Bulldog Scoreboard

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Boys high school basketball—
’Dogs advance to sectional finals

YSHS senior Andrew Richlen grabbed a rebound over junior Dustin Rudegeair during the Bulldogs’ win over Xenia Christian in the Division IV sectionals Monday, Feb. 24, at the U.D. arena.

The Bulldogs’ bandwagon is growing. The number of Yellow Springs supporters in attendance for Monday’s second-round tournament victory over Xenia Christian was nearly twice as large as the crowd that turned out for the Bulldogs’ first tourney win, on Feb. 18 over Miami Valley.
Those spectators who ventured out to the University of Dayton arena to see the Bulldogs beat their Greene County rival for the third time this season were not disappointed as the ’Dogs prevailed 76–60 on Feb. 24.
A trip to districts will be on the line, when YSHS will face Cedarville on Tuesday, March 4.
As they have all season, the Bulldogs took control early and never looked back. YSHS used a full-court press and its transition offense to build a 37–18 lead at halftime.
“I thought our transition offense worked really well tonight,” coach Brad Newsome said after the game. “We passed the ball well on the move, and we finished most of our easy opportunities.”
The Bulldogs got in a little trouble in the third quarter when three starters, juniors Jordan Skinner and Dustin Rudegeair and senior Andrew Richlen, had to sit on the bench with four fouls apiece. Xenia Christian went to a full-court press and was able to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 10. Over a two-minute span, the Ambassadors forced four consecutive turnovers and looked to be back in the game.
But senior Matt Wallace and junior Rory Hotaling helped YSHS keep its composure late in the third, and the Bulldogs’ lead never dropped to single digits.
The ’Dogs also shot well from the free-throw line late in the game to help seal the win. Yellow Springs was 12 of 17 from the line in the fourth quarter.
“I was really happy with our free-throw shooting at the end of the game. Dusty, Rory and Matt all hit some big shots from the line, and that was the difference,” Newsome said. “When you have a lead in the fourth, you can expect to be fouled a lot, and you won’t win if you don’t make your foul shots.”
Brent Robinson led the Bulldogs with 22 points. Rudegeair finished with 16. Richlen had 10 and junior Anthony Brandon scored 8. Matt Wallace finished with 4 points and 10 rebounds, including 5 on the offensive glass.
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YSHS athletic director Chris Rainey will sell tickets to the Bulldogs’ next tournament game this Saturday, March 1, 10 a.m.–noon, downtown.

YSHS girls finish at 10–13

Coach Shirley Cummins, kneeling, talking to the YSHS girls basketball team during the Lady Bulldogs’ loss to Covington in the Division IV sectionals last Thursday, Feb. 20.

The Yellow Springs High School girls basketball team ended its season last week with two losses.
On Friday night, Feb. 21, YSHS lost 56–49, in a makeup game with Cincinnati Christian, and on Thursday, Feb 20, the Lady Bulldogs fell 64–49 to Covington in the second round of the Division IV sectionals at Twin Valley South.
The girls team finished the season with a 10–13 overall record and a 5–9 mark in the Metro Buckeye Conference.
In Thursday’s game against heavily favored Covington, the Lady Bulldogs played well and challenged the No. 2 seed for three quarters. Covington’s perimeter passing and excellent free-throw shooting down the stretch proved to be the difference.
As they have so many times this season, the Lady Bulldogs played outstanding basketball for three of the four quarters, but failed to execute offensively when the game was on the line.
Down by 10 points at the half, the Lady ’Dogs rallied to within 2 with three minutes remaining in the third quarter, but Covington’s defense tightened, and by the end of the period the lead was back to 5.
“We played really well for three quarters, but we just couldn’t keep it together for the entire game,” coach Shirley Cummins said. “We are a young team, and we played like it on Thursday. That lack of experience really shows up in the fourth quarter.”
Usually Yellow Springs likes to press its opponents right away, but against Covington, the Lady Bulldogs waited until the second half to start playing the full-court defense. “We didn’t want to tip our hand too early, and going to the press gave us a much needed boost in the third,” Cummins said.
But Covington seemed to figure out the press in the fourth quarter, and the Lady Bulldogs’ hopes of winning and their energy faded at the end of the game. “It’s really tough to switch gears like that in the middle of the game; it takes a lot out of you,” Cummins said. “We will definitely have to look at the way we approach our conditioning in the future.”
Friday night, the Lady ’Dogs traveled to Cincinnati to make up a Jan. 16 conference game with Cincinnati Christian. When they arrived on the floor they were met with respect by their opponents, but hostility by the referees.
“I don’t want to take anything away from their team, they played well and they were very sporting about the whole thing, but the officiating was terrible,” Cummins said.
Cincinnati Christian fans, players and coaches all complemented the Lady ’Dogs on their ability to maintain their composure during such a lopsided performance from the officials. “I’ve never had an opposing coach apologize for the refs like that before. Their coach actually suggested that I complain,” Cummins said Monday. “I feel like both teams were cheated out of a fairly called game.”
Cincinnati Christian made twice as many free-throws as Yellow Springs even attempted, sinking 20 of 30. The Lady Bulldogs made five of eight. The points from the line proved to be the difference. YSHS outscored Cincinnati 26–13 from the field in the second half, but because their opponents were scoring so much from the line, the Lady ’Dogs were not able to bridge the 6-point halftime deficit.
Sophomore Evin Wimberly was the leading scorer in both games, hitting for 28 against Cincinnati and 21 against Covington. Freshman Becky Pasch had 11 in Thursday’s game.

YSHS boys win conference title
The YSHS boys basketball team won its fourth Metro Buckeye Conference Championship in five years after defeating Cincinnati Christian, 59–27, on Friday, Feb. 21.
The win improved the Bulldogs’ regular season record to 18–2 overall and 13–1 in the MBC.
The Bulldogs had no trouble dispensing Cincinnati Christian, and many reserves played throughout the second half. “It was a total team effort,” coach Brad Newsome said, “We had a lot of guys play and play well.”
Junior Dustin Rudegeair led all scorers with 15, and three other Bulldogs, seniors Brent Robinson and Andrew Richlen and junior Anthony Brandon, added 9 points each. Robinson also had five assists and five steals.
The Bulldogs finished the regular season ranked seventh statewide in the Division IV Associated Press poll.
Bulldogs capture awards
The accolades keep piling up for the Bulldogs. Last weekend coaches from District 15 and the Metro Buckeye Conference showered the Bulldogs with season awards.
In District 15, which includes schools from all four athletic divisions, Robinson was named player of the year, and YSHS coach Brad Newsome and his staff of Perry Williams, Neal Perry, Sterling Wiggins and Greg Felder were named coaches of the year.
Richlen joined Robinson on the District all-star team, and Rudegeair was named to the District’s all-underclassman squad.
Rudegeair got the better of Robinson among Metro Buckeye Conference coaches voting for player awards last weekend.
Rudegeair finished two votes ahead of Robinson to claim conference player of the year honors. Both players were first team all-MBC. Richlen and junior Jordan Skinner were named second-team all-conference.

5th-grade basketball report
Boys win league championship
The Yellow Springs fifth-grade boys basketball team finished the season 11–0 after winning the Kenton Trace Conference tournament on Sunday, Feb. 23.
The ’Dogs claimed the championship by beating Wilmington, 27–26, in overtime and Blanchester, 25–20, in back-to-back games on Sunday, Feb. 23.
Ian Wimberly and Alexis Onfrey-Curley each had 11 points in the doubleheader to lead the Bulldogs. Other Yellow Springs scorers included Ryan Phillips, Geoffrey Pitts, Jerimiha Stubblefield, David Ingham and Quinthony Freeman. Sam Morrison, Ben Clonch, Shaq Collett, Colby Silvert, Christopher Johnson and Conor Stratton played solid defense.
Girls wrap up season
The fifth-grade girls team lost, 29–8, to eventual league champion East Clinton in the first round of the Kenton Trace Conference tournament Sunday, Feb. 23.
The girls lost to Southeastern 24–18, Wednesday, Feb. 19, and won by forfeit Friday, Feb. 21, against Blanchester and lost to Wilmington, 27–15, the following day.
Brittany Sheets, Maiya Thornton and Stephanie Scott led the team in scoring, and Scott, Marlee Layh and Sheets led the team in rebounding.
“We were disappointed by losing to Southeastern and not getting another shot at Blanchester, but I am extremely proud of what these girls have achieved given their inexperience coming into the season,” coach Rich Miller said.