in the second quarter. It looked like they were playing to keep it close and not playing to win. One thing both teams had trouble with during the game was fouling. Both teams were making a lot of sloppy fouls. There were a total of 41 foul committed during that game.

The Bulldogs had plenty of talented scorers. Raphael Allen (16 points) and Jeremiah Peacock (14 points) both where decent ball handlers and had a nice, controlled shot.

Yellow Springs now advances to play Franklin Monroe this Wednesday, February 20, at 7:30. The game is at Vandalia Butler's SAC.

Individual Scoring: Yellow Springs- Ryan Newsome 6; Kevin Sikes-Gilbert 10; Ian Wimberly 1; Raphael Allen 16; Kilan Brown 6; Erik Benton 3 Jeremiah Peacock 14. Mississinawa Valley- Will Cook 2; Ryan Dickey 10; Gary Peace 6; Tracey Harris 14; Larry LeMaster 3; Darick Hiatt 8.

Franklin Monroe 55 Newton 39- Despite Newton's best efforts, they could not hang on. Newton had a 23-22 lead at the half in a game that they were supposed to be blown-out, and they had all the momentum going in their direction. Unfortunately for them, Franklin Monroe Jets came back and shut down Newton in the second half. The Jets went on to beat the Newton Indians 55-39.

Franklin Monroe started off the first quarter shooting very poorly from three-point range, a place they usually have some success at. Newton was able to score by being patient and finding good shots. However, the Jets finished the first on an 8-4 run that gave them a 11-10 lead at the end of the first.

But Newton was able to keep up with the Jets.

Newton continued to play solid defense as they had in the first that caused problems for Franklin Monroe. The pressure Newton applied really got to Franklin Monroe shooters. The Indians kept up thanks to a great effort from Logan King, who scored 12 first half points. Newton had a 23-22 halftime lead.

The smell of upset was in the air. But not for long.

Newton had trouble scoring in the second quarter, but their pressure held Franklin Monroe to one point in the four minutes.

Then the Jets made a comeback.

Franklin Monroe went on an 8-0 run in one minute to quickly take a 31-26 lead over the Indians. That basically decided the game. It was still close at 39-32 at the end of the third quarter.

The Jets sealed the deal in the fourth quarter.

Franklin Monroe continued to score much and often in the fourth quarter. They became adjusted to Newton's offense and the Indians could not respond. Franklin Monroe went away with the 55-39 win.

A very good effort from Newton gave a scare to the Franklin Monroe fans and a good game to the casual fan like myself. But Newton did not have to firepower to keep up with Franklin Monroe after the Jets started scoring.

Newton owed their first quarter lead to Logan King (12 points). That was the most King had scored in a game all year, and he could not match that performance in the second half. Franklin Monroe came out and shut him down, holding him to no points in the second half.

Another big factor of this game was free-throws. Franklin was able to put the game away at the line in the fourth quarter. They made a total of 15 foul shots, the most of which were in the fourth quarter. Newton, on the other hand, made 6 the entire game.

Franklin Monroe now advances to play Yellow Springs this Wednesday, February 20, at 7:30. The game is at Vandalia Butler's SAC.

Individual Scoring: Newton- Kale Booher 7; Jason Powell 5; Trevor Lavy 10; Logan King 12; Justin Halton 5. Franklin Monroe- Bill Taylor 2; Lane Lucas 11; Nathan Feitshans 2; Heath Kaufman 2; Ty French 11; Ethan Nealeigh 7; Gavin Glascoe 9; Austin Presley 10.