Mid-Week Preview

Three high profile matchups on Tuesday leave CPHR hesitant on what game to attend in a week that should give us a clearer picture of who deserves top ten rankings in our weekly poll.........

Tuesday

·        St. Xavier @ Fairfield: An up and coming Fairfield squad opens their season against a young, and relatively unknown, St. X squad eager to make an impression in their opener. One matchup to watch in this one is two young PG’s as Fairfield returns sophomore Tim Fleming while X will give junior Deontae Bolling his first start. Assuming those two cancel out the key to the game might be how Fairfield can handle the athletic 6’7 sophomore wing Roderick Mills, who is mismatch for them; if Mills can create shots for himself the Bombers should get the win.

o   Prediction: Mills will have a chance to become a star this season. We expect him to begin that process here and lead St. X to a season opening road win.

·        Walnut Hills @ LaSalle: In their first game since their State Championship victory, the new look Lancers face a tough opponent in Walnut Hills, who has the big game experience to handle the rowdy Lancer student section. This year’s LaSalle team has the bulk to handle Isaiah Johnson down low and LaSalle’s style of play should neutralize Walnut’s trio of talented guards. Walnut Hills will need to shoot the ball well to stretch the defense, giving Johnson room to work inside to have a chance. If they can work the ball around, without being bothered by the LaSalle press they should have a chance; provided the Lancers don’t shoot the lights out (as they did in the pre-season).

o   Prediction: Gut feeling on this is LaSalle but Walnut Hills is more than capable of pulling out this type of win. We’ll go with senior guard Josh Lemons leading his Lancer squad to a single digit victory.

·        Roger Bacon @ Winton Woods: The Warriors try and avoid an 0-2 start by playing a Spartan team that posted an impressive margin in their win over Finneytown last weekend. Roger Bacon’s physical defense is similar to the Moeller defense that held Winton Woods under 50 points. If the Warriors can handle the pressure and get quality shots they should win handily, if not (and Bacon can find their shooting touch) it could be closer than most people suspect.

o   Prediction: Winton Woods wins by 15 after a close first half.

·        Clark @ Lockland

·        Mount Healthy @ West High

·        Oak Hills @ Lakota West

·        Milford @ Sycamore

·        Loveland @ McNicholas

·        Finneytown @ Northwest

·        Summit @ Seven Hills

·        CHCA @ North College Hill

Wednesday

·        Colerain @ Ryle: The Cardinals try to get off to a 2-0 start and avenge last season’s loss to Ryle, out of KY, where they were dominated in the paint.

o   Prediction: Colerain has too much speed and depth for Ryle to handle. The Cards get the victory this year.

Thursday

·        Badin @ Northwest