With the recent run of wins by Middletown in their boys basketball rivalry with Hamilton, Big Blue coach Tim Robinson understands how people could lose site of how big the rivalry really is.

Hamilton has not beat the Middies since 2007 and have dropped nine straight, still Robinson believes it is one of the best rivalries in the state.

“It has been back and forth over the years, but it goes back so far there have been some great players and great coaches play in this,” Robinson said as his 4-5 (1-3 in the Greater Miami Conference) squad prepares to host Middletown tonight. “I think it is the best rivalry in the state, but with how it’s gone lately people forget how great of a rivalry this was.”

Said Middletown coach Josh Andrews, “It is still a great rivalry because of the rich tradition of both schools. But … every night is a huge game in the GMC.”

Both teams enter with some momentum. Hamilton, after dropping four straight games, enters with a two-game winning streak while Middletown headed home from Florida with the Rock Holiday Classic title. The Middies (6-5) have won four of their last five games.

“We’ve got to be on our game,” Robinson said. “We’ve got to play an outstanding game to beat them. The last couple of weeks we have played well and started making shots we hadn’t been and I think that has helped their confidence.”

For Andrews, it sounds a lot like the growth his squad went through in Florida.

“We were very efficient with the ball in Florida,” Andrews said. “We’ve got weapons and we know what we need to do and that is be patient and take good shots. If there is any carryover from Florida, that’s the big one.”

The big one tonight will be how the Big Blue can handle Middletown’s Vincent Edwards. Edwards, a 6-foot-7 junior, leads the GMC in scoring (19.3) and rebounding (12.9).

“He is the best player in the league,” Robinson said. “He is going to get his, how much he gets is the big thing. If he gets into the 30s (in points), we are in trouble.”

Christian Jones leads the Big Blue at 14.5 points a game, but Andrews is more wary of a pressing defense that is averaging nine steals a game, led by Jones and A’Shon Riggins at two per game.

“We know they are feisty,” Andrews said. “They are going to play hard and nothing is going to come easy. Their pressure has helped them create shots, so we have to be very efficient with the ball and have the right people taking the right shots at the right time.”