Miamisburg 46 Troy 41

Boys' Basketball
Home Team: Troy Trojans
Visiting Team: Miamisburg Vikings
Venue: Trojan Activities Center
Game Time: 7:30 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None

(JV Score: Miamisburg 56 Troy 55)

I went to an open house to see the new gym at Troy High School last year, but this was my first chance to actually see a game there. I like it. Good size, good view from the bleachers, informative scoreboard. My only complaints are minor--the bleachers pick up a little too much vibration when people are going up and down the steps (as they almost always are), and the buzzer is way too loud. I have no idea if they have the capability to turn down the volume or shorten the duration, but it would be nice if they could and did.

Anyway, it had been quite some time since I had been to a high school game. I was immediately struck by the difference in size and shape between the varsity players, who look mostly like full-sized and fully functioning adults, and the junior varsity players, who do not look that way and seem, in fact, like they may not have the potential to ever reach that point. Both games were fun to watch, though--the kids play hard, and that's cool.

For the varsity Trojans, it was mostly an issue of being unable to get a handle on a single player who hurt them often--a quick guard who could penetrate or shoot from outside. The Trojans have a player who looked as though he might have the ability to take over a game--6'6" sophomore forward D.J. Martinez--but the Vikings were able to hold him down by playing a 2-3 zone defense for the whole game, a defensive set that effectively acted as a triangle-and-two, enabling them to triple-cover Martinez anytime he got the ball. The Trojans had a hard time scoring on that zone--they just didn't have anyone who could make Miamisburg pay for selling out on defense that way.

The high school season is nearly over, with just one game remaining before the state tournament begins. I'll probably try to get to more than just one game next year. I'm just glad I managed to make it to one this season before it was over.