TOLEDO – Miller City played the role of the Grinch just before Christmas on Monday night for host Toledo Christian as they handed out coal in a 71-60 road win at the White Center.
Three players finished in double figures for the Wildcats (7-0) who are off to their best start since the 2009-10 team reached the regional semifinals and finished 20-5. Miller City won their first eight games of the year under Tyson McGlaughlin that season.
Seniors Brendan Barlage and Jude Otto combined for 36 points against the Eagles and were joined in double figures by Alex Ruck with 12.
Three point goals were the way of the world for the Wildcats in the first half as the team converted on 7/17 from behind the arc to take a 32-26 advantage into the locker room.
Junior Henry Rump splashed home a trio from beyond the arc in the first half while teammates Brayden Niese, Andrew Wise, Will Otto, and Barlage all added to the blue and gold tally.
Toledo Christian multi-sport standout Karter Koester propped up the Eagles offense in the first quarter as he hit for 10 of his game high 31 in the first eight minutes. Koester entered the evening 58 points away from becoming the schools all-time leading scorer and again hit for 10 in a quarter in the games final period.
In addition to his scoring prowess, Koester ended the game with 13 rebounds and eight assists for the Eagles.
“This team shares the ball well,” said Miller City head coach Ross Kaufman. “With all nine guys contributing I think we can be a really good basketball team.”
Defensively the Wildcats were led by senior stopper Brayden Niese. Niese gave Miller City an 18-15 lead in the second quarter offensively, but made his mark on the opposite end of the floor when tasked with slowing down the Eagles best scorers.
Beyond helping to attempt to keep Koester in check, Niese’s defensive effort kept the Eagles second leading scorer Silas Mickel from reaching his average of 12 until late in the fourth with the Wildcats starting to dominate the scoreboard.
“Brayden (Niese) got hurt before the first game of the year, so we worked him in a little slow the first week or so,” said Kaufman. “He doesn’t care what he does as long as he works hard on both sides, he knows his role perfectly.”
Miller City entered play shooting just 54% from the free throw line as a team. On this evening however the Wildcats connected on 18 of 23 from the charity stripe. Brendan Barlage connected on 6/8 in the fourth quarter and 7/9 in the second half on a way to a team high 20 points.
“We have good leadership from our seniors, those guys have really grown into their roles and stepped up in big moments” said Kaufman.
Toledo Christian (4-3) made a run in the second half as they twice pulled within a point on baskets by freshman Josiah Michalski but were unable to take the lead away from their visitors.
Jude Otto ended the game with 16 points, nearly double of his average on the season but left Miller City fans in a frenzy late as he punctuated a 12-point lead with a two handed slam dunk just over three minutes to go in the game.
The Eagles return to play on Saturday as they travel to Old Fort, Miller City returns home before hitting the road for a six game stretch Friday when they play host to Tinora.
Scoring:
Miller City (71):
Brendan Barlage 20
Henry Rump 9
Alex Ruck 12
Andrew Wise 6
Brayden Niese 5
Jude Otto 16
Will Otto 3
FT: 18/23
3PT: 8 (Rump 3, A. Wise 2, Niese, W. Otto, Barlage)
TO: 8
Toledo Christian (60):
Josiah Hillrich 5
Judah Mickel 5
Mikey Jones 3
Karter Koester 31
Silas Mickel 12
Josiah Michalski 7
FT: 7/10
3PT: 7 (S. Mickel 2, Hillrich, Koester, J. Mickel, J. Michalski, Jones)
TO: 11
JV: Miller City 65-40