Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
OAK HILL — Colben Beucler’s family has a long line of basketball greats. It’s now his time to add to that legacy.
Friday revealed a small sample of what he’s capable of doing.
The freshman forward posted a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds, leading Oak Hill to a 59-43 victory over Green in non-divisional SOC action.
“He’s super-coachable, and that’s the best thing about him. He comes from a great family, his dad was a great player at Eastern Brown and his grandpa has been Eastern Brown’s head coach for over two decades,” Oak Hill coach Heath McKinniss said. “He has a lot of athleticism and a skill set that’s better than most freshmen, which puts him a cut above the rest. He has a nose for the ball, rebounds very well and doesn’t make the same mistake twice. There’s a long way for him to go and he’s got a very bright future.”
CREDIT: Ron Butcher
The win moves Oak Hill to 5-3 on the season, matching their win total from all of last year.
“We’re off to a great start this year and have already tied our win total from last year, so we’ve built a lot of positive momentum already,” Oak Hill’s Andy Meldick said. “We’ve beaten every team we thought we would have so far, and even though we’ve taken a couple tough losses, we’ll keep moving and it’s onto the next game.”
Ethan O’Connor opened Friday’s game with four free throws. Then Beucler scored the next four points to put Oak Hill ahead 8-6. Joseph Anteby scored underneath and Caleb Chambers knocked down two free throws to make it 12-6 after the first quarter.
Beucler connected on back-to-back buckets in the second before O’Connor notched a rebound and a put back to complete a 6-0 run, extending the advantage to 18-8.
That lead never dipped below 10 points throughout the rest of the night. Meldick connected from distance, and Beucler and O’Connor scored again, pushing the count to 25-10.
That was more than enough momentum for the Oaks to shift into cruise control and ride to victory.
“We played very disciplined on both ends of the ball, but also played smart and didn’t take any unnecessary chances that we didn’t need to,” McKinniss said. “It was unselfish basketball offensively, that was the key to us getting off to a fast start and keeping the lead the rest of the way.”
After Beucler’s final state line, O’Connor finished with 11 points and four rebounds while Will Morgan added 10 points to the mix.
For Green, Brody Stapleton finished with 12 points while Jon Knapp added 11 of his own.
Oak Hill returns to action on Friday at Valley while Green returns to the hardwood after the new year on Jan. 3, hosting East.
“We played a great game and held two really good scorers in check by rotating guys on them, as well as being very active defensively,” McKinniss said. “After losing a tough one to South Webster on Tuesday, you sometimes worry about whether that loss will carry over into the next game. But our guys responded very well in practice the next day and played a great game tonight.”
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