Winless boys teams
New Miami 0-14
West Carrollton 0-15
Winless girls teams
Greenville 0-17
Springfield 0-17
It’s not like Alex Craig hasn’t tried to wish this away. Not with opposing student sections howling that the West Carrollton High School boys basketball team is yoked with a long losing streak.
“We think about it every night,” said Craig, a junior forward and the only returning Pirate who had meaningful varsity playing time last season. “Is it going to be the next game? (I think about) how hard we’ve got to practice the next day to try and get the ‘W’ the next game.”
Fairmont was the latest to just say no to West Carrollton. The Firebirds, desperate for a win in their own way, methodically rang up a 73-47 victory Tuesday on a night when few games were played due to plummeting temperatures.
That dropped West Carrollton to 0-16. Including a season-ending tournament loss last year, the losing streak is 17 over two seasons.
The Pirates aren’t alone in looking for their first win. New Miami’s boys and the girls teams at Greenville and Springfield share the same winless burden.
They’re all hopeful of breaking into the win column, but the pressure mounts. No team wants to be the first to fall.
“It’s hard,” Craig said. “It’s a struggle but we’ve got to keep pushing to get better. It’s exhausting on us.”
Fairmont (7-10) was led by Kei’Vante Tanner’s 18 points. Chris Beatty added 11 points.
Princeton Poteate, a transfer from Oakwood, tallied a game-high 21 points to pace the Pirates.
West Carrollton coach Dan Gerhard, the dean of Greater Western Ohio Conference coaches, stuck with an all-senior lineup last season. He figured this squad would take a hit for lack of experience.
“We knew last year, we went seven deep — we knew it was going to be very tough (this season),” he said. “We haven’t had any injuries, we just cycled down. We either have no experience or they’re young. We’re looking at what kind of development this kid or that kid can make. I’m not looking at the record.”
First-year Fairmont coach Blair Albright mounted his coaching experience in the Columbus area. But he correctly sized up West Carrollton in his half-season stint with the Firebirds.
“It can be tough for young people,” he said. “They feel like the wins define them. Or wins and losses should have something to do with their self-confidence or how they feel about themselves. In reality, it’s how you carry yourself and how you compete. And those kids compete in a way that they can be proud of.”
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