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SPORTS
‘Dogs win MBC, advance in tourney
With three big wins last week, the YSHS boys basketball
team increased its win streak to 11, won the Metro Buckeye Conference
title for the second year in a row, and advanced in the Dayton bracket
of the Division IV sectional tournament.
The Bulldogs beat Xenia Christian, 73–64,
on Tuesday, dominated Miami Valley, 86–45, Thursday, and bested Springfield
Catholic Central, 67–39, in the first round of sectionals on Saturday.
The team ended its season with a conference record of 11–1 and an
overall record of 17–3.
On Saturday the ’Dogs traveled to the University
of Dayton’s Arena, where they jumped out to a 10–4 lead with
strong inside play. The Bulldogs, however, began to fire and miss many 3-pointers,
allowing the Irish to pull ahead 15–14 by the end of the first quarter.
But the Bulldogs picked up an 8-point lead before the half and slowly began
to dominate the rest of the game.
They were led by Dustin Rudegeair’s game-high
21 points and 15 rebounds and Jordan Skinner’s 14 points, 14 rebounds
and 6 assists. Anthony Brandon continued his recent scoring rampage, tallying
16 points, while Bradley Benning-Clark came off the bench to score 8.
With the win, the Bulldogs advanced to the second
round of the sectional tournament and will play the Bethel Bees on Friday,
Feb. 27, at UD. If they win, the Bulldogs will play the winner of the Southeastern-Tri
Village game on Saturday, March 6, at 1:30 p.m.
The Bulldogs encourage anyone who wants to take
their mind off the recent events in Yellow Springs to come watch some great
basketball and help support the ’Dogs as they try to advance to the
sectional finals for the second year in a row.
Last Tuesday the Bulldogs took a short trip to play
the Xenia Christian Ambassadors, who hadn’t lost at home all season.
The Bulldogs led 18–13 at the end of the first quarter and 36–21
at the half. Brandon and Rudegeair led a 12–4 run at the start of
the second half as the Bulldogs broke open a 23-point lead.
When the ’Dogs’ two big men, Rudegeair
and Skinner, fouled out, the Ambassadors ran an 18–3 streak for a
late comeback. But every Bulldog stepped up and managed to overcome the
Ambassadors’ assault, with big shots coming from Cody Johnson, David
Boyer and Benning-Clark, and leadership from Brandon, Rory Hotaling and
Brandon Frye. Brandon scored a season-high 21 points.
The Bulldogs were also led by Rudegeair’s
17 points and 12 rebounds and Frye’s 13 points, including three 3-pointers.
Skinner had 15 rebounds and 7 assists.
Two days later the Bulldog seniors got one more
chance to play on their home floor against Miami Valley. After a slow start
in the first quarter, the ’Dogs got ahead and never looked back, leading
45–25 at the half, and 86–45 at the buzzer.
The win gave the Bulldogs the outright MBC title
and extended their home win streak to 21, the longest in school history.
Senior Anthony Matheny’s career-high 6 points,
including a smooth shake-n-bake spin to an open layup, was the highlight
of the game. Brandon scored a game-high 19 points, Rudegeair had 17 points
and 14 rebounds, Johnson had 13 points, Skinner 12 and Hotaling 8. All of
the seniors were taken out near the end of the game to give them one last
farewell at the YSHS gym.
Lady ‘Dogs top Miami Valley for first-round
sectional win
The Yellow Springs High School girls basketball
team ended its regular season with two wins, 65–58 over Fayetteville
and 45–42 against Troy Christian last week, to finish with an overall
record of 15–5 and 9–3 in the Metro Buckeye Conference.
YSHS tied for second with Troy Christian in the
MBC.
The Lady Bulldogs followed up those two big wins
with a bigger victory, knocking off Miami Valley, 56–46, in the first
round of the Division IV sectional tournament on Saturday at Tippecanoe
High School. Lady Bulldogs ended all four quarters with the lead.
Both Evin Wimberly and Megan Burrick had double-doubles.
Wimberly scored 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Burrick scored
10 points to go along with 11 boards. Burrick hit two 3-pointers. Wimberly,
Burrick, McLinden and Sarah Finn combined for 17 steals.
The Lady Bulldogs play Covington, the top seed in
the Tipp City Lower bracket, on Thursday, Feb. 26, at Tippecanoe. If the
Lady ’Dogs win, they will play the winner of the Jefferson–Cedarville
game in the district semifinals on Monday, March 1, at 8 p.m.
YSHS started strong and ended strong against Fayetteville
on Feb. 17. The Lady Bulldogs led 19–12 at the end of the first quarter
and though the Lady ’Dogs trailed 46–43 at the end of the third
quarter, they outscored Fayetteville, 22–12, in the fourth quarter
to pull ahead. Game-high scorer Wimberly had a double-double with 27 points
and 10 rebounds. Burrick, standing just five feet four inches, had 5 blocks.
Last Thursday the Lady Bulldogs avenged an earlier
loss to the very disciplined Troy Christian. The Eagles worked the inside
and shot well from the perimeter to lead at the end of the first half, 22–20.
But the Lady Bulldogs took charge in the third and
fourth quarters with strong defensive efforts from Dana Ingham and Carly
Bailey.
Wimberly led YSHS with 19 points, hitting five of
six from the free-throw line. Tricia McLinden pulled down 7 rebounds, one
of them critical, and scored 11 points.
Fifth grade girls basketball
After a number of close losses, the fifth-grade
girls basketball team beat East Clinton to win its first game of the season,
21–9. As usual, Stephanie Scott led the team in scoring with 15. Other
scorers were Kelly Miller with 4 points and Katie Triplett with 2.
“I was so happy for the girls to experience
the joy of winning,” coach Rich Miller said after receiving a water-bottle
victory shower from the team. “I am proud of them for sticking together
through a difficult season.”
Basketball players receive honors
Seven YSHS basketball players have been honored
by the coaches in the Metro Buckeye Conference. The players will be recognized
during the MBC banquet on March 2.
The MBC coaches met on Sunday at the Miami Valley
School to vote for the awards.
Dustin Rudegeair and Jordan Skinner were voted to
the MBC first team, while Rory Hotaling and Anthony Brandon were elected
to the second team.
Rudegeair became the first player in the MBC to
be named Player of the Year two years in a row. Hotaling was also voted
to the Sportsmanship Team.
Head coach Brad Newsome was named MBC boys Coach
of the Year.
Evin Wimberly and Megan Burrick were named to the
MBC first team. Tricia McLinden made the Sportsmanship Team.
Head coach Shirley Cummins was named the conference’s
girls Coach of the Year.
The coaches of District 15, which includes Yellow
Springs, also met Sunday at Fenwick High School to vote for the District
15 All-Star teams.
Rudegeair, who made the District 15 first team,
was voted Player of the Year and is an alternate for the state North/South
All-Star game. He and Jordan Skinner will play in the District 15 All-Star
game at the end of the season, and will be coached by Newsome, who was named
the District 15 Coach of the Year for the second year in a row.
Wimberly received District 15 first-team honors,
and Dana Ingham was named an alternate for the seniors All-Star game.
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Bulldog sports calendar
Boys Basketball
Friday, February 27
YSHS vs. Bethel, at University of Dayton Arena, 6:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball
Thursday, February 26
YSHS vs. Covington, at Tippecanoe HS, 8 p.m.
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