Darke County Boys all time high school basketball scoring leaders:
Mike Cross Franklin Monroe 2204
Justin Ahrens Versailles 2046
Ethan Conley Franklin Monroe 1977
Curtis Enis Mississinawa Valley 1773
Kyle Gehle Versailles 1744
Darrin Cascaden Bradford 1667
Kyle Ahrens Versailles 1666
Clay Guillozet Greenville 1583
Jon Sass Franklin Monroe 1550
Jason Hemmerich Ansonia 1457
Jason Turner Versailles 1393
Jason Wood Bradford 1391
Colton Linkous Tri Village 1387
Kyle Pipenger Tri Village 1377
Jack Besecker Bradford 1333
Frank Cheadle Arcanum 1293
Ethan Bowman Mississinawa Valley 1254
Jake Cook Greenville 1203
Russ Willis Mississinawa Valley 1199
Ed Roeth Bradford 1198
Tim Barga Versailles 1197
Brian Myers Franklin Monroe 1195
Brent Bickel Ansonia 1191
Tyler Cook Tri Village 1185
Joe Shardo Versailles 1184
Shane Mead Bradford 1179
Tom Holzapfel Greenville 1171
Travis Swank Franklin Monroe 1152
Irv Besecker Franklin Monroe 1146
Jason Shardo Versailles 1145
Craig Wohlgemuth Greenville 1138
Damion Cook Tri Village 1133
Gavin Richards Tri Village 1130
Rod Nealeigh Franklin Monroe 1105
Jeremy Pemberton Arcanum 1094
Eric Hart Bradford 1096
Travis Feitshans Franklin Monroe 1062
Kyle Sheer Bradford 1043
Kip Gray Franklin Monroe 1031
Eric Beisner Ansonia 1014
Robert Scoob Cook Tri Village 1012
Carter Gray Arcanum 1012
Jeremy Liles Mississinawa Valley 1001
Hunter Muir Ansonia over 1000
Layne Sarver Tri Village over 1000
Jim Troutwine Arcanum over 1000
Dave Gray Arcanum over 1000
Luke Troutwine Arcanum over 1000
This is a list of the boys who have scored over 1000 points in their high school basketball careers in Darke County. This was compiled from statistics garnered from the school athletic directors. This list is probably not complete and if anyone has information on other players who have scored over 1000 points contact Gaylen Blosser at the Daily Advocate. But we do need some verification as to that player’s total.
In looking at this list you see that in some cases it was a family affair as there are three players with the last name Gray, four with the last name Cook, two with last name Troutwine and two with last name Besecker and Colton Linkous and Layne Sarver are siblings.
Travis Swank who is the present coach of the Versailles Tigers is the nephew of Dave Gray as is Kip Gray and Carter Gray is Dave’s grandson. Damion Cook is the son of Scoob Cook and Tyler Cook is Damion’s first cousin.
While the 1000 point club is difficult to attain, the 2000 point club is reserved for some of the best to ever play in Darke County. Mike Cross of Franklin Monroe is the boys’ leader with 2204 points and this was done before the three point shot was in effect. In his senior year he averaged 27.7 ppg with 804 points as he was helped by a tournament run to the state finals which they lost 74-69 to Lorrain Clearview.
The other player with over 2000 points is Justin Ahrens with 2046 and if the Tigers had gone a little further in the tournament that year he might have had a chance to eclipse Mike Cross’s total. He is presently playing for the Ohio State Buckeyes and has started 11 of the 22 games he has played in and is averaging 7.2 ppg. as a junior this season. His brother Kyle played for Michigan State and was a member of the 2018-19 Spartan team that advanced to the NCAA Final Four.
Kyle also was a dominating high school player and is seventh on the list with 1666 points but he missed most of his junior year with an injury and was bothered with injuries at Michigan State.
Clay Guillozet had an outstanding career at Greenville and later at Valdosta State where he was named Gulf State Coast Conference player of the year in the 2019-20 basketball season.
I haven’t seen all of the above players but the Ahrens’ brothers were two of the best I have ever seen play in Darke County. Another name that jumps out on the list is Curtis Enis of Mississinawa Valley who averaged 27.1 ppg as a senior and is in the Ohio high school record books for his football skills, played at Penn State and in the NFL for the Chicago Bears and is in fourth place on the list.
Besides Mike Cross several players played in state championship games including Kyle Gehle for Versailles in a losing cause in 2004, Jim Troutwine and Dave Gray for Arcanum in 1967 and 1969, Colton Linkous and Damion Cook for Tri Village in 2015.
Colton Linkous made a field goal with 3.3 seconds left in the state championship game against Canal WinchesterHarvest Prep for a 48-46 win and a 30-0 season for the Patriots.
Another name on the list, Tim Barga, is the coach of the Mississinawa Valley boys team and has been coaching both boys and girls basketball teams for over thirty-five years.
