Xenia (16-7) and Fairborn (13-10) entered the game on Tuesday with at least 13 wins and Springfield coach Isaiah Carson said either opponent will present a challenge.
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“We’ve just got to be ready to go,” Carson said. “Nobody wants to go home, and from here on out, we’re going to be facing some really good teams. This next game is going to be a tough one, but we’ll be ready and prepared and will keep up our good defense.”
Though the baskets came early and often against West Carrollton, Carson was most pleased with Springfield’s defensive effort. The Pirates (0-23) scored no more than 11 points in any quarter, including in the second half when Springfield played mostly junior varsity players.
“It was good to get a lot of those young boys to come out here and play tonight, which was a lot of guys’ first varsity action,” Carson said. “That was the positive of the night. I thought everybody defended pretty well for the most part.”
Springfield’s normal rotation built a 58-20 lead over West Carrollton in the first half. Danny Davis and Michael McKay are Springfield’s two leading scorers for the season, but they passed off to teammates for much of the game.
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Forwards Leonard Taylor and RaHeim Moss scored 13 and 10 points, respectively, in the first half. Michael Wallace scored all of his game-high 16 points in the first half, while sophomore guard JaJuan Rodgers scored all of his 12 points in the second quarter.
It was a career-high for Rodgers, who scored in double digits one other time this season.
“That was fun and good experience since I’ll be more of a dominant player next year after some guys graduate,” Rodgers said. “I’ve got to get used to that, but it was really fun to get the freshman and some of those other guys get in their rhythm.”
Jordan Howard was one of those freshman. He scored 10 points in the second half.
After two back-to-back lopsided wins to open the tournament, Rodgers said top-seeded Springfield (20-3) won’t be overconfident on Friday.
“We know we’re going to get tougher opponents now, but it should be alright because we know how to play,” Rodgers said.
Springfield’s sectional final game on Friday at Centerville will tip off at 7 p.m.
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