By Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

ARCANUM — The Arcanum High School boys basketball team seized control of the game early and never let up. The Trojans defeated Franklin Monroe High School, 52-21, at the Hangar on Jan. 20.

Arcanum head coach Roger McEldowney said he was happy with the effort his team showed in the game.

“We played really hard defensively, rebounded pretty well and we made some shots. We went out there and made some three pointers,” McEldowney said.

Arcanum came out and scored 17 points in the first quarter. The Trojans were clicking on offense and were playing rock solid defense.

Franklin Monroe couldn’t keep up offensively. Those struggles led to the defense not being able to hold up as well in the opening quarter.

Things didn’t get easier for the Jets. Senior Bryson Sharp made four three-points shots in the first half with three of them coming in the second quarter.

The Trojans extended their lead with the three-point shot and played suffocating defense. They held Franklin Monroe scoreless in the second quarter.

It was a combination of the Trojans playing great defense and the Jets not looking to attack on offense. At times, Franklin Monroe got stuck passing the ball around and not getting enough penetration inside the paint to create any offense.

Arcanum went into halftime up 31-6.

Franklin Monroe came out of halftime more aggressive on offense. They started to attack the Arcanum defense and got some open looks. It seemed like the Jets were doing the small things better.

The defense also looked like it stepped up. For a period of time, they slowed down the Trojans’ offensive attack. But, Arcanum’s leading scorer got them back on track.

Senior Nick Sharritts only had two points in the first half. McEldowney said they had some post opportunities in the first half that didn’t go in. Arcanum was going to look for Sharritts more in the second half as they knew he would be hungry to get the ball.

Sharritts had ten points in the third quarter. Franklin Monroe didn’t have the best answer for him during the quarter.

McEldowney said he wants to have the offense run inside out. Sometimes, that starts with the inside game. But for this game, the outside shooting opened things up for the post players.

“Bryson was really on tonight as he hit some deep ones. That just opens things up inside for Nick in the second half. That’s what we need, inside out,” McEldowney said.

Arcanum stopped any momentum Franklin Monroe was building and came away victorious. The defense for Arcanum got back to creating turnovers.

McEldowney said senior Garret Garno had a great game despite not scoring in the game. He was impressed with Garno’s defensive effort in the game. Garno was the main force behind getting steals and disrupting Franklin Monroe’s offense.

Sharp and Sharritts both ended the game with 14 points. Freshman Regan Christ had 11 points in the game. For the Jets, sophomore Brady Wackler led the team with eight points.

Franklin Monroe is now 4-11 with a 2-7 conference record. They will wait until Jan. 27 to play next as they travel to Ansonia. Arcanum is now 7-8 with a 4-4 conference record. After a road trip to Dayton Christian on Jan. 21, they will host Tri-County North on Jan. 27.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]