Five Takeaways: West Clermont at Withrow
On a cold Friday night in Hyde Park, the Withrow Tigers were able to withstand a 4th quarter run by West Clermont to hold on for a 53-50 victory. This was a nip and tuck contest that never really saw either team take a comfortable lead. Tied 38-38 after three quarters, the Tigers won the last frame 15-12 to secure the victory. Junior C Abba Lawal (PHO #11) lead Withrow with 15 points and 11 rebounds, his 2nd double-double of the season. Senior point man Timmy Cottingham chipped in 10 points and 5 assists for the Tigers. Senior G Jay Tiemeyer lead the Wolves with 20 points and 9 rebounds for the Wolves while junior forward John Aicholtz helped with 15 points for the West Clermont. Let’s look at the Five Takeaways from the action on Friday.
Five Takeaways: West Clermont at Withrow:
- The absence of Jackson Ames (PHO #26/2020) was very noticeable for the Wolves. West Clermont was dominated on the boards 46-22 and Ames size (6’10) would have helped in this area. Also, it would of gave someone to contend with the size of Lawal (6’11) for Withrow.
- Speaking of Ames, and I was able to speak with him for a couple of minutes after the game. His right leg injury is a sprain and not a break as first diagnosed. While I was not able to confirm the area of the injury specifically, he did state that he expects to be back a few weeks before playoff time. If he can recover in time, the Wolves could be a tough out come late February/early March.
- You know I like to give to underclassmen who perform well, so for this article we give love to Tigers G Niles Whatley (c/o 2020). While his stats for the game may not stand out (6pts, 4rebs, 2 ast), it was his energy and hustle that were key for Coach Shaun O’Connell. Whatley gave the team energy while also competing hard on the defensive end against the before mentioned Jay Tiemeyer. While Tiemeyer did still end up with 20 points, Niles made Jay work for his buckets when they were matched up with each other.
- This win by Withrow keeps them in a tie for second place with Milford in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference. If the Tigers hope to overtake Milford and Walnut Hills for the conference title, they must get more consistent perimeter play. That means senior Timmy Cottingham and junior Mike Hill Jr. must start to score the ball consistently.
- While in a loss, the performance of Tiemeyer must be mentioned. The senior showed he can score from all three levels in route to a 20-point evening; He was 6-14 from the field, which included 3-7 from three and 5-8 from the line.
****Stats provided by Eastern Cincinnati Conference website