Franklin overwhelms Bellbrook

Undefeated Wildcats turn up pressure to post 12th straight win.

Frazier’s home run lifts Reds to 5th straight win
10:20 a.m.
Spartans head to regional final
5/24/12
Fenwick’s tourney run ends in regional semis
5/24/12
2 Middie jumpers qualify for state
5/24/12
College baseball: Miami tops Toledo in MAC tourney
5/23/12
> More sports headlines

By Rick Cassano, Staff Writer 7:49 PM Saturday, January 21, 2012

BELLBROOK — The plan worked for a while. Then Franklin High School’s boys basketball team became a steamroller.

Bellbrook controlled the first 10 minutes with a very deliberate pace Friday night before the unbeaten Wildcats dialed up the action and pounded out a 55-30 road win.

“We still take control when we need to,” said Franklin freshman guard Luke Kennard, who scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half. “It wasn’t terrible. It wasn’t great. We came out a little sluggish, but our defense got it done. Defense is what it’s all about.”

The Wildcats scored just four points in the first period and trailed 10-9 early in the second quarter, but used some halfcourt trapping and a fullcourt zone press to get the game moving.

“I thought we were getting open looks in the first quarter,” Franklin coach Brian Bales said. “Once we started scoring, we were able to get in that fullcourt zone press, and it really opened some things up for us.”

Travis Lakins had 16 points and Jacob Rossi added 10 for the Wildcats, who moved to 12-0 overall and 7-0 in the Southwestern Buckeye League Southwestern Division. Kennard grabbed seven rebounds, as did Jacob and Justin Rossi, and Eli Staton added six boards.

“I just kept telling our guys to be patient and defend,” Bales said. “People have tried everything on us, but we know if we defend, we’ve always got a chance.”

Kennard connected for 10 points in the third stanza. He drained a pair of 3-pointers to ignite a 28-6 Franklin surge.

“Everybody on this team can make stuff happen,” Kennard said. “I was just the guy hitting shots at that time.”

The Golden Eagles (4-7, 4-3), led by Doug Rasch’s 10 points, gradually got buried. They shot 25.6 percent from the floor and sank 3-of-19 field goals in the second half.

Bales said the Wildcats have held every opponent under 39-percent shooting this season.

“Their length causes problems everywhere,” Bellbrook coach Perry Caldwell said. “They also did a very good job of converting off turnovers. We weren’t strong with the ball a couple times and made a couple bad decisions, and they really made us pay for that.”

Franklin visits Dayton Northridge tonight.

Share this article