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Unbeaten Franklin breaks new ground in Flyin’ action

The 9-0 Wildcats are the first SWBL team to play in the prestigious event.

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2:12 AM Friday, January 13, 2012

By Rick Cassano

Staff Writer

FRANKLIN — The spotlight is on the horizon, and Franklin High School’s boys basketball team can’t wait to bask in it.

The unbeaten Wildcats will bring their high-flying act to Kettering Fairmont’s Trent Arena on Monday, facing Medina in the Flyin’ to the Hoop showcase.

Franklin, 9-0 with a 32.9-point average margin of victory, will be the first Southwestern Buckeye League school to participate in the prestigious event.

“We are very excited,” Wildcats coach Brian Bales said. “Starting on Saturday, I know our kids are going to want to be there all weekend.”

Franklin will host 2-7 Brookville tonight in a SWBL Southwestern Division affair, then turn its attention to the Bees from suburban Cleveland.

“Our focus right now is (tonight),” Bales said. “We saw in the first half against Eaton (on Tuesday) what happens if we don’t focus on the defensive end. We’re working to get back to the foundation of who we are, and that’s defense.”

Medina is just 1-6 heading into tonight’s home game against Elyria, but that record is deceiving. The Bees play in the rugged Northeast Ohio Conference, a league that Bales compares to the Greater Miami Conference.

Medina lost two starters before the season began. Included was 6-foot-9 senior Ken Kaminski, a Michigan State University recruit who tore his labrum playing football.

“I don’t expect anybody to feel sorry for us,” said Bees coach Anthony Stacey, one of the top players in Bowling Green State University history. “We’re definitely battle tested. We’re coming there looking to surprise some people.”

Medina is an up-tempo team. Its top scorers are junior guards Billy Geschke and Logan Winkler.

The 6-foot-1 Geschke is averaging about 23 points per game and likes to shoot the 3. Winkler, the point guard, is scoring around 10 points a contest.

“The night we saw them, Geschke got a lot of points in transition,” Bales said. “We’re going to have to be great in transition against them.”

The Franklin coach was also impressed with 6-4 senior center Mason Schreck, who will play college football at Buffalo.

“He’s an animal,” Bales said. “He posts as well as any post player we’ve seen all year.”

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