The Rams (17-3, 14-1 OHC) can win the title outright with a victory over Catholic Central on Friday, Feb. 10.
“A share is great,” said Rams coach Kyle Fulk. “We told them congratulations on winning a share and the first thing they said is they don’t want to share it. We’ve got to take care of business next Friday, but first we’ve got Kenton Ridge on Tuesday. It’s a good tournament prep game, a physical team, a solid team. That’s what we need this time of the year.”
In the final home game of their careers, the Rams senior class wanted nothing more than to step off the floor one last time with a victory, Fulk said. Senior Carter Williams scored 18 points, senior Myles Witt had 17, senior Jordan Erisman had 16 points and senior Ethen Caudill added 11 points.
“We came out, did our thing and played Greeneview basketball,” Williams said. “I’d take my group over any other group in Ohio.”
The seniors were focused on finishing an undefeated home season on Senior Night, rather than earning a share of the OHC South title, Fulk said.
“I was actually a little bit surprised,” he said. “Leading up to the game, the talk wasn’t about winning the OHC title, it was about going undefeated on our home floor this year. These guys have played close to 90 games for us and they wanted to leave this floor for the last time with a win and have that memory in their bank.”
Sophomore Brennan Workman scored 18 points and sophomore Ayden Robinson added 15 points for Southeastern, which fell to 8-12 and 5-10 in the OHC South.
The Trojans tied the score at 15 late in the first quarter, but the Rams went on a 5-0 run to end the period and never trailed again. They led by 10 at the half and extended the lead to 61-38 after three quarters. They used pressure defense to get easy buckets in transition.
“They’re an excellent team,” said Trojans coach Chris Stout, who took over this season for P.J. Bertemes. “They’re coached well and they execute well in their game planning. They’re a tough team. We’re young. My hats off to them for what they did.”
The Trojans were hoping to play spoiler for the second straight game. Southeastern beat Catholic Central 63-59 on Tuesday, eliminating the defending champion Irish from the OHC South title race.
“We’ve had some growing pains and we’re still learning how to close out some games,” Stout said. “The boys are working hard. Hopefully we can make a little run in the tournament.”
Greeneview needs a victory over Catholic Central (14-6, 11-4) to clinch its second OHC South title in three seasons. With a loss and a Cedarville (17-4, 13-2) victory over Madison Plains, the Rams and Indians would share the title.
Greeneview has lost back-to-back games to the Irish in Jason Collier Gymnasium over the last two seasons. The Rams beat Catholic Central 70-31 in their first meeting earlier this season in Jamestown.
“It’s always great (going to Catholic Central),” Fulk said. “We got them the first time and I know they want to get us back. The game isn’t going to play out like the first one did. We know that and they know that. It’s going to be a fun atmosphere. The student section is always great over there, it’s a small gym, a loud gym. I’m looking forward to it, but we don’t want to look past Kenton Ridge.”
The Rams are also looking forward to the Division III postseason. The senior class played in a district final game as sophomores, but fell to Cincinnati Madeira in its postseason opener last winter.
“They’re motivated to get back to that district final and hopefully go further,” Fulk said.
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