Motivated Mason downs Middies

Middletown can win outright GMC title with victory next week.

Middletown's Geovonie McKnight (32) fights for a loose ball during Friday night's game at Mason. The Middies fell 66-55. Staff photo by Nick Daggy

Nick Daggy Middletown's Geovonie McKnight (32) fights for a loose ball during Friday night's game at Mason. The Middies fell 66-55. Staff photo by Nick Daggy

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By Mark Schmetzer, Contributing Writer Updated 1:59 AM Saturday, February 11, 2012

MASON — The Middletown High School boys basketball team still can grab an outright Greater Miami Conference championship, but the Middies are going to have to wait one more week after running into motivated Mason on Friday night.

The Comets celebrated Senior Night by getting a career-high 28 points from JD Sprague in his final home game and 13 from classmate Darin Harris on their way to a 66-55 win at Mason.

“It definitely feels good,” Sprague said. “This gives us momentum going into the tournament.”

The win also keeps alive Mason’s hopes of at least sharing the GMC title with Middletown (14-5, 11-2), which went into the game with a two-game lead over the Comets (16-3, 10-3) and Lakota West. The Middies, who already own a share of their first championship since the 1994-1995 season, can clinch sole possession with a win next Friday at Colerain.

“It’s going to be a big week,” first-year Middletown coach Josh Andrews said. “It’s back to the drawing boards.”

Mason, which already owns its best conference record since joining the GMC for the 2007-2008 season, is at Oak Hills next Friday.

Harris set a single-game career high with three 3-pointers in the first quarter and Middletown needed six possessions to score its first points as Mason opened up a 13-4 lead.

The Middies fought back behind sophomore Vincent Edwards’ 13 second-quarter points to tie the score three times before the Comets ended the half with a 9-4 run to take a 36-31 lead into halftime.

Mason coach Greg Richards pointed out that Mason also led by five at halftime of the first game, which Middletown ended up winning, 72-58. The difference Friday was Mason outrebounded Middletown by seven in the second half after the Middies controlled the boards in the first game.

“We told (the Comets) at halftime to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Richards said.

Edwards finished with a team-high 20 points, while senior Geovonie McKnight added 18 for the Middies, who never led.

“This is the first time this year we lost the confidence and our swagger that you usually can find in Middie basketball,” Andrews said. “We began to scramble and got out of sorts, and they made us pay.”

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