Tuesday Preview:

• Mason @ Lakota East: With the GMC season winding down this is a game with title implications. Mason needs this win desperately if they want a chance at the crown, if East gets the win they won't quite be home free, but they'll be close. East won the first match-up at Mason in overtime so we know that these teams are evenly matched. The test here will be if Mason can contend with the athleticism and depth of East without getting worn down. Mason is a solid defensive team and if they can keep this game in the half court and their shooters hit shots then it's anyone's game.
  • Prediction: Lakota East hasn't lost yet so far, why pick against them now? East wins.
• Shroder @ Clark
• Princeton @ Lakota West 
• Aiken @ Elder
• Middletown @ Fairfield
• Colerain @ Oak Hills
• Hamilton @ Sycamore
• Chaminade @ Roger Bacon
• Anderson @ Walnut Hills
• Winton Woods @ Mt. Healthy
• Milford @ Turpin

Saturday Scores:

• 

  Kadeem Palmer tries to catch a Milford guard in transition. 

  Taft 84 Milford 60: The Senators dominated the first quarter 27-2 and never looked back in this one. Milford was simply not ready for the type of defensive pressure that they had to face against Taft. Seven Taft players scored at least 7 points tonight, Adolphus Washington led the way with 16 points and 9 rebounds. Jalean Lowe (13) and Dwayne Stanford (10) were the other double figure scorers. Milford was led by Zach Baker's 14 points.
• Woodward 57 Hughes 56: Trent Donald willed his team to victory with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Trent also won the game on a free throw to break the tie with only 11 seconds left. Hughes freshman guard Aaron Oden scored a career high 19 points in the loss. 
• Thurgood Marshall 92 Withrow 63: A slow start doomed the Tigers tonight as they suffered their third loss of the season, their second in Dayton. Carl Porter scored 19 for Withrow to lead them in scoring for the second straight night. Aaron Thomas scored a season low 12 and Devin Williams added 11.
• Elder 49 West High 44: Darrell Bullock scored 11 in a loss, Keevin Tyus scored 10, and Bubba Hill added 9 for West High.

Friday Results:

Middies star junior guard Geovonie McKnight

A lot of big performances and games happened tonight. Let's take a look at who had the hot hand Friday:
 Colerain vs Middletown photos

• Middletown 66 Colerain 57: A closer game then the score indicates, this one came down to the wire in a loud atmosphere. Geovonie McKnight showed CPHR that he might be the city's top junior with a 29 point performance that included 9 boards for Middletown. Geovonie is a strong athlete with very good court vision; what makes him so special is his effort and passion on every possession. Kirby Wright brought his “A” game tonight for the Middies, Wright finished with 19 points and 7 boards. Eli'Sha Campbell was the top player for Colerain; Campbell scored 18 points and showed off his newly improved ball-handling. CPHR has always loved the competitiveness of Eli'sha. Sophomore wing Bryan Porter scored 20 to lead Colerain. Freshman forward Vince Edwards, of Middletown, was impressive tonight with his athleticism and willingness to bang inside against older players. Finally, it was nice to see the return of senior guard Jaihlen Teauge for Middletown, Teague scored 3 points in his return. 

• 

  Eli'sha Campbell of Colerain

  Withrow 68 Shroder 53: Carl Porter led Withrow with 23 points and 10 boards. Aaron Thomas added on 20 points for Withrow. Kairo Cannon and Jalen Billups each had 13 for Shroder.
• West High 76 Woodward 61: Darrell Bullock, Keevin Tyus, and Bubba Hill all scored in double figures for West High. Trent Donald, Woodward's star sophomore forward, led all scorers with 23. 
• Taft 80 Hughes 45: Orlando Berry Jr led Taft with 16 points and 10 assists.
• LaSalle 46 St. Xavier 31: Brandon Neel went for 26 points on 12-18 shooting for LaSalle.
• Moeller 67 Elder 37: Alex Barlow led Moeller with 16 points and 8 rebounds in the blowout win. Sophomore wing Josh Davenport had his first big game on varsity with 14 points and 8 rebounds. Chuck Byers also scored 11 for Moeller.
• Winton Woods 84 Ross 56: Semaj Christon scored 24 points and dropped 9 assists for Winton Woods. Dennis Thomas added on 16 for the Warriors.
• Princeton 42 Fairfield 37: Jay McCants scored 16 and Ulysses Thomas 12 for the Vikings.
• Hamilton 60 Lakota West 55: Corey Wise led Hamilton in the upset with 14 points while fellow sophomore wing Monty Boykins poured in 26 in the loss for West.

• 

  Kirby Wright was a force inside tonight for Middletown

  Mason 59 Oak Hills 43: Comet forward Darrin Harris led the way with 13 points. 
• Lakota East 71 Sycamore 36: Mike Boyd scored 16 points for East while RJ Leppert, Jalen Goodwin, Allante Foster, and Mark Minch also scored in double figures. AJ Williams scored 18 for the Aviators in the loss.
• Aiken 81 Community Christian (KY) 46: On Thursday night junior guard Willy Moore led Aiken with 23 points and 9 rebounds and sophomore wing Austin Grimes added 20 points and 13 boards.
• Glen Este 54 Walnut Hills 43: Sophomore Isiah Johnson had 16 and 10 in the loss for Walnut.
• Northwest 80 Talawanda 65: Senior wing Mel Hunter scored 28 for NW.
• Roger Bacon 58 McNicholas 42: Jared Bryant led Bacon with 15 points. 
• Summit 38 Cincinnati Country Day 33: Sophomore Kevin Johnson led Summit with 11 points.
•  Clark 60 Seven Hills 53: Max Davis scored 23 points in a loss.
• Turpin 63 Anderson 59: Sophomore guard Connor Grotton led Turpin with 24 in an overtime win. 
• Harrison 48 Norwood 40: Deontez McGee scored 25 points in the loss.
• Kings 55 Wilmington 32: Freshman star Zach McCormick led Wilmington with 23 points.

Stars of the FAVC:

Semaj Christon- One of Ohio's finest.

One conference that CPHR has not had much time to check out this season is the Fort Ancient Valley Conference. For those that don't know this league is made up of suburban teams along 275 and this year, as always, there is no shortage of elite basketball talent in the 17 team league. Here is a quick look at who has been putting up big numbers this year in the FAVC: 

Seniors:

• Semaj Christon- PG Winton Woods: He is having a dream season with the Warriors so far, averaging 21 points on 58% shooting to go along with 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Semaj has seen his stock skyrocket in the eyes of college coaches and is currently ranked #2 on CPHR's '11 list.
  
  
• Dennis Thomas- SG Winton Woods: This man has no conscience when it comes to knocking down big shot after big shot. He is averaging 15.5 points on 52% shooting, including 45% from three. Dennis has been the perfect compliment to Semaj Christon so far.
  
  
• Zach Baker- SG Milford: Averaging over 14 points per game for a very good team.
  
  

• 

  Ramar Hairston of Northwest

  Mike Bouley- PF Glen Este: 6'8 beast inside is averaging 11 points and 11 boards while shooting over 50% from the field.

Juniors:

• Deontez McGee- SG Norwood: After averaging double figures as a sophomore last year 'Tez has stepped up his game and is now averaging 18 points and 6 rebounds. When he gets hot he can light up the scoreboard in a hurry by hitting shots from anywhere inside half court. 

Sophomores:

• Ramar Hairston- SG Northwest: Second on the team in scoring at 10 points, and the man who is assigned to the other teams top player, Ramar is a rising star in the league.
  
  
• Connor Grotton- SG Turpin: Has really come on in the last month and is now averaging 10 points and 5 rebounds, these numbers should continue to climb.
  
  
• Isiah Johnson- C Walnut Hills: With the absence of stud senior wing Alex McGlothin someone had to step up and that man was Isiah Johnson. He is averaging 16 points, 10 rebounds, and shooting over 50 % from the field. Look for this post man to keep developing. 
  
  
• 

  The future starts now at Walnut Hills: Isiah Johnson,
  Kyree Burton, and Sterling Gilmore

  Sterling Gilmore and Kyree Burton- PG's Walnut Hills: Both are averaging a little over 7 points and 3 assists for the Eagles while taking care of all the ball-handling responsibilities. This two headed monster at the point is going to make Walnut dangerous over the next few weeks as they continue to develop.

Freshman: 

• Zach McCormick- SG Wilmington: 15 points a game is good for tops on the team and he is also averaging 5 rebounds and 5 assists. He is known as someone who can do it all on the court and so far has put up the stat line to back that up.

Weekend Games to Watch:

Friday:

• Shroder @ Withrow
• LaSalle @ St. Xavier
• Roger Bacon @ McNicholas
• Elder @ Moeller
• Summit @ Cincinnati Country Day
• Ross @ Winton Woods
• Woodward @ West High
• Taft @ Hughes
• Middletown @ Colerain
• Hamilton @ Lakota West
• Sycamore @ Lakota East

Saturday:

• West High @ Elder
• Milford @ Taft
• Withrow @ Thurgood Marshall

Wednesday Results:

Two CMAC games on the docket tonight:

Shroder 69 Woodward 61: The Jags played a solid second half and overcame a 12 point deficit to take the game from Woodward. Senior postman Jalen Billups led the way with 19 points and over 10 rebounds. Senior wing Kairo Cannon scored 12 and along with Trey Dees (who scored all 7 of his points in the 4th) handled the ball well in the second half against pressure. Junior wing Randale Griffith had a nice all-around game for Shroder with 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists and junior post Ladell Griffin added 5 points and lots of defensive energy. Woodward was led by junior wing Zachariah Mustafa's 19 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and 5 steals. Sophomore big man Trent Donald, the focus of Shroder's defense, was solid with 13 points and 8 rebounds. Trent also added 4 assists of his own. Senior wing Antonio Fairbanks scored 16 for Woodward.

Hughes 44 Goshen 40: The Big Red got their first win of the season over a Goshen squad that had already won ten games of their own. Hughes was led by the intense play of senior forward Shaquille Prather and also got clutch performances from freshman wing Kevin Daniels and sophomore wing Terry Cook Jr.

Note: Withrow sophomore power forward Devin Williams has recieved an offer from Purdue University. Williams was in attendance on an unofficial visit this week for the Ohio Stae @ Purdue game. Devin enjoyed the visit and was impressed with how the coaching staff had helped develop JaJuan Johnson, a future NBA draft pick.

Tuesday Results:

Kevin Johnson tries to fight through traffic.

Lot's of action tonight including another huge game from Semaj Christon:

• Seven Hills 52 Summit 50: The Stingers pulled the upset in a game that was close the whole way. Senior wing Miles Hill scored 23 points for Seven Hills and senior guard Max Davis added 16. Summit was led by senior forward Jack Gustafson's 17 points and Kevin Johnson's 10. Freshman point guard Antonio Woods was also impressive with 9 points. Pictures
• Lakota East 74 Lakota West 34: Cameron Lee led the way with 17 points, RJ Leppert scored 12, and Mark Minch added 10 for East in a dominant effort.
• Turpin 43 Walnut Hills 40: Connor Grotton a sophomore guard is really blowing up this January, he finished with 12 points tonight. Sophomore center Isiah Johnson scored 19 points and grabbed 15 boards for Walnut Hills in the loss.
• Middletown 56 Princeton 50: Geovonie McKnight led Middletown with 19 points and freshman forward Vince Edwards added 12. Ulysses Thomas and Tank Young each scored 13 in the loss for Princeton. 
• Sycamore 61 Colerain 59: Senior wing Kevin Clark won the game on a floater at the buzzer. Clark finished with 19 points in the win. Colerain was led by junior guard Eli'sha Campbell's 20 points.
• Mason 58 Fairfield 53: JD Sprague led Mason with 18 points.
• Oak Hills 45 Hamilton 42: Corey Wise led Hamilton with 14 points in a loss.
• Moeller 61 Carroll 26: Charlie Byers scored 14 points and Ben Galemmo scored 12 for Moeller.
• LaSalle 65 Chaminade 34: Ryan Fleming led LaSalle with 15 points. 
• Alter 43 St. Xavier 33
• Elder 60 Fenwick 49
• Winton Woods 80 Northwest 57: Semaj Christon led the way with 28 points on 11-14 shooting and had 11 assists. 

Monday's CMAC Game:

It's always a treat to watch super sophomores, and close friends,
 Trent Donald and Devin Williams go at each other on the block. 

Withrow 71 Woodward 49: Aaron Thomas showed a glimpse of what he can do next year in the ACC scoring 24 points with relative ease. Withrow also got 15 points from sophomore Devin Williams and 12 points from senior wing Carl Porter. Woodward was led by sophomore forward Trent Donald and his 15 points. CPHR was very impressed with the way Trent kept attacking the rim as the game got out of hand and was willing to draw fouls. Finally, CPHR was equally impressed with the play of sophomore PG Tim Coleman, who has moved up to varsity recently and tonight made his second start. A streaky shooter who is learning to play a role and adapting to the speed of the varsity game, look for big things from Tim as the season continues. Pictures

Tim Coleman

Note: Thanks to everyone who has been emailing in tips about freshman. Keep sending them in, CPHR is working hard on finishing the list.

Mid-Week Preview:

First, a couple of Sunday's results:

• Roger Bacon 53 Teays Valley 40: Gavin Schumann led the way with 14 and Jared Bryant added 13.
• Summit 89 Yellow Springs 39: Summit's reserves did most of the scoring including sophomore Armand Walker's 10 fourth quarter points.

Top games this week including some make-up games from last week, did I miss a make-up game? Email me at cincyprephoopsreport@gmail.com

Monday:

• Withrow @ Woodward 

Tuesday:

• Princeton @ Middletown: The play of Princeton has been very impressive so far but they face another tough test at Middletown tomorrow. This is another pride game for the Middies that they need to win to gain momentum for the upcoming post season. There will be no shortage of talent in this one as Ulysses Thomas and Jay McCants will lead the Vikings against Middletown's Geovonie McKnight, Kirby Wright, and sophomore forward Jalin Marshall who is starting to come alive.
  • Prediction: Princeton
• Summit @ Seven Hills
• St. Xavier @ Alter
• Moeller @ Carroll
• Chaminade @ LaSalle
• Lakota East @ Lakota West
• Fairfield @ Mason
• Northwest @ Winton Woods

Wednesday:

• Madeira @ Wyoming
• Woodward @ Shroder
• Goshen @ Hughes

Saturday Results:

Kairo Cannon showed his underrated versatility
tonight against Aiken, college coaches take notice
this boy is one of the top sleepers in this class in Ohio.

• Aiken 68 Shroder 61:  Sophomore wing Austin Grimes, fresh off of his first D1 offer (Akron), came to play tonight scoring 26 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Aiken also got 14 points from senior forward Femi Thompson, several of them off of assists from Tyonte Robertson. Shroder got a really good performance from Kairo Cannon, forced to play the point with junior Trey Dees out with an injury. Cannon scored 19 points and was the one player who was consistently able to test the guards of Aiken and make them move their feet. Senior power forward Jalen Billups scored 20 points and was particularly active on the glass, using his size advantage to clean up Jaguar misses. Junior big man Ladell Griffin had his best game of the season with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocks for Shroder. Pictures

• Taft 85 West High 66: Adolphus Washington led the way for Taft with 17 points and 15 boards and senior wing Marquez Johnson scored 16. In the loss West High got balanced scoring led by junior guard Bubba Hill's 15, sophomore power forward Marquez Carpenter with 10, and senior center Josh Chancellor with 10. Juniors Keevin Tyus and Darrell Bullock each added 9. 

• St. Xavier 58 North Canton Hoover 56: Overtime win for the Bombers where they were led by Sean Duggan's 14 points and Ben Carroll's 13. 

• Princeton 75 Covington Holmes 52: Senior power forward Jay McCants and junior guard Malcolm Smith each scored 14 to lead Princeton. McCants also grabbed 12 rebounds in the win.

• Hughes and Woodward have rescheduled their game. 

Friday Results:

Brandon Neel and Josh Davenport

Intense and defensive minded war in the GCL between Ohio's top two teams. Right now Moeller looks just a little tougher but the re-match could be a whole different story:  Tonight's Pictures

• Moeller 50 Lasalle 45: The Crusaders controlled this showdown, proving that they are the #1 team in the buckeye state (at least for now), in a game that wasn't as close as the score suggests. The final score was as close as LaSalle got in the second half, they hit a three at the buzzer to cut it to 5. Moeller played outstanding defense and used their depth to keep LaSalle on the perimeter shooting jump-shots or making out of control drives to the hoop. Moeller's defense and depth are what have them thinking about a return to the final four this year. Another thing Moeller has in abundance is ball-handling; Charlie Byers (11 points), Alex Barlow (7 points), Ben Galemmo (9 points), and senior shooter Cody Wacker (8) all did a great job against LaSalle's signature full court pressure. Tony Sabato (9 points), Alex Voss, Shaquille Jinks, and Josh Davenport all did a great job on the interior controlling the glass and keeping Brandon Neel and company out of the lane. LaSalle was led by junior guard Josh Lemmons 15 points and Brandon Neel's 8. Senior wing Ryan Fleming struggled with his shot but was active on the boards for LaSalle.

• 

  Ben Galemmo and Charlie Byers

  Mason 75 Middletown 73: Senior Brian Carden led five Mason double figure scorers with 16 points and also grabbed 14 rebounds in an overtime win. For Middletown, star junior combo guard Geovonie McKnight scored a career high 32 points. 
• Winton Woods 69 Norwood 50: Semaj Christon continued his tear going for 35 points.
• Summit 58 Lockland 52: Sophomore DJ Wingfield had his best game this season with 20 points in a loss. Senior wing Ryan Glass led Summit with 19 points and Summit also got a good performance off the bench by Milt Davis who scored 7 points.
• Princeton 56 Colerain 38: Sophomore PG Dorian Jordan led Princeton with 15 points.
• St. Xavier 54 Elder 45: Sean Duggan led the Bombers with 17 points.
• Milford 71 Walnut Hills 53: Callan Hughes led Milford with 17 points.
• Lakota East 59 Oak Hills 38: Junior Mark Minch led East with 14 points.

• 

  Ryan Fleming and Tony Sabato

  Lakota West 63 Sycamore 57: Sophomore Monty Boykins had 28 points, including 7 threes, in an overtime victory for West. 
• Roger Bacon 70 Badin 47: Jabriel Coaston led Bacon with 15 points in a blowout win.
• Aiken @ Taft: Postponed until Monday.
• Woodward @ Withrow: Postponed until Monday.
• Shroder @ West High: Postponed until Monday.
• North College Hill @ Clark: Postponed until February 9th.

Weekend Preview

Biggest game of the GCL season to date is Friday night, get your tickets now if you want to go because it will be packed at Moeller!

Josh Lemmons will be going at with Charlie Byers
of Moeller on Friday night for GCL bragging rights.

Friday:

• LaSalle @ Moeller: This one might match the Taft vs Withrow game in terms of anticipation, everyone in the city is talking about the first of the two match-ups between the #1 and #2 ranked teams in Ohio. Moeller desperately wants to defend its home court against the Lancers after losing to them at home last year. Look for this to be a clash of styles, Moeller is known throughout Ohio for their deliberate pace while LaSalle pushes the tempo more then any other GCL team. Moeller might have the edge in depth and size but LaSalle has better athleticism and so much experience in these kinds of games. Even though both of these teams are able to shoot lights out and fill up the score sheet expect it to be a defensive game, and an intense one at that.
  • Prediction: The city seems to like LaSalle as a slight favorite, I'll take Moeller at home in the typical GCL thriller.
• Aiken @ Taft: Rematch from the first game of the season in which Taft blew out a Aiken team that couldn't get synchronized. Aiken showed last weekend in Dayton that they are capable of playing well together but Taft has been on a roll all season long.
  • Prediction: Closer game then last time but Taft still wins convincingly.

• 

  Mason senior forward Brian Carden

  Middletown @ Mason: A must win GMC game for both teams, as they both have taken a couple more losses then they would like to lately. Middletown seems like it is at the breaking point, if they can't gut out a good team performance here then they will be seen as a league disappointment. Mason has lost three games but they are all to elite teams. Middletown has the talent of an elite team, can Mason get over the hump and get it done? 
  • Prediction: It's tough to pick Middletown right now, gotta go with Mason.
• Woodward @ Withrow
• Shroder @ West High
• Norwood @ Winton Woods
• North College Hill @ Clark
• Lockland @ Summit
• Colerain @ Princeton
• St. Xavier @ Elder
• Walnut Hills @ Milford
• Roger Bacon @ Badin
• Oak Hills @ Lakota East
• Lakota West @ Sycamore

Saturday:

• Aiken @ Shroder 
• Holmes @ Princeton
• Hughes @ Woodward
• West High @ Taft
• Seven Hills @ North College Hill

Wednesday Score:

Hughes freshman guard Kevin Daniels
is off to a nice start in his varsity career.

Only one game of note on the schedule tonight:
Pictures

Princeton 80 Hughes 46: The Vikings knocked in 10 three pointers in a rout that was decided by halftime. Junior guard Malcom Smith scored 22 points, connecting on 4 triples, and senior guard Ulysses Thomas scored 12 points, all off of threes. Thomas also showed off his passing game as he found teammates under the basket for layups a few  times. Senior forward Shaquille Prather really competed hard for Hughes tonight and scored 17 points. Senior wing Ryan Greene and freshman combo guard Kevin Daniels each added 10. Daniels has scored in double figures in both of his varsity games and looks to be one of the top freshman to keep an eye on in Cincinnati; he has a knack for getting by his man and with a little skill-work he should be a special player. Princeton proved tonight that they are really dangerous when hitting shots, a lot of their success can be attributed to sophomore point guard Dorian Jordan who did a nice job of pushing the ball up the floor and getting Princeton into their zone offense. Jordan and Princeton's other guards also did a good job of making it tough on Hughes' ball-handlers to get the offense set up.

Tuesday Results

Mike Boyd helped East improve to 12-0

Scores from around the city tonight, an exciting game in the GMC tonight and two GCL South teams fall to upsets:

Also, in case you weren't up in Dayton this weekend then here is video of the Gary Harris dunk against Taft

• Lakota East 69 Mason 65: After jumping out to an early lead in the first quarter Lakota East allowed Mason to come back slowly and the Comets hit a three pointer as time expired to force overtime. Lakota East was able to gut out the win in overtime to stay undefeated and hold on to their spot atop the the GMC standings. Mike Boyd had a great game for East with 20 points, converting 12/17 FT's, and had 6 steals. Senior guards RJ Leppert (12 points) and Jalen Goodwin (11) also were effective for East. Mason was led by Brian Carden's 19 points and 11 rebounds.
• Withrow 75 Hamilton 56: Aaron Thomas led the way with 18 points in a hot shooting night for Withrow. Tigers power forward Devin Williams, CPHR's new #1 player in '13, scored 16 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in the win. Senior wing Carl Porter chipped in 14 points and 8 rebounds and junior guard Kendall Beamon added 10 points for Withrow.
• Alter 58 Elder 53: Sophomore sensation Jarron Simmons went off for 30 points.
• Walnut Hills 54 St. Xavier 52: Sophomore big man Isiah Johnson had a career high 19 points as Walnut got a nice upset win. Senior big man Benson Browne scored 11 and sophomore guard Sterling Gilmore added 10.
• West High 52 Seven Hills 45: Bubba Hill scored 14 and Keevin Tyus 13 for the Mustangs.
• Highlands 50 Shroder 48: Shroder struggled with their ball-handling without junior point guard Trey Dees who is out this week with a head injury. Jalen Billups scored 13 for Shroder, junior center Ladell Griffin scored 11, and junior power forward Randale Griffith added 8.
• LaSalle 57 Carroll 43: Brandon Neel led the Lancers with 19 points.
• Indian Hill 72 Clark 60: Junior forward Austin Trout scored 23 points and junior forward Teddy Kremchek scored 24 for Indian Hill. Clark was led by junior guard Max Hassel's 24 points.
• Winton Woods 78 Edgewood 39: Semaj Christon led the way with 19 points. 
• Northwest 70 Norwood 60: Deontez McGee, Norwood's star junior guard, continued his great scoring season with 23 points in a loss. Northwest was led by senior Mel Hunter's 16.

Top Games: Mid-week

Tuesday:

• Lakota East @ Mason: Another chance for East to prove it's toughness, they just played yesterday, against a top tier GMC team. The thing that should hold East together is its ten man rotation. This could very well be a low scoring and hard fought affair tonight at Mason. 
• Prediction: Lakota East, both teams can guard but East has too much depth, athleticism, and firepower to lose this one. 
• West High @ Seven Hills
• St. Xavier @ Walnut Hills
• Kettering Alter @ Elder
• Hamilton @ Withrow
• Shroder @ Highlands
• Northwest @ Norwood

Wednesday:

• Princeton @ Hughes

Flyin' to the Hoop- Day 3 Review

A split today for Cincinnati teams means that we finish the event 2-3, not what we wanted but considering the competition we should be proud. Here are today's results:

Lakota East 81 Lee (AL) 59: Convincing win over one of Alabama's top teams. The Thunderhawks who have been great defensively held Lee superstar Devin Langford to just 9 points. Lakota East also posted some balance scoring numbers as usual. Mike Boyd, their star senior point guard, led the way with 14 points and 3 assists. Junior wing Mark Minch who has been banged up with injuries added 12 and sophomore wing Stedman Lowry chipped in 13. Allante Foster and RJ Leppert each scored 10 for East and Cameron Lee added 9.

Bowling Green 66 Roger Bacon 43: The Spartans were unable to match the size of Bowling Green and it showed in the points in the paint and rebounding numbers. Jared Bryant managed a nice game with 16 points and 6 rebounds and Jabriel Coaston helped inside with 7 points and 9 boards. Senior point guard and team leader Paul Byrd added 12 points for Bacon on 5/6 shooting. Bowling Green had a hot shooting day and was led by Xavier Brown's 19 points.

College coaches in attendance over the three days of Flyin' to the Hoop: Cincinnati, Ohio State, Kentucky, Xavier, Dayton, Butler, Michigan, Wisconsin, Marquette, Robert Morris, Ball State, VCU, Cleveland State, Wright State, and Tulane to name a few.

Flyin' to the Hoop- Day Two Review

Willy Moore

Cincinnati got its first win in Dayton today with Aiken's great defensive performance: Pictures

Aiken 50 Vandalia Butler 36: Solid effort by Aiken in a game that they needed to win to restore their confidence. Aiken did a great job pressuring the ball and hounding Butler's guards all game long. The only way Butler was able to score was to get the ball into 6-9 junior center Taylor Decker who scored 12 points. Aiken also did a good job pushing the ball down court, leaving the slower Butler team in their dust, and passing to open teammates running the lanes. Willy Moore and Tyonte Robertson both had excellent passing games today for Aiken. Aiken was led by sophomore wing Austin Grimes who scored 12 points and grabbed 7 boards; Austin also had a nice dunk off of a pass from Tyonte Robertson. Keron Hicks, a senior wing that is a role player, hit two three point shots for Aiken and junior big man Floyd Lee played his best game of the season. Lee did a nice job guarding Decker and forcing him into contested post shots.

Flyin' to the Hoop- Day 1 Review

Adolphus Washington was hounded inside.

Day one in Dayton did not go well for Cincinnati as both teams went down:  Pictures

• Hamilton Southeastern (IN) 71 Taft 70: The Senators allowed Hamilton SE to race out to an early 20 point lead and were never able to recover. Although they came back to come within 4 in the mid-fourth a couple questionable calls and their inability to create turnovers with their signature press led to their first defeat. Hamilton is a very good team; Indiana's top ranked junior (16^th in the country) Garry Harris, a 6'4 wing, had a great game scoring 27 points. Harris has great athleticism combined with a guard skill-set that makes him impossible to cover. Junior point guard Jacoby Bledsoe did a great job against Taft's press and scored 13 points and sophomore wing Zac Irvin showed his promise with 16 points. Taft struggled to get the ball into the middle of Hamilton's zone and had to rely on three point shooting. Fortunately they hit enough to keep them alive; Chris Lowe hit 4/5 attempts and finished with 21 points, Jalean Lowe hit three triples and had 15 points, and Kadeem Palmer connected on two treys finishing with 8 points. Adolphus Washington was effective when he caught the ball down low, finishing with 16 points on 7/8 shooting. Tough loss for Taft as they were frustrated that they didn't play to their potential and allowed Harris to show why he is one of the nation's most coveted recruits.

• 

  Aaron Thomas was forced into tough shots like this one.

  Huntington Prep (WV) 71 Withrow 52:  The Tiger's were able to keep up with Prep for a half, only trailing by 2 at the break, but the second half was a totally different story. Huntington Prep was just too deep, big, and athletic for the Tigers to handle. Giant junior center Sim Bhullar, who is 7'4 and 350 lbs, had a great game inside. Bhullar scored 13 points, grabbed 15 boards, and had 8 blocks. Charles Lee, a senior point guard signed with Cleveland St, scored 15 on 5/6 three point shooting; Stefan Jankovic, a versatile 6-9 junior forward, scored 11 while senior guard Maurice Anfiekok scored 9 as did Jaylen Beckham, a junior guard. University of Cincinnati signee Jeremiah Davis, a 6'3 combo guard, scored 4 points on limited shots but did a nice job slowing down Aaron Thomas in spurts. For Withrow, Aaron Thomas had a great start hitting three early jumpers and it seemed to be his night. Thomas was unable to continue his hot streak but did finish with 24 points for the game. Senior forward Carl Porter scored 14 points and grabbed 8 rebounds and Devin Williams added 7 and 6. Withrow proved that their starting line-up is talented enough to play against the nation's best but that their depth is underwhelming. Huntington Prep is a talented team that is very entertaining and filled with a group of players that does a nice job playing together and thriving under the bright spotlight. 

Friday Results

Bubba Hill of West High and  Aiken's
Tyonte Robertson went at it on Friday

Tonight's scores include some upsets and some games that were closer then expected.

• West High 57 Aiken 53: With Austin Grimes missing the game with a minor injury Aiken was shorthanded on the boards and it showed. West High big men Josh Chancellor, Cortez Adams, and Marquez Carpenter were excellent on the glass tonight. Chancellor had his best scoring night this year with 11 points and Adams added 10. Wing Keevin Tyus scored 11 for West High and point guard Lionel Hill added 12. For Aiken, Gene Primus led them with 13 points in an offense that never was able to get going.  More game pictures
• Taft 76 Shroder 54: Orlando Berry Jr. led Taft with 11 points, 9 assists, 5 steals; Adolphus Washington had 15 and 14 while Dwayne Stanford added 11 and 12. Junior wing Jalean Lowe scored 11 points. Senior big man Jalen Billups led Shroder with 18.
• Withrow 81 Hughes 68: Aaron Thomas scored 24 points and Devin Willliams added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Carl Porter also scored 15 for Withrow and Kevin Jones added 12. Sophomore guard Terry Cook of Hughes scored 20 points and freshman guard Kevin Daniels added 13. 
• Summit 52 North College Hill 50: Junior guard Tommy Kreyenhagen led Summit in scoring with 17 and hit the game winning free throws with less then 10 seconds left after a NCH technical.
• LaSalle 56 Elder 44: Josh Lemmons had a great shooting night finishing with 25 points., Trey Casey added 14 for the Lancers.
• Moeller 46 St. Xavier 44: Charlie Byers led Moe with 22 points in a game that was much closer than anticipated. Alex Barlow scored 14 for Moeller in an nice all around individual performance. 
• Mason 54 Colerain 38: Junior shooting guard JD Sprague led Mason with 19 points and junior wing Eli'sha Campbell scored 13 for Colerain.
• Middletown 37 Hamilton 35: Geovonie McKnight led Middletown with 10 points.
• Princeton 76 Sycamore 48: Marcus Monterio scored 19 and Jay McCants 13 for Princeton.
• Oak Hills 58 Lakota West 50: Senior forward Thomas Schneider scored 25 points for Oak Hills.

• 

  Aiken's Landen Gaulden and West High's Darrell Bullock

  Lakota East 66 Fairfield 55: Mike Boyd led East with 16 points and RJ Leppert added 12.
• Woodward 65 Landmark 53: Eric Hill led Woodward with 20 points.
• Roger Bacon 73 Purcell Marian 45: JaBriel Coaston led Bacon with 16 and 10.
• Northwest 64 Mt. Healthy 58: Sophomore Ramar Hairston scored 16 points, grabbed 7 boards, and had 4 assists.
• Winton Woods 68 Harrison 53
• Glen Este 69 Anderson 46
• Turpin 55 Loveland 52

Local Weekend Games and Flyin' to the Hoop Preview:

Great action the entire long weekend highlighted by the annual event that brings in some of America's top young talent. CPHR will be up in Dayton at UD's Trent Arena all weekend providing full coverage as Cincinnati teams try and go 5-0 for the event.

Antonio Woods Jr and Kevin Johnson  need to
have a good game to defeat NCH Friday at Summit

Friday: 

• North College Hill @ Summit: Battle for the top spot in the MVC will be fought at Summit. NCH will bring their pressure but Summit seems like the team that is capable of handling it with their plethora of guards. Both teams play small and athletic lineups making this game one that will likely be played in the full court. Can't wait to see what Kevin Johnson and Greg Sevilla will try and do to each other in their hyped match-up. Jalen Render, NCH's star point guard, will try and take advantage of Antonio Woods (who is 3 years younger). If Woods can play sharp then Summit should be able to come out of this game atop the league standings.
  • Prediction: Close call that can go either way, I think Summit wins this one late.
• Moeller @ St. Xavier: One of everyone's favorite league games each year, this should only serve as an appetizer for Moeller vs LaSalle. Moeller has a clear talent advantage this year and is playing great team ball. Ben Galemmo, Alex Barlow, Chuck Byers, and the rest of Moeller's scorers have too much talent to lose this game. But on the road in the GCL you never know....
  • Prediction: Moeller wins easily.
• Aiken @ West High: A lot of talented guards will take the court on this one. These guards will probably cancel out so one spot that CPHR is interested in seeing is the post position where Aiken's Femi Thompson will go against West High's Josh Chancellor. Whoever wins this match-up will give their team a great chance to come out on top. The other interesting match-up is Austin Grimes of Aiken vs Keevin Tyus of West High in a battle of two talented athletes that play with a real fire.
  • Prediction: Aiken wins this one in a close and intense battle.
• Shroder @ Taft: Great match-up inside between Adolphus Washington and Jalen Billups (both players made CPHR's Mid-Season All-City Team) that will have the fans talking. Shroder is one of few teams that has the size to compete inside but the perimeter is a major advantage for Taft.
  • Prediction: Taft stays undefeated and wins this one.
• Withrow @ Hughes
• Seven Hills @ Lockland

• 

  Jeremiah Davis leads Huntington Prep
  against Withrow on Saturday.

  Mason @ Colerain
• Lakota East @ Fairfield
• Hamilton @ Middletown
• Lakota West @ Oak Hills
• Sycamore @ Princeton
• Purcell Marian @ Roger Bacon
• Elder @ LaSalle
• Harrison @ Winton Woods
• Mt. Healthy @ Northwest

Saturday:  

• Huntington Prep vs Withrow: Flyin' To The Hoop 3:30 PM 
  • Huntington Prep, considered to be one of if not the most talented team in the nation, is loaded with D1 prospects. They are led by Jeremiah Davis a 6-3 PG (signed with UC), Jaylen Beckham a 6-0 Jr PG ranked in the top 75 in the country, and Negus Webster-Clan a 6-6 Jr SF committed to Louisville. They also possess plenty of size in 6-9 Jr PF Stefan Jankovic, Sim Bhullar a 7-4 Canadian Jr C, Ibrahima Djimde a 6-9 Sr PF, and 6-5 Sr PG Maurice Anfieok of Nigeria. Aaron Thomas, Devin Williams, and the rest of the Withrow Tigers will have their work cut out for them in this one; but if they can beat Huntington Prep up and down the court they will have a chance.
    • Prediction: Huntington Prep is too talented, they take this one.
• Hamilton SE vs Taft: Flyin' To The Hoop 5:15 PM 
  • Hamilton SE is led by Gary Harris a 6-4 Jr SG who is Indiana's top player and #16 in the country. They also have Zak Irvin a 6-5 sophomore PF who is considered a top 50 prospect. This should be an exciting match-up between two talented teams. We'll see what Harris is made of going against the pressure of Taft's suffocating defense.
    • Prediction: Taft wins this one.

• 

  Gary Harris leads his team against Taft

  Madeira @ Finneytown
• Reading @ Indian Hill
• St. Xavier @ Hamilton
• Northwest @ Anderson

Sunday: 

• Aiken vs Vandalia Butler (OH): 
  Flyin' To The Hoop 3:00 PM 
  • Junior center Taylor Decker averages 15 points for the 8-2 Aviators from Vandalia, outside of Dayton. They do not have the athleticism to match Aiken's arsenal of speedsters. Aiken looks to have a tremendous talent advantage in this one.
    • Prediction: Aiken

Devin Langford will go against
Lakota East's great defense on Monday

Monday: 

• Lakota East vs Lee (AL): Flyin' To The Hoop 11:30 AM 
  • 6-7 SF Devin Langford, an Illinois commit, led Lee to last years state title in Alabama. Lee always has top talent and they are a deep team capable of matching East.
    • Prediction: Should be a good game, I'll take Lakota East though.
• Roger Bacon vs Bowling Green (OH): 
  Flyin' To The Hoop 1:15 PM 
  • Bowling Green is led by 6'7 sophomore PF Vito Brown who is known as an athletic shot-blocker. This is a very winnable game for Bacon.
    • Prediction: Roger Bacon wins comfortably.
• Lockland @ Yellow Springs

Wednesday Results:

Trey Dees one of Cincy's premiere point guards

• West High 69 Shroder 53: The Mustangs wore the Jags down in the second half with their speed and their depth. Other then junior point Trey Dees, who scored 7 points and played a really solid all around game, Shroder does not have the guards to compete with West High's talented duo of junior point guards Darrell Bullock and Lionel Hill. Hill has really improved his passing skills of late and led the team with 19 points. Junior wing Keevin Tyus did his usual with 17 points off of transition and strong drives out of the high post. West High did a nice job slowing down senior big man Jalen Billups, holding him to 17 points (8 of them came in the last two minutes with Mustang subs in).
  Pictures from West High @ Shroder

• LaSalle 68 Mason 44: Lancers blew this one wide open in a game widely expected to be a close one. LaSalle proved that they can make even the most talented teams cave into their intense ball pressure. Junior point guard Josh Lemmons led four Lancers in double figures with 16 points. 

Mid-Season All-City Team:

Aaron Thomas, our POY, is
averaging 24.5 PPG

We're about half way through the '10-'11 regular season so let's take a look at who the top players have been so far. A lot of guys have put up great numbers this season, this is the best of the best. Hopefully the second half of the season is equally as exciting as the first!

   Mid-Season All-City Team:           01/11/2011                                                                                                   

   First Team:

   Aaron Thomas- Senior SG Withrow    *** Player of the Year ***       

   Jalen Billups- Senior PF Shroder

   Semaj Christon- Senior PG Winton Woods

   Brandon Neel- Senior SG LaSalle

   Adolphus Washington- Junior C Taft

Semaj Christon is averaging 19.1 PPG

Second Team:

Charlie Byers- Senior PG Moeller 

Mike Boyd- Senior PG Lakota East

Kevin Johnson- Sophomore PG Summit

Willy Moore- Junior SG Aiken

Devin Williams- Sophomore PF Withrow

Honorable Mention:

Alex Barlow- Senior SF Moeller

Orlando Berry Jr- Junior PG Taft

Adolphus Washington averages 15 points and 13 boards

Monty Boykins- Sophomore SG Lakota West

Paul Byrd- Senior PG Roger Bacon

Brian Carden- Senior PF Mason

Tony Davis- Senior C Wyoming

Trent Donald- Sophomore PF Woodward

Austin Grimes- Sophomore SF Aiken  

Josh Lemmons- Junior PG LaSalle

Geovonie McKnight- Junior SG Middletown

Kadeem Palmer- Senior PG Taft

Carl Porter- Senior SF Withrow

Greg Sevilla- Senior SF North College Hill

Keevin Tyus- Junior SF West High

Monday's Score:

Loved the play of Taft's Chris Lowe tonight.

Taft 85 Winton Woods 84: This was the type of game that Taft wanted to play, controlled chaos. With the gym rocking for the second week in a row this game went down to the wire and was played at an extraordinary pace. Taft raced out to a big lead and actually led by 13 early in the fourth quarter until Winton Woods came alive. Thomas Owens scored a layup with 20 seconds to go to give Winton Woods their first lead since the first quarter. Jermaine Freeman answered back, making two free throws with 8 seconds to go to give Taft a one point advantage. Winton Woods went down court and got fouled but Dion Dearmond was unable to make a free throw with 3.4 seconds left and the game ended before the rebound was controlled. Semaj Christon continues to blow up! For the second big game in a row he looked like a high-major star in the making; Semaj scored 35 points on only 13 field goal attempts in an incredibly efficient performance. He made 18 FT's, grabbed 6 rebounds, and dished out 7 dimes. For Taft, junior big man Adolphus Washington did his usual work with 18 points and 18 boards. Jermaine Freeman was the star for Taft tonight scoring 17 points, hitting the winning shot, slowing down Semaj as much as anyone could, and being the heart that kept Taft alive down the stretch. Kadeem Palmer added 12 points for Taft, Orlando Berry Jr 11, Dwayne Stanford 9, and Glen Gilliam also had 9. Dennis Thomas of Winton Woods is a big time shooter and finished with 16 points. CPHR was also impressed with the play tonight of Taft senior SF Chris Lowe who hit two big three balls and did a great job bringing defensive energy.  Pictures from Taft @ Winton Woods

Mon-Wed Preview:

Great slate of games this week, action on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Take a little break on Thursday and then an even better weekend (preview coming in a couple days) including the Flyin' To The Hoop event in Dayton. Here are the top contests to check out this week:

Jermaine Freeman will try and slow down Semaj Christon
just like he did against Aaron Thomas on Friday at WIthrow.

Monday:

• Taft @ Winton Woods: Another exciting inter-conference game against the #1 team in Ohio at Winton Woods, this time they bring in D3's finest the Senators. Semaj Christon is a player that is having a all-state season but he is going to be tested in this one by the pressure of Orlando Berry Jr. and Kadeem Palmer. Winton Woods has the talent to push the ball up and down but they will have a tough time down low stopping Adolphus Washington and Dwayne Stanford who are both coming alive. To stay in this game fellow senior guards Dennis Thomas and Dion Dearmond are going to have to really help Semaj put points on the board.
  • Prediction: Similarly to the LaSalle game Winton Woods will come out ready to defend their home court and stay close most of the game; However, Taft's overall depth, size, and pressure should wear them down. Taft wins this one comfortably.

Tuesday:

• Mason @ LaSalle: Comets are coming off of their first loss and it doesn't get any easier now that they go to LaSalle. LaSalle only has one loss and looked good in their win last week at Winton Woods (but Mason blew Winton Woods out). Both of these teams can guard but does Mason have the firepower to keep up for 32 minutes? Brandon Neel, Josh Lemmons, and company probably have too much for them to handle.
  • Prediction: LaSalle comfortably, Mason is a good team but not good enough to get this one on the road.
• Hamilton @ Withrow
• Community Christian Academy (KY) @ Aiken

Wednesday:

• West High @ Shroder: Big game for two evenly matched CMAC teams, this should be a battle of who can dominate more: Shroder senior big man Jalen Billups or West High's three headed monster of junior guards Darell Bullock, Bubba Hill, and wing Keevin Tyus. Trey Dees, Shroder's junior PG, needs to be solid with the ball against the pressure and be efficient in setting up his big men for the Jags to have a chance.
  • Prediction: Tough call, I'll take Shroder at home in a close game.
• Indian Hill @ Wyoming
• Reading @ Finneytown
• Madeira @ Mariemont