Beavercreek went on an 18-1 run midway through the first half and coasted to a 61-30 win over Lebanon in a battle of winless teams.
“We felt it was very important, after a two-week break, that we come out and play as well as we could,” Beavercreek coach John Ahrns said. “We wanted to prove that our record was an indicator of the schedule we played in December and not the caliber of basketball we were capable of playing.”
Lebanon (0-7) raced out to a 12-6 lead after four minutes on the strength of A.J. Walter’s 3-point shooting (nine points).
But, over the next nine minutes, Beavercreek (1-6) held Lebanon to a single field goal and just five points, turning the deficit into a 31-17 halftime lead. “They hit open shots early in the game, but we weren’t executing on defense,” Ahrns said. “We wanted to see how they shot when we challenged them, and our defense really kicked into gear after that.
After making its first four 3-pointers, Lebanon made just one of its final 15 and shot just 28.5 percent from the field overall (10-of-35).
Meanwhile, Beavercreek blistered the nets to the tune of 65.6 percent shooting (21-of-32) and made 7-of-10 3s. Ben McGriff led all scorers with 26 points.
“Everybody was feeling it tonight,” McGriff said. “We were patient and we took smart shots. Coach said only two of the shots we took tonight were forced. You can’t do much better than that.”
Lebanon was led by Walter and Dusty Isaacs, who scored nine points each.
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