by Todd Robinson
Loveland, Ohio – Despite having the day off school due to the continuing arctic temperatures, the Loveland men’s varsity basketball team was in action Tuesday night. The Tigers hosted Archbishop McNicholas, the state’s #2 ranked team in Division 2. The Rockets entered the game with a perfect 11-0 record.
McNich’s 55-41 victory over the Tigers set a new school record for the Rockets – the first time they have ever started a season with twelve consecutive wins. But the McNicholas victory wasn’t easy, as the Tigers played one of their best games of the year. The Tigers surprised the Rockets and jumped out to an early 13-6 lead behind 6 points by Jalen Greiser and 5 by Matt Toigo. A Jeffrey Mains fast break layup midway through the second quarter gave Loveland a 20-14 lead. But the Rockets responded with a 15-0 run before Greiser hit a bucket at the end of the second quarter.
Going into the locker room, the Rockets led the Tigers 29-22. Much to the delight of Tiger Nation and Rockets fans, the Kings Firecrackers performed their riveting jump rope show at the half, closing to a standing ovation by the appreciative crowd.
[Photo Album] Firecracker performance at Loveland High School
Alex Soth opened the second half scoring with a field goal, cutting the Rocket lead to 5 points – the closest it would be the rest of the game. McNicholas slowly build on their lead, expanding it to 40-29 at the end of 3 quarters. And despite intense Tiger defensive pressure in the fourth quarter, the Rockets remained undefeated with the 55-41 victory.
Jalen Greiser led the Tigers with 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. Matt Toigo had 11 points and Alec Soth had a game high 8 rebounds. Loveland’s record is now 4-8. (2-4 in ECC). Loveland hosts Turpin at Tiger Court on Friday night.
| Tuesday, January 16, 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| McNicholas | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLAYERS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| NEUZIL,Matt | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| BURDICK,Cole | 5-12 | 2-6 | 5-5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 17 |
| REIDY,Ryan | 5-9 | 0-2 | 4-8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 14 |
| EHLERS,James | 5-11 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| LANG,Michael | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| BELMONT,Ryan | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| JOHNSON,Patrick | 1-2 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| BRUNOT,Evan | 2-3 | 0-0 | 1-4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| KELLERMAN,Bryce | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| TOTALS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19-41 | 3-12 | 14-26 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 55 | |
| 46.3% | 25.0% | 53.8% | ||||||||||
| Loveland | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLAYERS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| Tripp Willis | 2-3 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Brady McCluskey | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Jeffrey Main | 2-3 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Alec Soth | 1-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Brenton Foust | 0-5 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| Jalen Greiser | 5-12 | 1-5 | 2-3 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 13 |
| Gabe Rubio | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Matt Toigo | 4-6 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 |
| Sean McElveen | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ian Cox | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| TOTALS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16-35 | 6-14 | 3-8 | 5 | 23 | 28 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 21 | 41 | |
| 45.7% | 42.9% | 37.5% | ||||||||||
