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'Cats flex muscle at showcase

Franklin topples Medina at the Flyin’ to the Hoop event in Kettering.

Franklin's Travis Lakins (1) dribbles the ball during Monday's game against Medina in the Flyin' to the Hoop Invitational at Kettering Fairmont's Trent Arena. Staff photo by Nick Daggy

Staff photo by Nick Daggy Franklin's Travis Lakins (1) dribbles the ball during Monday's game against Medina in the Flyin' to the Hoop Invitational at Kettering Fairmont's Trent Arena. Staff photo by Nick Daggy

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By Rick Cassano, Staff Writer 1:00 AM Tuesday, January 17, 2012

KETTERING — It was a strong statement by Franklin High School’s boys basketball team.

The unbeaten Wildcats took center stage Monday afternoon and scored a decisive 64-49 victory over Medina, a Division I team with a big-time schedule, in the Flyin’ to the Hoop showcase at Fairmont’s Trent Arena.

They weren’t perfect. It was certainly not a whipping like the ones Franklin routinely administers in the Southwestern Buckeye League. But the 11-0 Wildcats showed that they’re very good and have the potential to be great.

“I think we showed that we are the real deal and can play with anybody,” said senior center Jacob Rossi, who led Franklin with 22 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. “We’ve got the talent for offense. It’s the defense that we have to work on every single day.”

Wildcats freshman point guard Luke Kennard, who collected 20 points and seven boards, summed up the day like this:

“We might have surprised some people ... maybe not,” he said. “But we’re here. We’re up there with the big boys. We played some big-boy ball and showed everybody what we could do.”

Franklin coach Brian Bales has made defense the priority for this team, and he wasn’t satisfied with the defensive performance against Medina (1-8). It’s what kept a solid win from being resounding.

“There’s high expectations, and we want that,” Bales said. “I was proud of the kids to come in to this environment and get a win. We talked a lot about not getting caught up in the surroundings, and that’s a big challenge. I thought the kids did a pretty good job of making the main thing the main thing.”

Senior forward Justin Rossi collected 16 points and five rebounds for the Wildcats. They may not have been on top of their defensive game, but the Bees only shot 33.9 percent from the field.

Billy Geschke had 21 points and Logan Winkler added 12 for Medina, which doubled Franklin in turnovers (14-7).

“I’m proud of the way my guys competed — we were just clearly outmatched today,” Bees coach Anthony Stacey said. “Their big kids dominated the paint. When they did miss shots, they tipped ’em back in. We had a heck of a time keeping them off the glass.”

The Wildcats trailed only once (3-2) and gradually built their lead, yet couldn’t silence Medina. Justin Rossi’s driving slam to start the second half made it 34-24, and the margin never dropped into single digits from there.

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