SETTING THE SCENE: The Milford High School boys basketball team will be looking to stay alive in the OHSAA Sectional Tournament when the Eagles take to the court against Lakota East on Tuesday night at Hamilton High School. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. The Eagles, seeded 17th, advanced to the second round after surviving a battle with No. 20 Western Brown, ultimately coming out on top 58-57. Milford, now 11-11 on the year, will face No. 6 seed Lakota East (14-8) for a spot in Friday night’s sectional finals.
A LOOK BACK: February 22 vs. Western Brown (OHSAA Tournament at Hamilton): Milford 58, Western Brown 57
GAME REWIND
Milford survived a barrage of fourth quarter three-pointers by Western Brown to advance to the second round of the OHSAA Tournament, knocking off the Broncos by a 58-57 score. The Eagles led by nine after three quarters of play, but Western Brown chipped away, cutting its deficit to two with 55 seconds remaining. Jake Ayler then came up huge, converting an old fashioned three-point play to stretch the lead to five and Caleb Farrell put it away with two free throws on the next Milford possession. Western Brown actually hit a three-pointer with under two seconds remaining to get within one, but without a timeout, the clock expired to zero giving Milford the win.
RECORDS
Milford 11-11
Western Brown 14-8
KEY PLAYERS
Milford
Steven Huxell 18 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists
Jake Ayler 16 points
Cade Riesenberg 10 points
Western Brown
Clayton Wolfe 16 points
Jack Finn 11 points, 10 rebounds
Josh Taylor 11 points, 3 assists
Elijah Smith 11 points
NUGGET OF NOTE: With fellow big men Connor Foster and Brady Sluder in foul trouble, junior Cade Riesenberg gave the Eagles a charge off the bench, accounting for a career-high 10 points.
A LOOK AT THE OPPONENT: A look at Milford’s next OHSAA Tournament opponent:
- Tuesday, Feb. 27 vs. Lakota East, 6:00 p.m. (at Hamilton HS)
- 2017-18 Record: 14-8, 11-5 GMC (6th Division I area coaches’ final weekly poll)
- Top Scorer: Senior Jarrett Cox (18.2 ppg)
- Last Meeting: 2006-07; Milford 56, Lakota East 53 & Milford 45, Lakota East 38
- Click here for Milford’s sectional bracket
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: A look at Milford’s statistical leaders:
Points per game: Jake Ayler (12.4), Steven Huxell (10.5), Nathan Gallimore (9.5)
Assists per game: Steven Huxell (2.4), Nathan Gallimore (2.0), Jake Ayler (1.5)
Rebounds per game: Nathan Gallimore (3.8), Brady Sluder (3.7), Jake Ayler (3.6)
Steals: Steven Huxell (26), A.J. Dickerson (18), Nathan Gallimore (16)
Blocks: Hunter Pollitt (20), Brady Sluder (10), Connor Foster (6)
Field goal percentage: Cade Riesenberg (.516), Hunter Pollitt (.515), Jake Ayler (.511)
Three-point percentage: Jake Ayler (.448), Nathan Gallimore (.427), Steven Huxell (.358)
Free throw percentage: Nathan Gallimore (.853), Jake Ayler (.769), A.J. Dickerson/Steven Huxell (.667)
PLENTY TO GO AROUND: The Eagles feature a roster with the potential to have a different leading scorer virtually every game. Throughout their careers on varsity and developmental levels, several players have shown the ability to be big-time scorers. Here is a look at the players who have led the Eagles in scoring this season: Jake Ayler (9), Steven Huxell (4), Nathan Gallimore (3), Brady Sluder (2), Connor Foster (1), Cade Riesenberg (1), Jake Ayler/Steven Huxell (1), Nathan Gallimore/Steven Huxell (1).
INSIDE THE ECC: Walnut Hills went 13-1 to claim its second straight ECC Championship. Withrow finished second, with West Clermont in third and Milford and Anderson tied for fourth.
The schedule for ECC teams still alive in the tournament includes: No. 5 Walnut Hills vs. No. 8 Winton Woods (Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m. at Hamilton), No. 14 Withrow vs. No. 21 Middletown (Feb. 28, 6:00 p.m. at Hamilton), No. 17 Milford vs. No. 6 Lakota East (Feb. 27, 6:00 p.m. at Hamilton), No. 28 Turpin vs. No. 8 Winton Woods (Feb. 23, 7:00 p.m. at Fairfield).
POLL WATCH: Milford did not receive any votes in the final edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer Division I area coaches’ poll. The battle for the top spot went to Moeller as the Crusaders received three first place votes to one for second place Princeton. Oak Hills, Walnut Hills from the ECC and Mason complete the top-five. The ECC is also represented by Withrow in ninth. The final coaches’ poll can be viewed at preps.cincinnati.com/coachespolls.
Milford Eagles Season/Career Highs
Jake Ayler
Points—Season: 22 vs. Taft; Career: 22 vs. Taft (2017-18)
Rebounds—Season: 8 at Lebanon; Career: 8 at Lebanon (2017-18)
Assists—Season: 4 vs. Walnut Hills; Career: 4 vs. Walnut Hills (2017-18)
A.J. Dickerson
Points—Season: 11 at Kings; Career: 11 at Kings (2017-18)
Rebounds—Season: 5 vs. Taft; Career: 5 vs. Taft (2017-18)
Assists—Season: 3 twice; Career: 3 twice (2017-18)
Caleb Farrell
Points—Season: 5 at Turpin; Career: 7 at Glen Este (2016-17)
Rebounds—Season: 4 three times; Career: 4 three times (2017-18)
Assists—Season: 3 four times; Career: 3 four times (2017-18)
Connor Foster
Points—Season: 13 vs. Kings; Career: 13 vs. Kings (2017-18)
Rebounds—Season: 4 three times; Career: 4 three times (2017-18)
Assists—Season: 2 vs. Kings; Career: 2 vs. Kings (2017-18)
Nathan Gallimore
Points—Season: 27 vs. Winton Woods; Career: 27 vs. Winton Woods (2017-18)
Rebounds—Season: 8 twice; Career: 8 twice (2017-18)
Assists—Season: 6 at Harrison; Career: 6 at Harrison (2017-18)
Adam Harris
Points—Season: 3 at West Clermont; Career: 3 at West Clermont (2017-18)
Rebounds— Season: N/A; Career: N/A
Assists—Season: 1 at Walnut Hills; Career: 1 at Walnut Hills (2017-18)
Steven Huxell
Points—Season: 20 vs. Withrow; Career: 20 vs. Withrow (2017-18)
Rebounds—Season: 7 at Sycamore; Career: 7 at Sycamore (2017-18)
Assists—Season: 7 at Shroder; Career: 7 at Shroder (2017-18)
Jack Liles
Points—Season: 6 at Walnut Hills; Career: 6 at Walnut Hills (2017-18)
Rebounds—Season: 3 vs. Anderson; Career: 3 vs. Anderson (2017-18)
Assists—Season: 2 three times; Career: 2 three times (2017-18)
Hunter Pollitt
Points—Season: 9 at Sycamore; Career: 9 at Sycamore (2017-18)
Rebounds—Season: 4 three times; Career: 7 vs. Turpin (2016-17)
Assists—Season: 1 four times; Career: 1 six times
Cade Riesenberg
Points—Season: 10 vs. Western Brown; Career: 10 vs. Western Brown (2017-18)
Rebounds—Season: 7 vs. Loveland; Career: 7 vs. Loveland (2017-18)
Assists—Season: 1 twice; Career: 1 twice (2017-18)
Brady Sluder
Points—Season: 16 at Shroder; Career: 16 at Shroder (2017-18)
Rebounds—Season: 9 at Turpin; Career: 9 at Turpin (2017-18)
Assists—Season: 3 vs. Kings; Career: 3 vs. Kings (2017-18)