The Thunderhawks certainly looked little like a team trying to find itself Tuesday night at Sycamore. Junior guard Jarrett Cox scored 24 points, four fewer than squeezed out by the Aviators’ entire team, and East rolled to a 47-28 winin the GMC opener for both teams at Sycamore.
Evan Kuhlman, one of two Thunderhawk seniors, believes they still have the capability to compete.
“We’re definitely not thinking about rebuilding,” said the 6-foot-8 forward, who scored eight points and led both teams with six rebounds. “We’ve got a lot of young talent.”
Third-year coach Clint Adkins pointed out that this is nothing new for East (1-1).
“We’d lost eight seniors going into last season,” he said. “We’re in kind of the same mode, but the difference is we only have two seniors this year, but Evan and Cameron Kolianos do a great job.
“I love the way we compete. It starts in practice. When you have a bunch of inexperienced guys, you never know what you’re going to get from day to day, but these guys work hard every day in practice, and it translates on to the court.”
East was coming off a 55-51 loss to Hamilton Southeastern (Ind.) on Saturday in the Ohio Valley Hoops Classic. It was a game the Thunderhawks led 45-37 going into the fourth quarter.
The Thunderhawks play their home opener against intra-district rival Lakota West on Friday, followed by another conference home game next Tuesday against Hamilton. Then they head to Coral Springs, Fla., to play three games in four days — Dec. 17, 19 and 20 — in the Kreul Classic before taking the rest of the year off and resuming their schedule on Jan. 3 at Mason.
A slight smile crept over Kuhlman’s face when he was reminded of Friday’s matchup.
“Big game,” he said. “A big, big, big game.”
East never trailed Tuesday after Kuhlman scored on a leaner for a 4-2 Thunderhawks lead with 6:16 left in the first quarter. The visitors established control with a 9-0 run and led 13-4 after the first period.
Cox sank three of his four first-half 3-pointers in the second quarter — one from each wing, the third from the top of the key and all a couple of feet behind the line — as East opened up a 28-10 halftime lead.
Cox, who led the Thunderhawks with 21 points in their opener after averaging 6.3 points per game last season, finished the half with 16 points, including all four of his 3-pointers.
“Last year, (Cox) was a role guy,” Adkins said. “He worked his tail off in the spring and summer, and you can see how much his skill level has gone up. He improve his range, and when you step out on him, he can get around you. He’s really a dual-threat guy now.”
East scored nine points off 10 Sycamore turnovers while committing just four before halftime.
The Thunderhawks expanded the lead to a game-high 25 points (37-12) in the third quarter before settling for taking a 39-18 advantage into the fourth stanza.
Sycamore finished the game 0 of 10 on 3-pointers, while East was 1 of 6 on free throws.
The Aviators (0-2) are at Colerain on Friday.
Lakota East 13-15-11-8—47
Sycamore 4-6-8-10—28
LAKOTA EAST (1-1, 1-0 GMC): Jalen Peck 2 0 4, Jackson See 2 0 4, Evan Kuhlman 4 0 8, Corie Blount 0 1 1, Matt DeSalvo 1 0 2, Kyrel Metts 2 0 4, Jarrett Cox 10 0 24. Totals: 21 1 47
SYCAMORE (0-2, 0-1 GMC): Khadim Fall 3 0 6, Jaden Sayles 4 2 10, Davis NiBlack 1 0 2, Tate Goodyear 1 2 4, Ben Yuskewich 1 4 6. Totals: 10 8 28
3-pointers: L 4 (Cox 4)
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