BOYS SCORING LEADERS
CBC: Seth Gray, Spg. Shawnee, 21.9
GCL Coed: Joe Laravie, Alter, 16.5
GWOC: Clay Guillozet, Greenville, 23.6
MAC: Justin Ahrens, Versailles, 25.2
MBC: Casey Gossett, Miami Valley, 20.0
SWBL: Daulton Butler, Carlisle, 18.7
GIRLS SCORING LEADERS
CBC: Jamari McDavid, Kenton Ridge, 23.3
GCL Coed: Braxtin Miller, Alter, 16.9
GWOC: Sylvia Hudson, Sidney, 20.4
MAC: Madilynn Schulte, Delphos SJ's, 14.9
MBC: Elizabeth Smith, Yellow Springs, 21.7
SWBL: Rachel Murray, Waynesville, 19.1
An outstanding football and basketball career at Greenville High School ensured senior Clay Guillozet would be known for more than a tricky name to pronounce (it’s French; the “t” silent.).
The only question was which sport would he pursue at the next level?
“My senior year I had the option open, football or basketball,” said Guillozet following a last-second 68-67 loss to visiting Sidney on Friday. “Right now I’m leaning toward basketball just because I’m talking to more schools about basketball. That’s been my passion since I was young.”
Thanks to that drive and junior teammate Isaiah Gable, home boys basketball games are must-see for residents in this Darke County city.
Guillozet recently surpassed both former Green Wave standouts Tom Hozapfel (he started for Wright State University’s NCAA Division II national champions in 1983) and Jake Cook to become Greenville’s all-time career scoring leader with 1,204 points and counting. A 6-foot-3 matchup problem, Guillozet leads the Greater Western Ohio Conference (all divisions) in scoring (23.6 points) to go with 7.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists.
Gable, a 6-6 inside presence, is No. 3 in GWOC scoring (20.1). They were two main reasons by Greenville won the GWOC North Division last season, their first league title in more than 60 years.
Greenville’s re-emergence as a worthy basketball program has coincided with that dynamic duo and the takeover by head coach Mike Bashore, in his fourth season with the Green Wave.
“It makes it nice on us that a team can’t key on just one of us,” said Guillozet, the 2014-15 GWOC North Player of the Year. “Coming in our freshman year, our gym wasn’t that packed. Over the years it’s been getting the community involved more and more. That’s really big for us. Now, we’re getting the large crowds. That’s pretty awesome.”
Greenville (8-6) hosts Fort Recovery (9-3) on Tuesday and is at Troy (4-10) on Friday.
• A couple of great boys showdowns will highlight Tuesday’s games. Trotwood-Madison (14-1) is at unbeaten Wayne (14-0), the state’s top-ranked Division I team, in a GWOC crossover game. Also, Tri-Village (14-2) is at Miami East (13-1) in what could decide the Cross County Conference title.
Trotwood is on a seven-game win streak and has separated itself from the area D-II pack. Wayne won 84-64 last season, but Trotwood stunned Wayne 60-58 on a last-second shot in a 2014 D-I regional semi. Wayne coach Travis Trice also was a Trotwood assistant before landing the Warriors position.
Tri-Village had a 12-game win streak snapped at Winchester (Ind.) on Saturday, 64-49. The Patriots’ only other loss was to Northridge (15-1). East has lost only to Chaminade Julienne and has won six straight games.
All four teams will likely be No. 1 seeds in the upcoming sectional draws.
• Wilmington (14-1) suffered its first loss at Moeller (15-1) last Saturday, 40-31. Moeller also hung a season-ending 46-43 loss on Wilmington in a D-I district final last season.
Wilmington will host the Scholastic Play-by-Play Classic tripleheader on Saturday. Stivers will play Kings in the 4:45 p.m. opener, followed by Wayne vs. Massillon Jackson at 6:30 p.m. and Middletown vs. Wilmington at 8:15 p.m.
If they’re not matched in district finals, don’t be surprised if Wilmington, Moeller and Wayne all advance to the D-I regional at Xavier University.
• Vandalia-Butler grad and first-team All-American offensive lineman Taylor Decker of Ohio State University played basketball for the Aviators, averaging 14.4 points and 7.3 rebounds in his final junior season. Former Butler head football coach Greg Bush might have been tempted to insert the 6-foot-7, 265-pounder elsewhere, but couldn’t.
“I wanted to put him at tight end, but you’d have to change his jersey in Ohio,” Bush recalled last week. “Do you know how hard it was to get a jersey on and off that sucker? He’s 6-7; you and I could complete that pass.”
Decker wore number 68 at Butler and OSU. Now 315 pounds, he’s projected to go in the first round of the NFL draft.
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