The veteran coach emerged from a victorious locker room all smiles, handshaking with well-wishers while acknowledging what an accomplishment five straight championships is.
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“Five straight, yes sir,” Woods said. “Great feeling, an awesome feeling. Couldn’t ask for a better group of kids or awesome school which gives us so much support.”
The Cougars have won 23 straight over the Vikings and dispensed with the drama early, jumping out 12-5 after one quarter before rattling off 10 consecutive points to earn a commanding 28-11 halftime bulge.
Playing without standouts Miguel Ringer and K.J. Swain, the Cougars struggled at times, but CCS put nine players in the scoring column led by Cameron Rogers’ 13 points. Rogers, a junior forward, also pulled down a team-high nine boards as the Cougars improved to 16-3 overall and 13-1 in the MVC.
“We had two guys down with injuries, so we were definitely out of sync a bit,” Woods said. “We knew we would have some challenges with those guys out, but it gave us a chance to get some other guys some valuable minutes. We weathered the storm, but overall, it wasn’t our sharpest performance. But given the adversity we have been facing lately, we will take it.”
New Miami is having its best season in years and a pair of sophomore brothers led the charge.
Trey Robinette had all of his 14 points in the second half, while brother Trey added 13 for the Vikings.
While coach Jared Lee admitted his young team can learn from this game and has a bright future, he was visibly upset at the way his squad played.
“It was a tough ballgame for us,” Lee said. “We got beat by a good basketball team. I don’t know if I would say anybody on our team did well tonight and that includes myself. You have to play well to beat a team like this, and I would say we didn’t.”
Ronnie Bowman leads the MVC in rebounding and attacked the glass all night with 13 rebounds for the Vikings, but they were hurt by a 14-of-42 shooting performance and 17 turnovers in falling to 11-7, 7-6.
“They did a good job taking us out of our rhythm in the first half,” Lee said. “They have won the league for a fifth year in a row for a reason. They have a fantastic team and a very good program, and they reload every year.”
The Vikings were hanging around, trailing 16-10 halfway through the second quarter, but Winston Spencer scored six of his eight points late as the Cougars took command.
Trey Robinette scored six straight points to open the third quarter, but the Cougars answered with a 7-0 run to grab a 35-17 lead. The margin dind’t dip below 13 the rest of the way.
Riley Reutener gave the hosts a 51-31 lead with a two-handed slam in the final quarter. Reutener finished with nine points, while Devin McKinnon and Logan Woods each added seven. CCS shot 12-of-25 from the field in the first half while holding the Vikings to 4-of-17.
“The only thing I could wish is it would have happened on a Friday night,” Carl Woods joked. “It gets the pressure off the guys, so now we can just go out there and grind it out. Our goal is to win this thing outright.”
Both teams are on the road Friday, with CCS traveling to St Bernard and New Miami heading to Seven Hills.
New Miami 5-6-13-13—37
Cin. Christian 12-16-15-11—54
NEW MIAMI (11-7, 7-6 MVC Gray): Ronnie Bowman 1 1 3; Deanza Duncan 1 1 3; Jordan Robinette 5 2 13; Trey Robinette 6 2 14; David Cunningham 1 1 4. Totals 14-7-37
CINCINNATI CHRISTIAN (16-3, 13-1 MVC Gray): Riley Reutener 4 0 9; Winston Spencer 4 0 8; Cole Martin 2 1 5; Logan Woods 2 2 7; Cody Anderson 0 1 1; Devin McKinnon 3 1 7; Bryson Teague 0 2 2; Jalon Percy 1 0 2; Cameron Rogers 6 1 13. Totals: 22-8-54
3-pointers: N 2 (Jordan Robinette, Cunningham), C 2 (Reutener, Woods)
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