SoutheasternOhioPreps.com

SEOsportchamp23 wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 9:37 am Any thoughts on this?
I know Southern took the first matchup 55-46
But I think Waterford is a different team this time around.
Chandler and Brinegar are playing really good basketball.
And southern is a tough environment to play at.
The Waterford interior is strong and athletic. If they play smart- it could be a real battle. Heiner, Fairchild and Roberts are a strong trio.
Would love to hear some views from both sides.

meatswinger wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 11:30 am

SEOsportchamp23 wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 9:37 am Any thoughts on this?
I know Southern took the first matchup 55-46
But I think Waterford is a different team this time around.
Chandler and Brinegar are playing really good basketball.
And southern is a tough environment to play at.
The Waterford interior is strong and athletic. If they play smart- it could be a real battle. Heiner, Fairchild and Roberts are a strong trio.
Would love to hear some views from both sides.

Come on man. It’s at Southern. Nothing else matters. If those interior players you mentioned or any others are hurting Southern, they’ll soon find themselves sitting in foul trouble. LOL

SEOsportchamp23 wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 12:46 pm

meatswinger wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 11:30 am

SEOsportchamp23 wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 9:37 am Any thoughts on this?
I know Southern took the first matchup 55-46
But I think Waterford is a different team this time around.
Chandler and Brinegar are playing really good basketball.
And southern is a tough environment to play at.
The Waterford interior is strong and athletic. If they play smart- it could be a real battle. Heiner, Fairchild and Roberts are a strong trio.
Would love to hear some views from both sides.

Come on man. It’s at Southern. Nothing else matters. If those interior players you mentioned or any others are hurting Southern, they’ll soon find themselves sitting in foul trouble. LOL

Well, that wasn't the response I was looking for.

riddlemejohnny wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 1:04 pm

SEOsportchamp23 wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 12:46 pm

meatswinger wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 11:30 am

Come on man. It’s at Southern. Nothing else matters. If those interior players you mentioned or any others are hurting Southern, they’ll soon find themselves sitting in foul trouble. LOL

Well, that wasn't the response I was looking for.

Hopefully there is a great set of Ref's slated for tonight's game because the matchup deserves it in my opinion. Hopefully the game is decided on the floor by the players and not the Ref's. Hopefully both teams are healthy, and it's the barn burner of a game that everyone expects it to be. Waterford holds a sharp edge on the interior. Southern's guard game is probably a little stronger. I would say the atmosphere will be lively, just seen where admission is free for everyone tonight. I know it sounds cliche to say but I really think it comes down to who takes care of the ball better and who stays out of foul trouble. 2 very good ball clubs that have played tough schedules, Waterford probably takes a little bit of an edge on strength of schedule looking down through them both. Regardless, schedules don't matter tonight! Lace them up and see what each team brings!

Super trooper wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 1:53 pm The same person assigns the refs at Southern and Waterford

dboy wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 3:55 pm If the refs are not seeing both schools for the first time this year then the school and the assigner failed. Unfortunately, i believe Southern has had a couple of refs on multiple games for them this year so we will see. With that being said, I would still pick Southern right now on a neutral floor with neutral refs. Waterford is too unpredictable at this point but that also makes them pretty dangerous. Hope it is a good game regardless and the officials aren't a story tomorrow.

dboy wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 3:55 pm If the refs are not seeing both schools for the first time this year then the school and the assigner failed. Unfortunately, i believe Southern has had a couple of refs on multiple games for them this year so we will see. With that being said, I would still pick Southern right now on a neutral floor with neutral refs. Waterford is too unpredictable at this point but that also makes them pretty dangerous. Hope it is a good game regardless and the officials aren't a story tomorrow.

DUNK1 wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 3:40 pm Won’t matter who refs the game. Howie got the best player in the league to come back to Racine this season and he also has unbeatable game plan ready for tonight.

DUNK1 wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 4:03 pm

dboy wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 3:55 pm If the refs are not seeing both schools for the first time this year then the school and the assigner failed. Unfortunately, i believe Southern has had a couple of refs on multiple games for them this year so we will see. With that being said, I would still pick Southern right now on a neutral floor with neutral refs. Waterford is too unpredictable at this point but that also makes them pretty dangerous. Hope it is a good game regardless and the officials aren't a story tomorrow.

It’s going to be coaching that wins it not the refs. Howie has them out coached already. If Jeff will just stick to the plan Howie laid out it’ll be an easy win.

SEOsportchamp23 wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 9:24 pm Final
Waterford 47
Southern 52

Refs were awful both ways so that’s not even a factor.

It felt like one of those games where Waterford had the chance but didn’t quite have the rhythm or discipline they showed against River Valley and FF.

The offense definitely got stagnant and one-sided at times. When your PG is getting double teamed and there are wide-open lanes, the ball has to move. Southern basically dared Waterford to make the extra pass, and too often it didn’t happen and the turnovers were forced by bad decision making. Those are back-breakers in a close game like that.

Southern deserves a lot of credit though. They were just more balanced. Brinegar was tough — he doesn’t waste motion and finishes through contact. The matchup with Heiner was fun basketball to watch. skill vs. intensity. Heiner’s motor and physicality are already there, and if his offensive game keeps growing, that matchup next year could be must-see. I think they are both juniors.

Chandler stood out to me too for all the “quiet” reasons. Those guards don’t always pop in the box score, but he controlled tempo and consistently made the right read — which is exactly why Southern’s offense looked steadier when things got tight.

Lang getting pushed inside instead of living on the perimeter definitely made a difference. He did have some good passes tonight to draw the defense away from him and he would get the ball back and make the shot. Those give-and-go actions were some of Waterford’s cleanest looks, and his ability to advance the ball quickly really did force Southern to scramble and switch.

Fairchild and Roberts underneath were workhorses. Roberts especially is such an interesting player to watch: strong, smooth, and still scratching the surface. Waterford needs more intentional touches for him and Fairchild inside - that could pay dividends.

Bottom line: Waterford didn’t play their best, but they weren’t outclassed. Southern was just more composed and more efficient in the moments that mattered. If Waterford cleans up the decision-making and keeps building on what we saw the last couple weeks, they’re absolutely trending the right way.

riddlemejohnny wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 10:44 pm

SEOsportchamp23 wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 9:24 pm Final
Waterford 47
Southern 52

Refs were awful both ways so that’s not even a factor.

It felt like one of those games where Waterford had the chance but didn’t quite have the rhythm or discipline they showed against River Valley and FF.

The offense definitely got stagnant and one-sided at times. When your PG is getting double teamed and there are wide-open lanes, the ball has to move. Southern basically dared Waterford to make the extra pass, and too often it didn’t happen and the turnovers were forced by bad decision making. Those are back-breakers in a close game like that.

Southern deserves a lot of credit though. They were just more balanced. Brinegar was tough — he doesn’t waste motion and finishes through contact. The matchup with Heiner was fun basketball to watch. skill vs. intensity. Heiner’s motor and physicality are already there, and if his offensive game keeps growing, that matchup next year could be must-see. I think they are both juniors.

Chandler stood out to me too for all the “quiet” reasons. Those guards don’t always pop in the box score, but he controlled tempo and consistently made the right read — which is exactly why Southern’s offense looked steadier when things got tight.

Lang getting pushed inside instead of living on the perimeter definitely made a difference. He did have some good passes tonight to draw the defense away from him and he would get the ball back and make the shot. Those give-and-go actions were some of Waterford’s cleanest looks, and his ability to advance the ball quickly really did force Southern to scramble and switch.

Fairchild and Roberts underneath were workhorses. Roberts especially is such an interesting player to watch: strong, smooth, and still scratching the surface. Waterford needs more intentional touches for him and Fairchild inside - that could pay dividends.

Bottom line: Waterford didn’t play their best, but they weren’t outclassed. Southern was just more composed and more efficient in the moments that mattered. If Waterford cleans up the decision-making and keeps building on what we saw the last couple weeks, they’re absolutely trending the right way.

Well said. The game deserved more than what the 3 clowns in stripes offered. I have seen that same crew a few times over the past couple years and have yet to see them ref anything close to a good game. Reffing is in a very poor state imo.

Waterford with some early foul trouble really changed things up for them in quarters 1-3. Their rebounding wasn’t great either, probably the worst I have seen from them in the last 5 games and maybe even further back. I did gather from some parents tonight that they have been battling some illness this week and only had 1 full practice between sickness and snow/ice Wednesday night. Not making excuses but maybe some of why they seemed a little off at times tonight. Southern is a tough team and a tough place to play. Still a good game both ways for the most part.

In total agreement that the bigs have to get more inside touches, the coaches are going to have to start forcing that hand a little more. The 3 bigs don’t fight for position enough. Defensively I thought Lang killed them but I know he was one of the sick ones this week.

Time to get back work! Waterford has a tough couple of weeks coming up!

meatswinger wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 11:30 am

SEOsportchamp23 wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 9:37 am Any thoughts on this?
I know Southern took the first matchup 55-46
But I think Waterford is a different team this time around.
Chandler and Brinegar are playing really good basketball.
And southern is a tough environment to play at.
The Waterford interior is strong and athletic. If they play smart- it could be a real battle. Heiner, Fairchild and Roberts are a strong trio.
Would love to hear some views from both sides.

Come on man. It’s at Southern. Nothing else matters. If those interior players you mentioned or any others are hurting Southern, they’ll soon find themselves sitting in foul trouble. LOL

riddlemejohnny wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 1:04 pm

SEOsportchamp23 wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 12:46 pm

meatswinger wrote: Fri Jan 23, 2026 11:30 am

Come on man. It’s at Southern. Nothing else matters. If those interior players you mentioned or any others are hurting Southern, they’ll soon find themselves sitting in foul trouble. LOL

Well, that wasn't the response I was looking for.

Hopefully there is a great set of Ref's slated for tonight's game because the matchup deserves it in my opinion. Hopefully the game is decided on the floor by the players and not the Ref's. Hopefully both teams are healthy, and it's the barn burner of a game that everyone expects it to be. Waterford holds a sharp edge on the interior. Southern's guard game is probably a little stronger. I would say the atmosphere will be lively, just seen where admission is free for everyone tonight. I know it sounds cliche to say but I really think it comes down to who takes care of the ball better and who stays out of foul trouble. 2 very good ball clubs that have played tough schedules, Waterford probably takes a little bit of an edge on strength of schedule looking down through them both. Regardless, schedules don't matter tonight! Lace them up and see what each team brings!