LEWISBURG — Twin Valley South trailed rival Tri-County North for more than three quarters, but used a 14-3 run during the first four and half minutes of the fourth quarter to rally for a 47-43 win on Friday, Dec. 10.
Sophomore Jandon Ankrom, who was 6-of-8 from the field, scored seven of his co-team-high 13 points in the final quarter as South improved to 5-0 on the season.
Senior Grant Ulrich (5-of-11 shooting) scored eight of his co-team-high 13 points in the final eight minutes as well. He also added six rebounds and four assists.
Lucas Sievering led South with seven rebounds.
“It’s North/South. You throw the records out coming into these type of games,” South coach Ryan Innis said. “We knew coming in they were going to bring a lot of energy and they’re going to be coming in playing with some confidence. I’m proud of how we played. Proud of our effort. Always proud of how how hard our guys work and they never quit.”
For North, Luke Eby led all scorers with 16 points and Jon Shirley added 12. Eby added seven rebounds, while Shirley pulled down eight boards.
“It was hard to find a way to score for us down the stretch,” North coach Mitch McCurdy said. “They did a really good job of being a little more aggressive on us. And we had Jon go to the bench. And once he went to the bench, we were trying to find our ways to score and were looking to get the ball to Luke and we just weren’t getting him open enough.”
Innis said he’s not sure the last time Twin Valley South opened the season 5-0.
“I cannot remember the last time we’ve been 5-0. It’s probably early 2000’s,” Innis said. “It’s been at least 15 years since we’ve been 5-0. Like I said, I’m proud of these guys proud of their effort.”
On Tuesday, Dec. 7, South traveled to New Miami and claimed a 69-62 win. Ankrom led the way with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Ulrich added 17 points and Cole Bishop tossed in 10. Sievering contributed five points and eight rebounds and Eric Allison pulled down six rebounds.
South (5-0, 2-0 WOAC) was scheduled to host Waynesville on Tuesday, Dec. 14 and will host Ansonia on Friday, Dec. 17.
North (2-3, 0-2) begin the week with a 52-33 loss to Yellow Springs on Dec. 7 and closed out the week with a 55-43 win at Miami Valley.
Brett Woodyard and Shirley each scored seven for North, who was outscored 38-12 in the second half.
Against Miami Valley, North held a 30-7 halftime lead. Shirley led the way with 19 point and 12 rebounds. Logan Flory contributed 14 points, six rebounds and three steals. Hunter Gray added nine points and five rebounds.
Shawnee opens with win over Stivers
CAMDEN — Preble Shawnee began the Jake Turner era with a 62-46 win over Stivers on Tuesday, Dec. 7.
Sophomore Mason Shrout led the Arrows with 29 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Xavier Adams and Ethan Woodard each added six points. Adams added seven rebounds and four assists, while Woodard added six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
On Friday, the Arrows suffered a 58-54 loss at Franklin-Monroe. Shawnee had three players score in double figures.
Shrout led the way with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. Dylan Campbell had 12 points and six rebounds. Adams tossed in 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Woodard contributed six points and six rebounds and Aaron Agee added seven points.
On Saturday, Shawnee bounced back with a 63-56 win over Madison. Shrout scored a game-high 32 points with nine rebounds and five assists. Agee tossed in 11 with eight rebounds.
Shawnee (2-1, 0-1 WOAC) is scheduled to play at Valley View on Thursday, Dec. 16 and will host National Trail on Friday.
Blazers drop pair
NEW PARIS — National Trail fell to 1-5 on the season after suffering a pair of losses this past weekend.
Trail lost 52-44 to Mississinawa Valley on Friday. Michael Leal led the way with 13 points. Wyatt House added 11 and Drew DeWitt led the team with six rebounds.
On Saturday, Andrew Carrell led the way with 12 points and six rebounds in a 49-34 loss Carlisle.
House added eight points, four steals and three rebounds. Lane Koehl led the way with seven rebounds.
Trail was scheduled to play Brookville on Tuesday, Dec. 14 and will travel to Preble Shawnee on Friday.
Eagles still seeking first win
EATON — Eaton is still in search of its first win of the season after dropping a 53-42 contest to visiting Waynesville on Friday.
Eaton, now 0-4 overall and 0-3 in the Southwestern Buckeye League, was led by Beau Miller’s 19 points and eight rebounds. Ramy Ahmed added 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.
The Eagles were scheduled to travel to Ross on Tuesday, Dec. 14 and will visit Madison on Friday.
