Friday Scores

Josh Davenport

The battle of CPHR's #2 and #3 ranked teams in Division I did not end in a judge's decision, it was a knockout. That plus the result from another Taft game against a highly ranked opponent highlight tonight's slate.... Photos

• Moeller 55 Middletown 38: Trailing 9-2 early, and struggling without playing a point guard, Moeller coach Carl Kremer allowed his experienced team to play through adversity. The result was a 18-3 Crusaders run led by the aggressive scoring of junior wing Josh Davenport; giving Moeller a double-figure lead which they would hold on to for most of the rest of the game. The pressure of Middletown was designed to speed up Moeller and force turnovers but it had the exact opposite effect as Moeller methodically broke the pressure and scored or set up their half-court offense. Defensively the men of Moe keyed in on Geovonie McKnight and Vincent Edwards, holding each to 12 points (8 points below their averages), forcing other players to take out of character shots. The key defender for Moeller was the underrated senior forward Alex Voss who did a great job frustrating Edwards and forcing him into tough shots; while senior Mike Riney and senior Ben Galemmo handled McKnight. Moeller was led by the 17 points and 10 rebounds of Josh Davenport, who is really taking over the GCL so far this season; while Galemmo added on 14 points and senior post Tony Sabato established himself inside with 10 points and 8 boards. With the win, and it being in such emphatic fashion, the debate begins for CPHR in deciding if Moeller should pass Withrow for the #1 spot in our polls. While they might not have the most overall talent it is tough to say that any team is better as a unit then Moeller right now.  
• Huntington Prep (WV) 72 Taft 53: The Senators took their fourth loss in five games as the nation's 13th ranked team dominated them at the Ironton Classic in Ironton, OH. After spending a week on the road the Senators are eager to get back to the confines of their own homes, and back to playing local competition. The top ranked prospect on H-Prep, senior PF Elijah Macon (a Columbus native who transferred for his final season) was named the game MVP as Taft had no answer for him on the low block. 
• Turpin 77 Northwest 73: The Spartans will enter Christmas 5-0 as they survived the shootout against a talented Knights team. Sophomore guard Zach McCormick was the high point man for Turpin with 24 while senior guard Mitch Stevens added 20 and junior forward Connor Grotton scored 15. Turpin was able to overcome subpar free throw shooting and get the win, despite the best efforts of Northwest junior guard Ramar Hairston; who scored 18 points in the loss. 
• Sycamore 61 Anderson 44: Junior guards Isaiah Brown and Joey Gruden each scored 17 points as the Aves got the win. Anderson junior forward Joe Cossins scored 13 points in the loss. 
• Fairfield 69 Talawanda 30: Senior wing Jeff Woods' 14 points and senior post Brandon Murphy's 11 points paced a balanced Indians attack in the win. 
• Covington Catholic 68 McNicholas 54: Drew Hall scored 20 points in the loss, despite a poor shooting night, as McNick's rough start (1-5) continued. 
• Elder 50 Badin 48
• Newport Catholic 66 Roger Bacon 59