Bulldog Scoreboard

SPORTS

Center Andrew Richlen scoring off a fast break during the Bulldogs’ 73–36 win over Metro Buckeye Conference rival Ridgeville Christian Friday, Jan. 3.

Bulldogs improve record to 9–1
The Yellow Springs High School boys basketball team improved to 9–1 last weekend with wins over Ridgeville Christian and Cedarville. Despite a two-week layoff, the Bulldogs looked sharp in both contests, defeating Ridgeville, 73–36, on Friday, Jan. 3, and Cedarville, 45–39, on Saturday, Jan. 4.
In Friday night’s contest, the ’Dogs stormed out to a 22–5 first quarter lead and never looked back. Using a press defense during the entire first half, YSHS converted a dozen Lion turnovers into transition baskets. Nine players scored for YSHS during the game.
“We came out really aggressively on defense,” head coach Brad Newsome said after the game. “That allowed us to run our transition game, which is really our strength.”
For the game, YSHS matched the Lions’ total score with 36 points in transition alone. Many of those transition buckets were tallied by senior guard Brent Robinson, who led the Bulldogs with 18 points. Junior Dustin Rudegeair scored 17.
Ridgeville seemed outmanned from the start. “That’s as poorly as we have shot the ball all season,” said Ridgeville head coach Dan Doepke. “Some of that has to be attributed to their defense, but a lot of it was our failure to execute and create open shots.”
Everybody in the gym knew the game was over when senior center Andrew Richlen threw down a two-handed dunk to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 52–18 with 1:18 left in the third period.
In Saturday night’s game, the Bulldogs edged rival Cedarville in a fierce battle of contrasting styles. “We like to run and play our transition game,” Newsome said. “They like to keep things methodical and be patient in the half-court game.”
Even though Cedarville succeeded in controlling the tempo of the game, the Bulldogs were able to pull out the win thanks to some hot second-half shooting from Richlen and Rudegeair. Richlen scored 8 of his game-high 18 points in the third quarter. Rory Hotaling and Matt Wallace came off the bench to provide key defensive help in the second half.
The game was close, with neither team leading by more than 3 points until the final minute of play.
The most exciting moment of the evening came when Rudegeair was called for an offensive foul late in the fourth quarter. The 100 or so YSHS fans in attendance vociferously disagreed with the call. The Bulldogs then huddled near center court to maintain their focus. This display sparked the opposing crowds’ thunderous chants of “Bulldogs, Bulldogs” and “Let’s go Cedarville.”
On the next possession Rudegeair turned a Cedarville turnover into an easy bucket, putting the Bulldogs up by 5. The two teams then traded baskets twice before the final horn sounded.
JV team wins twice
A strong full-court defense and good team rebounding helped the JV team pull out a win over Ridgeville on Friday, Jan. 3.
Seven different players collected rebounds for the Bulldogs, and a 2-2-1 full-court press forced turnover after turnover as the Bulldogs won 36–29.
Sophomore Jake Fulton led YSHS with 9 points, and sophomore Cody Johnson added 7 points and six boards.
Coach Perry Williams was pleased with his team’s effort. “We handled their half-court defense much better in the second half, and our defense improved as the game went on,” he said.
“We had a lot of people play well tonight,” he said. “Jamie Stallworth had a couple of key steals, and Chris Evans hit some pressure shots down the stretch.”
On Saturday, Jan. 4, the JV squad defeated Cedarville, 59–50. Brad Benning-Clark was the high scorer with 15. Johnson added 14 and Issa Walker chipped in 12 for the victorious Bulldogs.
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The freshman, JV and varsity squads were all in action Tuesday evening, Jan. 7, against Metro Buckeye Conference rival Jefferson, but results were not available at press time.

Varsity girls basketball—
YSHS falls to Troy Christian
The Yellow Springs High School girls basketball team held a 1 point lead after three quarters of play Saturday afternoon, Jan. 4, but a more experienced Troy Christian team worked the clock and pulled away to a 55–51 win.
“It was another close heartbreaker,” said YSHS head coach Shirley Cummins. “They finished and we didn’t. We still can’t seem to put four good quarters together.”
Playing at home, the Lady Bulldogs stormed out of the gate, scoring the game’s first 8 points. The Eagles then called timeout, regrouped and reduced the YSHS lead to 15–10 at the end of the first quarter.
Troy outscored the Lady Bulldogs 15–11 in the second period, and the game was close throughout the second half.
“All in all it was a great game,” Cummins said. “We seem to improve every time we step on the floor, and this game was a sign of that improvement. Obviously, we’re still very frustrated with the outcome, but I’m happy that we continue to improve.”
Evin Wimberly again led the team in scoring with 22 points. Through seven games this season, the star sophomore is averaging 24 points a game. Wimberly also led the Bulldogs in rebounds and steals against the Eagles. “Evin continues to do wonderful things on the court. She is certainly a leader on this team,” Cummins said.
Freshman Megan Burrick added 12 for the Lady Bulldogs. Burrick and sophomore Emily Foubert led the team in assists with 4 each.
Rachel Van Scoyk and Jen Magin led the Eagles with 17 and 13 points, respectively.
The loss drops the Lady Bulldogs to 2–5 on the year.
JV game canceled
Due to a scheduling mix-up, Troy Christian did not bring its JV team Saturday. Because it is extremely difficult to play a competitive, sanctioned game with only one team, the game was canceled. The JV team next plays against Belmont on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 6 p.m.
The Lady Bulldogs were in action Tuesday evening against Clark Montessori, but results of the game were not available as the News went to press.

McKinney School basketball report
8th graders improve to 4–3
The McKinney School eighth-grade boys basketball team improved to 4–3 with a 51–21 victory over a much taller Mechanicsburg team on Monday, Jan. 6. On Saturday, Jan. 4, the eighth graders earned a 42–24 win at the Miami Valley School.
In Monday’s game, Jerricho Stubblefield scored 16 points and Ryan Silvert added 13. Evan Firestone, Kevin Malarkey, Logan Sage, Brandon Carver, Maurie Rothman, Abeo Miller and Buddy Adkins also scored.
In Saturday’s game, Firestone and Ryan Silvert led the Bulldogs with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Stubblefield led an outstanding rebounding effort by the eighth graders. Brandon Holley, Miller, Sage, Adkins, Sonny Thomas and Stubblefield scored. Coach Rob Martin said that Kevin Malarkey and Dylan Klonch played tough on defense.
7th graders recover after break
With half the team out due to illness, the McKinney School seventh-grade basketball team fell to Blanchester, 41–28, on Thursday, Dec. 19. The Bulldogs rebounded after the holiday break and with a full squad defeated the Miami Valley Indians, 26–11, on Saturday, Jan. 4.
Kilan Brown led the ’Dogs with 8 points in the Dec. 19 loss. Against Miami Valley, both Ben Welsh and Todd Sheets scored 8 points. Kyle Buchwalder contributed with 4 points, and Yosef Johnson, James Butler and Peter Lovering all added a bucket.
The Bulldogs are now 4–2 and play again Saturday, Jan. 11, at 11 a.m., at home against Xenia Christian.

Saturday youth basketball play
This winter the Bryan Community Center gym has been reserved for boys and girls basketball on Saturday mornings from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Beginning Saturday, Jan. 11, all boys and girls in grades three through six are invited to play on a team and learn the basics of basketball. Registration and pickup games will be held on Jan. 11. Team play starts Jan. 18 and continues through March 15.
The program is underwritten by the Mills Lawn School PTO and is free to all children. However, the teams have some expense needs: new balls and printing. Donations are welcome.
For more information, call Cheryl Butler, 767-9178, before Jan. 18.

5th-, 6th-grade basketball
Fifth-grade boys win big
The Yellow Springs fifth-grade boys basketball team began the 2003 season with 39–20 victory over the Southeastern Trojans Sunday, Jan. 5.
High scorer Alexis Onfroy-Curley tossed in 12 points. First-year player Geoffrey Pitts added 8 points and point guard Ian Wimberly guided the team, scoring 7 points and dishing out many assists.
Ryan Phillips and Jerimiha Stubblefield played solidly on both ends of the court. Stellar defensive efforts came from Christopher Johnson, Sam Morrison and David Ingham. Providing solid team play were Ben Clonch, Conor Stratton, Colby Silvert and Quinthony Freeman.
Fifth-grade girls win
The fifth-grade girls basketball team won its first Kenton Trace Conference game on Sunday, 26–21, over visiting Southeastern. Yellow Springs jumped out to a 12–2 lead in the first quarter and withstood a fierce second half comeback by Southeastern.
The Trojans closed to within 3 points early in the fourth quarter before Yellow Springs put the game away with a tough defensive effort.
Brittany Sheets led all scorers with 11 points. Fourth-grader Stephanie Scott had 3 points, gathered several rebounds and made a number of key assists. Other scorers were Barbara Jewell, Stephanie Scott, Maiya Thornton, Marlee Layh and Shakia Porter. Also contributing with solid defense were Nell Franklin, Belle-Pilar Fleming, Salome Garcia-Halpin and fourth graders Alex Beer, Stephanie Lloyd and Kelly Miller.
“I did not know what to expect, given that all but three of the girls either had not played basketball before or are in fourth grade,” said coach Rich Miller. “We won because all of these girls have made themselves better ball players through practice.”
Sixth-grade boys fall
The Yellow Springs sixth-grade boys basketball team lost its season opener to Southeastern, 31–20, Saturday afternoon, Jan. 4.
Coach Mike Haller said the boys gave a great effort, but cold shooting limited them to 4 first-half points. “In the second half we played much better ball at both ends of the court, but it just wasn’t enough to come back,” he said.
Kevin Sikes-Gilbert, Steven Scott, Matt Finn, Joe Fugate and Jessie Rothman scored for Yellow Springs.
Sixth-grade girls win opener
The sixth-grade girls basketball team won its first game of the season, easily defeating Southeastern, 26–10, at Yellow Springs High School. Earlier in the week, the team defeated Blanchester, 20–4, in a scrimmage.
Coach Paul Comstock praised the team’s aggressive defense. “Southeastern could not get anything going on the offensive end, primarily due to our outstanding defensive pressure,” he said.
Ashanta Robinson led the team with 12 points. Tenia Scarver, Theresa Skinner and Kaci Yelton contributed 4 points each. Ryder Comstock also scored.