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I figured it was time to let go of last year’s thread.

MC looked good last night beating Barnesville by about 30. We looked fast. Still early in the season so we’ll see how the lineup comes together

Displayed typical early season jitters and were a bit "rushed" in their approach on offense. Ball handling is better this year from what I observed but not shooting very well from 3 so far this year. Lack of size is going to hurt them this year against some of their opponents that have size. Thankfully Cooper Howell and Corbin Farnsworth both play bigger than their height and are good rebounders due to their athletic ability. Going to have to lean on those 2 a lot for scoring this year.

Skyvue, I saw we’re playing WCC twice and Wheeling Park once. I’ve always been a person who thought scheduling up was good for a team but do you think this is a little too much?

WCC will win WV state and probably could win Ohio’s D5 championship. And Park as you know is equivalent in size to an Ohio D1. Also do you know anything about this Cincy Christian school we are playing?

Seminoles beat Shadyside 71-40. Silva led with 20, Farnsworth 16, Yontz 13, Howell 8.

selonmc wrote: Tue Dec 09, 2025 6:16 pm Skyvue, I saw we’re playing WCC twice and Wheeling Park once. I’ve always been a person who thought scheduling up was good for a team but do you think this is a little too much?

WCC will win WV state and probably could win Ohio’s D5 championship. And Park as you know is equivalent in size to an Ohio D1. Also do you know anything about this Cincy Christian school we are playing?

Wheeling Central Catholic probably has a bit too much for this group this year, but I am happy they are still playing them. Not sure 2 matchups are needed when they can possibly see them again in the OVAC tournament. They can compete with Wheeling Park though from what I saw of that squad last year. In general, I like the idea of challenging the team in the regular season to better prepare for the likes of Hiland that you will see come tournament time.

No, I do not know anything about the Cincy school.

Like Skyvue, I think WCC is a tough challenge for the Noles. But I do like the matchup and think it possible that MC takes one from them. It will take a big effort but Lang seems to be able to pull a little extra out of the kids when needed. Cincinnati Christian should not be an issue for MC and they should win comfortably, to say the least.

I would rather play good competition to prepare for the tournament. Would you rather go undefeated and get knocked out in the district final or lose some regular season games and win it all?

Agree 100% MCs scheduling last year was about as good as it could get and they played teams and styles that would prepare them for the tournament.

Anyone know if tonight's game at Waterford is still on. Might try to get to this one. I don't look for this to be close but I would like to get to see them and I couldn't get to the Belpre game a couple of weeks ago.

According to this post it is....
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=100733&p=2174376#p2174376

dboy wrote: Tue Dec 16, 2025 11:20 am Anyone know if tonight's game at Waterford is still on. Might try to get to this one. I don't look for this to be close but I would like to get to see them and I couldn't get to the Belpre game a couple of weeks ago.

According to this post it is....
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=100733&p=2174376#p2174376

saw on Monroe Central's facebook page the game is on despite no school in district.

Close game tonight just judging by the score. I couldn’t make the drive tonight

MC was in control most of the way. Did not shoot it great. Too many turnovers early. Good to win without playing your best. Waterford has a decent group. Will cause a lot of teams problems this year.

jimmyv wrote: Tue Dec 16, 2025 9:13 pm MC was in control most of the way. Did not shoot it great. Too many turnovers early. Good to win without playing your best. Waterford has a decent group. Will cause a lot of teams problems this year.

Who won the JV game out of curiosity. MC’s JV team has been looking good

selonmc wrote: Tue Dec 16, 2025 9:44 pm

jimmyv wrote: Tue Dec 16, 2025 9:13 pm MC was in control most of the way. Did not shoot it great. Too many turnovers early. Good to win without playing your best. Waterford has a decent group. Will cause a lot of teams problems this year.

Who won the JV game out of curiosity. MC’s JV team has been looking good

MC won the JV game in OT. 49-43

jimmyv wrote: Tue Dec 16, 2025 9:13 pm MC was in control most of the way. Did not shoot it great. Too many turnovers early. Good to win without playing your best. Waterford has a decent group. Will cause a lot of teams problems this year.

MC is a very good basketball team, but this was a game Waterford let slip away. MC is fundamentally sound and disciplined, yet Waterford’s size and athleticism clearly bothered them at times.

The decision to put MC’s big on Heiner was smart and effective early. That matchup between Heiner and MC’s #42 was fun to watch and pretty even, but Fairchild deserves a lot of credit for how well he defended the inside and limited #42’s impact. Waterford, however, never fully took advantage of that.

Pennock gave Waterford a much-needed spark and helped get things going, but late in the game he tried to force too much when there were open looks available. Against a team like MC, you have to make them guard five — and Waterford didn’t always do that.

Rebounding was the difference. MC’s second-chance points kept them in control. They simply outworked Waterford on the glass, boxing out and extending possessions. That can’t happen when you have the size Waterford does.

Waterford still isn’t using their interior players enough. Heiner, Fairchild, and Roberts should be a nightmare matchup, but that advantage wasn’t consistently exploited. Roberts, in particular, has excellent footwork and is very effective around the rim and on putbacks, yet those touches were limited.

At the end of the night, shots didn’t fall for Waterford — but that’s not the whole story. MC earned this win by playing tougher, rebounding better, and executing in key moments. Waterford has the pieces to be better than this, but they have to play to their strengths.

Thanks for the write up. They’re old PVC foes: Woodsfield and Waterford and Skyvue.

Monroe Central was fortunate to get a fairly comfortable win tonight despite playing pretty poorly. They shot the ball very poorly from 3 and were sloppy with the ball. They did play their normal good defense and forced a lot of turnovers by the Wildcats. MC just didn't seem to have a lot of energy tonight and were fortunate they were not playing a better team or they would have gotten their first loss of the season. I expected Waterford to be better than they looked tonight. Perhaps they also just had an off night?

When the game got close on a few occasions, Corbin Farnsworth stepped up and hit several key buckets and could get a good look when we needed one. He was clearly the best player on the floor tonight.

I had a chance to see MC at Warren and again tonight and would have to agree that tonight MC was a little off. I don't think they have shot the 3 well all year so that is something they definitely need to work on but they hit them when they needed them. They share the ball well and the steadiness of Farnsworth was a big key tonight. Something else that surprised me was the lack of pressure from MC. Waterford has trouble with pressure and I expected Coach Lang to apply more tonight. Also, i feel like they played more players out at Warren. I know that was a blowout but I thought they had a deeper bench. On the bright side, most teams would like to be undefeated and in their shoes right now.

As for Waterford, after watching them a couple of times as well, I just can't figure out what their identity is. They do have the three bigs, but even with a former post player as a coach, they don't use them in the post much. Heiner is actually better when he works in and around the paint but for some reason wants to be a guard. If they played more inside, the perimeter would be open for the guards to get easier shots. I also saw a small guard in the JV game that looked like he could help. He is small but could be a real facilitator for them. But, the coaching staff is there on a daily basis and probably sees things we don't so I expect things to stay the same.