With Senior Night as the backdrop and The Firecrackers Jump Rope Team on hand for a halftime performance, the Milford High School boys basketball team 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.
KEY PLAYERS
Milford
Keenan Farrell 15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists
Brad Hall 10 points, 8 rebounds
Glen Este
Elijah Johnson 16 points
A.J. Zambenedetti 11 points
Brad Gardner 8 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks
KEY MOMENTS & RUNS
- The night started with a special moment as senior Ben Greenwell, sidelined nearly all season with injury, made a triumphant return, knocking down a game-opening three-pointer.
- With the score knotted at eight, Glen Este came to life, using a 7-0 run to open its largest advantage of the night. Milford would answer the run with a 6-0 spurt of its own to trim the deficit to 15-14 after one quarter.
- Strong shooting was the order of the second quarter as Milford converted 10 of 14 field goals, to 5 of 8 for the Trojans.
- The first half of the second was tight, but Milford scored 12 of 14 points over 3:55 of the period to take a 36-27 lead into the break.
- Milford’s hot shooting continued in the third (7 of 14), allowing the home team to open a game-high lead of 18 near the end of the quarter.
- In the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, Glen Este was able to claw back within 10 points, but Milford stayed strong to finish out the win.
NUGGETS OF NOTE
- With a final ECC record of 9-5, the Eagles finished third in this season’s conference standings. With its improbable Friday night win over Turpin and Walnut Hills’ upset loss to Loveland, Kings wins the outright crown for this season, marking the third straight year the Knights have won at least a share of the title.
- Milford’s 11 three-pointers were a season-high and the most by an Eagles team since making 14 against Anderson last January.
- Senior Jake Chialastri made his first career start on Senior Night and ended with a career-high two assists.
- Milford won the battle of the rebounds (30-26) for the 16th time this year.
- The Eagles posted season highs in field goals (26), field goal attempts (53), three-pointers made (11), three-pointers attempted and assists (16).
- Milford’s three turnovers were a season-low.
UP NEXT
With the regular season now complete, the Eagles will next open the postseason on Friday night, Feb. 19 as the No. 10 seed in the OHSAA Cincinnati Sectionals. Milford is set to take on No. 12 Middletown at Lakota West in a 6 p.m. tip.