Hired as Lebanon’s sixth boys high school basketball coach in 12 years last season, Matt Higgins figured he was in for a rebuilding project. He was right: the Warriors won four games, none against divisional opponents.

“There hadn’t been a lot of continuity,” said Higgins, who spent 20 years as a Lebanon assistant. “We had a really rough year.”

But Higgins entered his second season with high hopes, and on Dec. 14, the Warriors won their divisional opener against West Carrollton, 68-63. A week later, they won at Xenia for what Higgins says was the first time in a decade. And on Jan. 4 they defeated Fairborn, improving to 3-0 in the Greater Western Ohio Conference South Division.

Not a bad start for a program that had lost 18 of its past 20 divisional games, including a 22-month winless span. At 5-6 (3-1 GWOC South) entering tonight’s game at Springboro, the Warriors are making strides thanks to a newly embraced selfless style of play born off-court.

The team has spent more time together than its predecessors, highlighted by its partnership with the Warren County Special Olympics.

“We’re playing team ball,” Higgins said. “The ball’s being spread around quite a bit, and that’s a good thing.”

One of the GWOC’s smallest teams, Lebanon has one starter – 6-foot-5 senior Matthew Duvelius – with low-post height, and he’s a guard who’s grown more than five inches during his career. He’s also an example of the unselfish style; despite boasting the fourth-highest field goal percentage in the conference, he’s only shooting five times a game.

Senior Ben Esposito (15.8 points) is Lebanon’s only player among the GWOC’s top 40 scorers.

“We have six seniors and most of us have been together since middle school,” Duvelius said. “Our focus is to get everyone involved. To go 0-10 last year is not acceptable. We knew we had to do better.”

Senior Bradd Ellis is second in the GWOC, averaging 3.1 steals. Duvelius is a lacrosse standout. Zach Beckner will play baseball at Kent State. Luke Morgan will be a walk-on quarterback at Ohio State.

Higgins, who’d be thrilled to spend the rest of the career leading the program, is optimistic his group of undersized basketball moonlighters will challenge talent-laden Springboro (11-2, 4-0 GWOC South) and 6-11 center Maverick Morgan.

“Sometimes there’s a lot of hoops to jump through,” he said. “I’m just glad I’m still athletic enough to jump through them.”