Conference races at the Midseason point
Photo Credit: Marc Pendleton It may only be January, but plenty of leagues and conferences in Dayton have been tight so far, with several having ties or one game separate the leaders. With plenty of games left to play, here…
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Continue ReadingPhoto Credit: Marc Pendleton
It may only be January, but plenty of leagues and conferences in Dayton have been tight so far, with several having ties or one game separate the leaders. With plenty of games left to play, here is a look at some of the conference races in Dayton as of today.
GWOC-
North- Sidney (7-0) sits at the top with Butler (6-2) right behind in the division race. It appears to be a two team race for the top spot. Sidney still has a matchup with Trotwood which could help the Aviators case, but Butler also still has to face Xenia, which could be a challenge with their high scoring offense. If things continue to play out as is, the February 12th rematch between the two teams could determine an outright champion or co-champions for the 2nd straight year.
South- Trotwood-Madison (5-0) has been dominating in their last season in the GWOC and have been by far the most talented team in the conference. Fairborn is sitting at 4-1 with their only loss coming against Butler. The Skyhawks are a talented team, but it is hard to see them competing with the likes of a talented team like the Rams. As long as Trotwood continues to take care of business, they should finish conference play with a title.
East- Springfield has made it very clear that they are the top team in this division. At 7-0, the Wildcats further demonstrated this claim with a 72-58 victory over Wayne Friday night. With the win, now Wayne and Centerville sit at 4-2 while Fairmont is a ½ game behind them at 4-3 and behind the Wildcats in the still tough East division. The Wildcats still have to face all 3 latter teams to end the season and could still drop one of these games easily.
West- Lebanon surprisingly is in the lead at 4-2 while Miamisburg sits two games back at 2-4. Miamisburg won their matchup with the Warriors 55-52 in OT in December. Lebanon still has a matchup with Wayne as well as another game with Miamisburg. The Vikings have already gotten through the hardest part of their schedule, with a game against Fairmont and the other Lebanon game left. With Lebanon defeating Fairmont Friday night and Miamisburg dropping a close game with Centerville, it further widens the gap. Even if Miamisburg was to win their rematch, it won’t matter as long as Lebanon continues to find ways to win as well.
GCL- It is quite a surprise to see one team dominating the league so much this year. Chaminade has a full 3 game lead over both Fenwick and Alter. The Eagles are 5-0 and have already defeated both teams once. Alter and Fenwick will have a tough time chasing the Eagles, as Fenwick still has Badin, McNicholas, C-J, and Alter to face, while the Knights have matchups with Purcell Marian, C-J and Fenwick left. Even if both teams defeat C-J, it is going to be difficult to catch up when the Eagles are taking care of business in the matter that they are.
SWBL-
Buckeye- Madison (6-0) has been a defensive nightmare in league play. Preble Shawnee (4-2) and Waynesville (3-1) are the two teams behind Madison, but it is clear the Mohawks are the most dominant team in the division by far. Either teams will be hoping for an upset in January, as Madison faces Dixie, Carlisle, and Milton-Union, who are a combined 3-14 in SWBL play this season.
Southwestern- Brookville currently holds the #1 spot at 5-1, but an OT win over Bellbrook and loss last week against Monroe showed us this Blue Devil team may not have a cakewalk through league play. Bellbrook and Oakwood are both 3-2 while Franklin and Monroe are 3-3. For Brookville, they will be hoping to take care of business as they have rematches with all 4 teams still in the running. This could be a division race worth watching later in January.
CBC
Kenton Trail- It’s a two team race in the division with London and Jonathan Alder both sitting at 4-1. Alder dominated London 58-40 in their first meeting, but find themselves even after losing to Kenton Ridge 54-45. Both London and Alder have rematches with Shawnee and Kenton Ridge, who appear to be the teams able to knock one of these leaders out of the running.
Mad River- Benjamin Logan is in clear control of the division race at 5-0. Tied for second is Graham and Urbana both at 3-2. All 3 teams have rematches with one another, and all of these teams have shown their matchups will be close. The way Graham has played so far this season, I truly believe they can defeat Ben Logan, but I’m not sure if the Hillclimbers of Urbana will be able to pull the upset.
MBC
Legacy Christian is in firm control of the conference at 7-0. The Knights have held MBC opponents to 32 points per game so far. Emmanuel Christian is right behind at 6-2, but have already been defeated by Legacy (63-45), which puts them in a tough position to play catch up. The two teams have a rematch on February 2nd at Emmanuel Christian. If the Tigers can win out, including this rematch, they could find themselves back in the hunt. LCA has a matchup with Dayton Christian, who know has Anton Webb (2019) back after missing 6 games, and Troy Christian. Emmanuel also has to play Dayton Christian, and Troy Christian as well as the Knights.
Dayton City League
Stivers is in full control at 5-0 with the next closest team being Belmont. City League games this year have been tight, with not many blowouts as in years past. The Tigers specifically have won all but 1 game by 5 points or less. We feel with these close games, that a lower tier team could find a way to upset Stivers. Belmont and Thurgood Marshall seem like the favorites to pull an upset.
OHC
North- It’s a close race between Fairbanks (9-0) and West Jefferson (8-1). Fairbanks has handed West Jeff their only conference loss in mid-December 58-48. Fairbanks also has an OT victory over West Liberty-Salem 59-57, while the Tigers beat WLS 56-54. In order for the Roughriders to win, they will be hoping for Fairbanks to drop a game against upcoming opponents Southeastern and West Liberty-Salem, and also win their rematch with Fairbanks on January 25th.
South- Catholic Central is in control at 7-2 with Southeastern and Cedarville both behind at 5-4 each. The Irish have been holding OHC opponents to 43 points per game which has been the reason for their dominance so far. They dominated both Cedarville (67-48) and Southeastern (53-38) holding both teams below their scoring averages for the year. The Irish have rematches with both teams, plus a game with West Jefferson as well. Southeastern has the head-to-head advantage over Cedarville with a 53-46 victory last month. Unless someone can knock off SCC, it looks as if the Irish have a pretty strong start that may be difficult for the rest of the division to overcome.
Cross County Conference
The conference title is up for grabs with no clear favorite at this time. Bethel is in the lead at 4-1, with Miami East and Ansonia a ½ game back at 4-2.
SCAL
Anna is in firm control at 6-0 with Russia (4-2) and Jackson Center (5-2) not far behind. The Rockets have been dominating league play with many double digit victories.