Athens (11-9)
Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once said, “If you want a thing to be well done, you must do it yourself.” That proverb rang true for the Athens Bulldogs this weekend.
With Tri-Valley Conference Ohio Division title hopes still alive, Athens defeated Meigs 57-37 at home last week.
The Bulldogs needed a loss from Vinton County Friday and a win on the road against Nelsonville-York Saturday to secure a share of the division crown.
Unfortunately for Athens, only one of those events occurred.
Vinton County took care of business against Wellston, coming back to beat the Rockets 53-49. With the division title no longer on the line, Athens finished the season strong, defeating Nelsonville-York 56-44.
“The lesson from this is that we need to take care of business on our own,” coach Jeff Skinner said. “But our guys came out ready on Saturday night and it really spoke volumes about our team.”
Next up for Athens is a sectional matchup against Logan Elm (16-5) on Friday. Skinner said he knows that the Braves will prove to be a difficult test for his surging Bulldogs.
“They’re a very good team,” Skinner said. “But they played a very similar schedule to us and if we can execute our multiple styles as we have of late, we have a good shot.”
— Christian Hoppens
ch203310@ohiou.edu
Nelsonville-York (12-8)
Despite a loss to rival Athens Saturday night, the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes are staying positive heading into the sectional tournament.
“I’m looking forward to it, you know, you get an opportunity to play for a sectional championship and go to The Convo,” coach Jay Kline said. “That’s all you can ask for at the end of the season, and we got that opportunity and hopefully we’ll take advantage of the opportunity regardless of who we play.”
The Buckeyes, who finished the regular season 12-8 and tied for third place in the TVC-Ohio, will play the winner of the River Valley and Crooksville sectional semi-final, in the sectional championship.
The game will take place 6 p.m Friday at Athens High School.
Nelsonville-York has been led all season by three starting seniors: shifty point guard Casey Cox, athletic forward Daniel Kline, and physical center Kyle Moore.
“I’m real proud of our seniors and I hope that we can get them a sectional championship,” Kline said. “I think they’re very deserving of one.”
The Buckeyes also have been sparked by junior guards Austin North and Jacob Blake, the latter of which Kline has called “our little-big man.” Junior forward Kyle Freer also contributes off the bench.
— Nathan Cotton
nc606411@ohiou.edu
Alexander (4-17)
The season is now over for Alexander, as the team dropped its final nine games of the season.
The Spartans found offense hard to come by even against the worst team in the conference in the game against Meigs. Alexander shot 26 percent for the game and one of the Spartans’ best shooters, Jake Grey, shot one of 18 from the field.
“I hate to go out that way for my seniors,” Alexander coach Blaine Gabriel said. “They deserve better. It’s just disappointing that you have that type of game for your last game.”
The Spartans only had four seniors on the team as freshman and junior varsity players alike received extended playing time on the floor.
“Coming into this season I knew we were young and inexperienced and I thought we progressed and got better,” Gabriel said. “These seniors, it’s been a great group and I love them to death.”
Next season, Alexander will have three returning juniors but more importantly, players with varsity experience including point guard Jordan Mosley and Braden Jones, who was the Spartans’ top scorer this season.
“We’ve got a lot more experience coming back next year,” Gabriel said. “Here in 30 days we’ll get together and we’ll regroup.”
— Paul Meara
pm312207@ohiou.edu
