By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

DARKE COUNTY — Here are the scores and stats from the boys high school basketball games from Jan. 5 – 7.

Franklin Monroe 55 (8-3, 4-1) vs Bradford 38 (8-3, 4-1)

The Jets started the weekend with a big win over the Railroaders. Once they got a lead, they held on and never looked back.

Franklin Monroe head coach Troy Myers said while it was a great win, the team is still learning how to properly close out games.

”I’m proud of the kids. The one lesson that we have to take away is how to close down a game. You could look at a lot of different factors, but we did not close down that game, in my opinion, very well,” Myers said.

The Jets defense set the tone forcing turnovers early. That led to some easy buckets for the Jets to build the early lead.

Bradford coach Alex Swabb said they let Franklin Monroe dictate the pace and tone of the game.

“We came out and we played their game the entire time. We didn’t match their effort, we didn’t match their intensity. That’s a knock on us and tip our hat to them,” Swabb said. “They came out and played. The better team won tonight.”

Franklin Monroe led 27-18 at halftime. Bradford junior Owen Canan had 16 of Bradford’s 18 points in the first half.

Myers said it’s tough to cover Bradford’s offense as they have many different options that are a threat offensively. He also said he respects a lot of the kids for Bradford as he knows they have put the work in to get better.

“He’s a tough cover. I know that kid works really hard on his game. I have a lot of respect for him, really a lot of those kids over there. They work an extraordinary amount. Thankfully, we were able to slow him up in the second half,” Myers said.

The rest of team for the Railroaders started to get going a little bit as they hung around. But, the Jets were able to match the Railroaders shot for shot. Swabb said even when they went on a little run, they would let Franklin Monroe answer back with a run of their own.

The Jets outscored the Railroaders, 13-5, in the final quarter to seal the win.

Junior EB Fall led the team with 19 points. Senior Gage Wackler had 12 points. For Bradford, Canan finished with 18 points. Franklin Monroe held Bradford to 28.6% shooting.

Franklin Monroe couldn’t make it two in a row as they lost 58-40 on Jan. 6 to Legacy Christian. Fall and Wackler each had 14 points. The team did shoot 42.1% from the field, but only had 13 rebounds.

Bradford got back into the win column the next day with a 68-46 road win at Fairlawn. Canan dropped 28 points on 12 for 17 shooting. Senior Hudson Hill had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Junior Dalton Branson had 10 points and senior Landon Wills had 14 rebounds.

Franklin Monroe will host Tri-County North on Jan. 12 for a 7:30 p.m. tip off. They will then host Versailles on Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m. Bradford will be at Preble Shawnee on Jan. 12 for a 7:30 p.m. tip off and then host Troy Christian on Jan. 13 at 7:15 p.m.

A full game recap can be found on our website, dailyadvocate.com.

Versailles 40 (5-3, 2-0) vs Saint Mary’s 66 (7-2, 2-0)

The Tigers started the weekend with a 45-31 win at Fort Recovery. Junior Jace Watren led the team with 17 points. Sophomore Drake Ahrens and senior A.J. Griesdorn each had 12 points.

They then couldn’t follow that up with a win as they fell to Saint Mary’s at home the next day.

Once Saint Mary’s got the lead, they never let go. The Tigers did get out to a very early lead, but the turnovers and the missed shots led to the Roughriders getting out in transition and taking control of the game.

“Good things were happening for us and played with a lot of energy. When it started to spiral, we didn’t play with the urgency and energy that we needed to in order to win the game. You can’t do that against a really good team like St. Mary’s,” head coach Travis Swank said.

Versailles was down 37-18 at halftime. The Tigers started to play better offense in the second half by getting to the rim and finishing some shots.

But, Saint Mary’s didn’t let up. The Roughriders continued to run an efficient offense inside out. They made nine three pointers in the game and made 16 shots inside the arc.

While it wasn’t a big factor, Versailles was 3 for 9 from the free throw line. Swank said they just need to continue working on their free throws, more reps is the only way to improve on it.

The game also showed the team’s youth and inexperience. Swank said in a game like this, you can see the mental makeup of the team. Going up against tough competition not only tests a team’s skill, but mentality also.

In this one, Swank thought the team’s body language showed they were spiraling. The team’s mental toughness will improve as they get more experience.

“Good teams don’t have that. We got to find a way to persevere through that and continue to get strong in the mental department,” Swank said. “That’s what it really comes down to. Sometimes we just got to calm ourselves down. We’re still young and inexperienced at some points in time.”

Ahrens led the team with 10 points. Griesdorn had eight points.

After hosting Lima Central Catholic, the Tigers will host Parkway on Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. They will then host St. Henry for another MAC game on Jan. 13 at 6 p.m.

A full game recap can be found on our website, dailyadvocate.com.

Around the county:

Tri-Village 75 (10-1, 5-0) vs Ansonia 38 (3-7, 2-4)

The Patriots started the weekend with a WOAC win over Ansonia. The Patriots shot 57.8% from the field and had 15 steals. Senior Braden Keating led the team with 27 points and made seven threes. Sophomore Trey Sagester had 21 points and was 10 for 12 from the free throw line. Senior Jakob Creager led the team with nine points. Senior Matt Barga and Landyn Bowman each had eight points. Tri-Village out-rebounded Ansonia 26-12. The Patriots then fell on the road to Belmont, 65-60, for their first loss of the season. The third quarter was the difference as Belmont outscored Tri-Village, 21-11. The Patriots shot 50% in the game. Sagester led with 37 points and made five threes. Senior Tanner Printz had 15 points and was 3 for 3 from three. Tri-Village will play at Dixie on Jan. 12 for a 7:15 p.m. tip off. They will then play Marion Local on Jan. 14 at 3 p.m. at Fort Loramie. Ansonia will host Newton on Jan. 12 at 7:15 p.m. and then go to Middletown Madison on Jan. 13 for a 7:15 p.m. tip off.

Arcanum 61 (6-6, 2-3) vs Mississinawa Valley 28 (1-10, 0-6)

The Trojans have won three straight games with this win over the Blackhawks. The team shot 40% from three-point range and 43.1% overall. Sophomore Regan Christ led the Trojans with 20 points on 8 for 12 shooting. Senior Brady Lock had 10 points. Senior Aron Hunt and freshman Cing Scott each had nine points. Arcanum will have back to back road games starting with at National Trail on Jan. 12 for a 7:15 p.m. tip off. They will then be at New Bremen on Jan. 13 for a 7:30 p.m. tip off. After hosting Lehman, Mississinawa Valley will host Twin Valley South on Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m. They will also have a road game at Fairlawn on Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m.

Greenville (2-9, 2-6):

After getting the win against Fairborn, Greenville got a road win over Piqua on Jan. 5, 53-48. The team shot 58.6% from the field and 66.7% from three with eight made threes. Junior Liam Jasenski had 18 points off the bench. Senior Chace Drew also had 10 points. They then lost at Eaton, 53-36. The team did shoot 40% from the field. Drew led with nine points and senior Jack Chick had seven points. After hosting Sidney, Greenville will host Tippecanoe on Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m.

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