Athens (8-8)
In front of a raucous crowd at Alexander High School Friday, two freshmen carried the Bulldogs to a third-straight conference victory and sole ownership of second place in the Tri-Valley Conference Ohio Division.
Joey Burrow led the team with 23 points and connected on four of his five 3-point attempts. Ryan Luehrman, who was battling a sinus infection, dominated inside with 12 points and seven rebounds. With the two combining for 35 of the team’s 51 points, coach Jeff Skinner praised their efforts.
“I think it’s unfortunate when you have to throw two freshmen into the fire like that,” Skinner said. “But Joe and Ryan are special. They’re not like other freshmen.”
The duo didn’t contribute as much to the Bulldogs’ effort in a 55-37 loss against Marietta on Tuesday, with Burrow only scoring even, and Luerhman took the game off for health reasons.
But that was a game that did not hold much weight in the coach’s opinion.
“We certainly aren’t going to mail it on non-league games, but our focus is our league games,” Skinner said. “It was just one of those games that we’ll just try to get better in.”
The Bulldogs will try to keep a hold on second place in the TVC-Ohio on Friday as they head for Nelsonville-York, which trails Athens by one game in the division standings.
— Paul Meara
pm312207@ohio.edu
Nelsonville-York (11-6)
The Buckeyes remain in the hunt for the top spot in the TVC-Ohio, but a recent setback has drastically diminished their chances.
Nelsonville-York fell 54-45 to Wellston Friday, a surprising result after the Buckeyes’ 20-point margin of victory against the Rockets Jan. 24.
Nelsonville-York is now 4-3 in the TVC-Ohio, two games behind first place Vinton County and one behind Athens.
A 57-45 win on the road against River Valley Tuesday night got Nelsonville-York back on track, giving the Buckeyes momentum they will need heading into Friday night’s game against Athens.
As if Senior Night and the schools’ rivalry supplied insufficient motivation for the Buckeyes, they will also need a win to keep their title hopes alive. A loss to Athens would leave the Buckeyes two games back with one conference game to play, while the rival Bulldogs would keep pace with Vinton County.
Considering that the Buckeyes’ Casey Cox hit a 3-pointer to send the game — which Nelsonville-York eventually won — into overtime in the teams’ first meeting •Jan. 6, the Bulldogs will certainly be looking for revenge.
Expect Ben Wagner Gymnasium at Nelsonville-York High School to be loud Friday night.
— Christian Hoppens
ch203310@ohiou.edu
Alexander (5-12)
With a losing record guaranteed and only three games left on the schedule, Alexander continues to concede nothing.
“The kids show up every night to practice, and they’ve not given up,” coach Blaine Gabriel said. “We’re capable of playing like we did against Nelsonville. We just had that four-game road trip and things just didn’t click.”
Alexander has struggled all year offensively, especially from mid-range and behind the 3-point line. Problems with continuity have been a big factor in the Spartans’ poor performances.
“Our thing all year is that we’ve never been able to get two or three people on the same page,” Gabriel said. “We’ve always been able to get one, sometimes two, but never that third person.”
Fouls and turnovers have also been a problem for Alexander recently, and Gabriel said he believes it has an impact on a young team with little depth.
“We only have eight, nine kids that start, so when we get a couple of our key players in foul trouble, it makes it difficult,” he said.
The Spartans hit the road for two games, starting with Friday’s contest against conference leader Vinton County. Alexander lost to the Vikings at home by 23 points earlier in the season.
— Nathan Cotton
nc606411@ohiou.edu
