High school basketball delivered another thrilling night across the area Friday, with big performances, tight battles, and standout stat lines from several local programs.
Bellefontaine 68, London 58
Bellefontaine powered past London in a key Central Buckeye Conference matchup, earning a 68–58 win to improve to 2–1 on the season.
The Chieftains were fueled by a spectacular night from CJ Butler, who erupted for 30 points.
Additional scoring came from:
Blake Loomis — 10 points
Grayson Lotts — 9 points
Jair Mundy — 8 points, 15 rebounds
Patrick Stolly — 7 points, 8 rebounds
London’s Braden Fox led the Red Raiders with 15 points.
JV: Bellefontaine fell 48–40 and moves to 2–1.
Freshmen: Bellefontaine earned a 36–21 victory behind Tyrin Johnson’s 15 points.
The Chiefs return to action Tuesday, hosting Urbana.
Benjamin Logan 61, Northwestern 55
The Raiders defended their home court with a gritty 61–55 win over Northwestern. The entire squad contributed to an intense, hard-fought triumph.
Benjamin Logan’s leaders:
Maddox Vermillion — 19 points, 9 rebounds
Roman Maxwell — 18 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists
Christian Rogan — 12 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Peyton Vermillion — 9 points, 5 rebounds
Carter Fay — 3 points and strong defensive play
JV: Raiders rolled to a 62–29 win as Owen Stratton scored 18 and Gabe Predmore added 11.
JV B: Raiders fell 42–28. Carrick Spriggs (12 points) and Brantley Karn (7) led the scoring.
Fairbanks 53, West Liberty-Salem 45
West Liberty-Salem dropped its season opener, falling 53–45 to Fairbanks to start 0–1 overall and in OHC play.
Scoring for the Tigers:
Brandel Sullivan — 14
Brevin Louden — 7
Troy Christison — 7
Beckett Sullivan — 6
Sam Strapp — 4
Sutton Wilcoxon — 3
Elijah Christison — 2
Carson Poppe — 2
JVA: WL-S fell 43–32.
Leaders included:
Connor Leichty — 10
Tucker Searles — 8
Asher Cole — 8
Josiah Johnson — 4
Colton Neeld — 2
JVB: WL-S lost a tight 35–31 battle to Grandview Heights.
Top scorers were:
Austin Markin — 9
Elijah Filio — 8
Isaiah Barth — 5
Eli Jones — 4
Rylan Leichty — 3
Reagan McCullough — 2
