Sports
TVC Boys’ Basketball Breakdown
By: Anthony Allocco
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Athens High School played host to the 50th Annual TVC Shrine Preview on Saturday. Fourteen TVC teams from both sides of the conference showcased their teams at the event in 16-minute exhibition games, and several teams in the Hardwood Heroes coverage area were on display.
The Meigs Marauders came out strong against the South Gallia Rebels with a 32-21 win. The young Marauders will look to find cohesion between five under classmen and the few seniors they return from last season.
Alexander dominated the next matchup in a 40-18 victory over the Eastern Eagles. The Spartans eight seniors showed a lot of talent, but the biggest takeaway from the day has to be their depth with nearly 10 game-ready caliber players. Eastern on the other hand is expected to improve its record from a year ago — a season in which the Eagles won just two games. Ball security and fundamental play are points of emphasis for head coach Jeremy Hill’s squad as the season grows closer.
Griffin Lutz and the home-gym Bulldogs were the next to take the court, and unfortunately for the Southern Tornadoes the game went as expected. Lutz controlled the ball well and ran the offense for head coach Jeff Skinner’s team in the 42-16 Athens win. In his junior season, accolades and awards could find their way into the point-guard’s hands.
Rounding out the event, Vinton County and Trimble faced off. The Vikings got the best of the Tomcats 29-20, but Trimble assistant coach Chris Lyons stressed the fact that the team is still new, with just four full-team practices prior to the event. An undefeated regular season last year has Tomcat fans excited for the year. Six seniors lead the Vikings, and this experience could be what they need to jump up from third in the TVC-Ohio to first. Vinton County could join Alexander in the quest to knock off Athens as top of the conference.