SETTING THE SCENE: The postseason has arrived and the Milford High School boys basketball team, seeded No. 12, has drawn No. 15 Middletown as its opening round opponent. The two teams will square off in the postseason for the second straight year after Milford knocked off the Middies in last season’s OHSAA Sectional Finals. The Eagles enter the tournament having won four of its last five to conclude the regular season at 14-8. Middletown has dropped three straight and starts the postseason 9-13. The match-up will take place on Friday night at Lakota West with the ball going in the air for opening tip at 6:00 p.m.
A LOOK BACK: Feb. 9 at Turpin: Behind a career night from Jack Engelman, including an overtime-forcing three-pointer, the Eagles pulled out a 69-67 double overtime victory in an Eastern Cincinnati Conference boys basketball thriller on Feb. 9. Engelman netted a career-best 22 points, while matching his high with 11 rebounds for his second career double-double.Click here to read the full recap.
Feb. 12 vs. Glen Este: With Senior Night as the backdrop and The Firecrackers Jump Rope Team on hand for a halftime performance, the Eagles used a season-high 11 three-pointers to overcome a hot shooting Glen Este squad, finishing the regular season with a 67-53 victory over the Trojans. Senior Keenan Farrell capped his home career with a team-best 15 points, leading three Eagles in double figure scoring. Click here to read the full recap.
THE UPCOMING DOCKET: A look at Middletown, Milford’s first tournament opponent:
- Friday, Feb. 19 vs. Middletown (at Lakota West), 7:30 p.m.
- Live Stats: None
- 2015-16 Record: 9-13, 6-10 GMC (RV Division I area coaches’ weekly poll)
- Top Scorer: Senior Kobie Johnson (13.5 ppg)
- Last Meeting: 2014-15; Milford 56, Middletown 33
- Capsule look at the Middies: Middletown enters the tournament having dropped three straight and six of its last seven. The match-up also features a rematch of last season’s OHSAA Sectional Final that allowed the Eagles to punch their ticket to districts. The Middies’ line-up features all 6’10” of sophomore center E.J. Williams.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: A look at Milford’s statistical leaders through 22 games:
Points per game: Brad Hall (12.6), Jack Engelman (8.6), Mitchell Wenzler (7.1)
Assists per game: Keenan Farrell (2.9), Mitchell Wenzler (1.7), Jack Engelman (1.3)
Rebounds per game: Brad Hall (6.5), Jack Engelman (5.6), Matt Kirk (2.6)
Steals: Keenan Farrell (24), Brad Hall (22), Mitchell Wenzler (15)
Blocks: Jack Engelman (14), Brad Hall (9), Brendan Dugan (7)
Field goal percentage: Jack Engelman (.507), Brad Hall (.481), Brendan Dugan (.442)
Three-point percentage: Brad Hall (.435), Matt Kirk (.379), Mitchell Wenzler (.309)
Free throw percentage: Keenan Farrell/Brad Hall/Wes Reid (.750)
INSIDE THE ECC: A wild final night of league play ended with Kings atop the final ECC standings as the champion. With a frantic overtime-forcing three-pointer, the Knights were able to outlast Turpin in overtime, then take advantage of Loveland’s upset of Walnut Hills to earn the title. Wins in its final two league contests allowed Milford to finish in sole possession of third in the final standings.
The schedule for ECC teams in the tournament includes: No. 8 Walnut Hills vs. winner of No. 10 Lakota West-No. 22 Turpin (Feb. 24, 7:30 p.m. at Hamilton), No. 9 Kings vs. No. 18 Little Miami (Feb. 20, 8:00 p.m. at Fairfield), No. 11 Anderson vs. winner of No. 12 Milford-No. 15 Middletown (Feb. 23, 6:00 p.m. at Lakota West), No. 12 Milford vs. No. 15 Middletown (Feb. 19, 6:00 p.m. at Lakota West, No. 17 Loveland vs. No. 20 Amelia (Feb. 18, 6:00 p.m. at Hamilton), No. 22 Turpin vs. No. 10 Lakota West (Feb. 20, 7:30 p.m. at Hamilton), No. 23 Withrow vs. No. 21 St. Xavier (Feb. 19, 7:30 p.m. at Lakota West), No. 30 Glen Este vs. winner of No. 5 Elder vs. No. 27 Edgewood (Feb. 24, 6:00 p.m. at Lakota West).
POLL WATCH: The Eagles finished just outside the top-10 in the final Division I area coaches’ poll, sponsored by theCincinnati Enquirer. Mason earned five of the eight first place votes to take the poll title ahead of LaSalle, Moeller, Elder (one first place vote) and Wilmington (two votes). The ECC is represented by Kings in eighth and Walnut Hills in ninth, with Anderson and Turpin joining the Eagles in the others category. The coaches’ poll is released every Monday at Noon at preps.cincinnati.com/coachespolls.
KING OF KINGS: Senior Mitchell Wenzler would likely enjoy seeing Kings on the Milford schedule more often based on his success against the Knights this year. In addition to his career night of 24 points and seven rebounds on the hardwood on Dec. 15, Wenzler also had a night to remember on the soccer pitch against Kings this year as well. During the Eagles’ 5-0 win over the Knights on Sept. 17, Wenzler was a hat trick hero for Milford, netting his first career three-goal game.
Milford Eagles Season/Career Highs
Jake Ayler
Points—Season: N/A; Career: N/A
Rebounds—Season: N/A; Career: N/A
Assists—Season: N/A; Career: N/A
Jake Chialastri
Points—Season: 3 at Anderson; Career: 3 twice
Rebounds—Season: 1 vs. Turpin; Career: 1 eight times
Assists—Season: 2 vs. Glen Este; Career: 2 vs. Glen Este (2015-16)
Brendan Dugan
Points—Season: 15 vs. Turpin; Career: 15 vs. Turpin (2015-16)
Rebounds—Season: 5 at CHCA; Career: 5 at CHCA (2015-16)
Assists—Season: 2 four times; Career: 2 four times (2015-16)
Jack Engelman
Points—Season: 22 at Turpin; Career: 22 at Turpin (2015-16)
Rebounds—Season: 11 twice; Career: 11 twice (2015-16)
Assists—Season: 5 at Shroder; Career: 5 at Shroder
Double-doubles—Season: 2; Career: 2
Keenan Farrell
Points—Season: 19 at Kings; Career: 19 at Kings (2015-16)
Rebounds—Season: 5 five times; Career: 5 five times (2015-16)
Assists—Season: 6 twice; Career: 6 twice (2015-16)
Nathan Gallimore
Points—Season: 5 vs. Withrow; Career: 5 vs. Withrow (2015-16)
Rebounds—Season: 2 at Shroder; Career: 2 at Shroder (2015-16)
Assists—Season: 1 twice; Career: 1 twice (2015-16)
Ben Greenwell
Points—Season: 10 at Sycamore; Career: 16 vs. Withrow (2014-15)
Rebounds—Season: 6 twice; Career: 7 vs. Stivers (2013-14)
Assists—Season: 3 twice; Career: 3 seven times
Brad Hall
Points—Season: 22 vs. Colerain; Career: 22 vs. Colerain (2015-16)
Rebounds—Season: 14 vs. Withrow; Career: 14 vs. Withrow (2015-16)
Assists—Season: 4 vs. Turpin; Career: 4 three times
Double-doubles—Season: 3; Career: 5
Matt Kirk
Points—Season: 15 at Kings; Career: 15 at Kings (2015-16)
Rebounds—Season: 6 twice; Career: 6 twice (2015-16)
Assists—Season: 2 twice; Career: 2 twice (2015-16)
Dakota Lefker
Points—Season: 10 three times; Career: 10 three times (2015-16)
Rebounds—Season: 5 twice; Career: 5 twice (2015-16)
Assists—Season: 4 vs. Taft; Career: 4 vs. Taft (2015-16)
Wes Reid
Points—Season: 13 twice; Career: 13 twice (2015-16)
Rebounds—Season: 5 vs. Withrow; Career: 5 vs. Withrow (2015-16)
Assists—Season: 3 three times; Career: 3 three times (2015-16)
Jacob Riesenberg
Points—Season: 2 twice; Career: 2 twice (2015-16)
Rebounds—Season: 1 twice; Career: 1 twice (2015-16)
Assists—Season: N/A; Career: N/A
Alex Shiplett
Points—Season: 3 three times; Career: 6 vs. Batavia (2014-15)
Rebounds—Season: 6 vs. Turpin; Career: 6 vs. Turpin (2015-16)
Assists—Season: 1 at Glen Este; Career: 2 vs. Withrow (2014-15)
Mitchell Wenzler
Points—Season: 24 vs. Kings; Career: 24 vs. Kings (2015-16)
Rebounds—Season: 7 vs. Kings; Career: 7 vs. Kings (2015-16)
Assists—Season: 5 at Loveland; Career: 5 at Loveland (2015-16)