Photos by Steven Wright | Greene County News
Beavercreek head coach Isaiah Williams and his bench get excited in the closing minute of Sunday’s 86-76 win against Cincinnati Woodward at the Beacon Orthopedics Flyin’ To The Hoop showcase at Trent Arena in Kettering.
It was a showcase of athleticism as Beavercreek’s Kaden Ellerbe (12) and Isaiah-Michael Williams (22) slammed home numerous dunks during Sunday’s game.
Beavercreek junior Isaiah-Michael Williams (22) fights through defenders to score two of his game-high 28 points against Woodward.
Scanning for room in the corner is Beavercreek senior Lance Caswell (24).
Beavercreek senior Liam Gluck fires off a shot as part of his 20 points scored against Woodward.
KETTERING — Beavercreek’s toughest test of a busy week came at the end of it and they saved their best performance for last.
Three players for the Beavers scored over 20 points and lit up the crowd at the Beacon Orthopedics Flyin’ To The Hoop showcase with numerous dunks as Beavercreek pulled out an 86-76 win on Sunday against Cincinnati Woodward at Trent Arena in Kettering.
“Guys are really dialing in and getting focused about what we want to do,” Beavercreek head coach Isaiah Williams said. “And the emphasis here today was do what we’ve been coached to do. Don’t let the moment overtake you when you do things uncharacteristic of yourself because you want to make a highlight. Be who we are and it all will work itself out.”
Isaiah-Michael Williams put up 28 points and led the team in scoring during its fourth quarter push to the win. Kaden Ellerbe had 24 points, including an exclamation point dunk in the final seconds, and Liam Gluck scored 20.
Ellerbe, Gluck and Williams combined to be 28-for-32 from the field.
Beavercreek (10-2) shot an outstanding 75 percent from the floor as a team. The Beavers got many easy looks close to the basket via breaking the full court pressure applied by the Bulldogs in addition to creating opportunities driving to the basket from the perimeter.
“Our chemistry is great,” Ellerbe said. “We try to give each other the best shots that we can and that’s what happened tonight. We got three of us over 20 points and that’s the best.”
Beavercreek jumped out to a 19-6 lead in the opening quarter before encountering its first struggle against Woodward’s pressure.
After the Bulldogs tied the game at 32 midway near halftime, Beavercreek got back in gear and executed a 9-2 run which was capped by a three from Gluck in the corner to head into the break with a seven-point advantage.
Woodward eventually grabbed its first lead midway through the third and grew it by as much as four on two occasions, but Beavercreek immediately battled back each time.
Ru Mills, a second-team all state player a season ago, led Woodward with 25 points. Donte Ferrell helped the Bulldogs with 21 points on 5 of 10 shooting from three.
Lance Caswell as part of his 10-point game had a pair of threes during the third quarter, including a crucial one as the buzzer sounded, which helped stop Woodward’s run and put the Beavers back in the lead heading to the fourth.
Still a one-point game with three minutes left, all of Beavercreek’s key contributors helped push them ahead in the closing stretch to secure the win and solidify their spot amongst the best teams in the state.
“It felt great because it’s always been like a dream to play well at Flyin’ To The Hoop and just to win with all the people and all the fans here,” Isaiah-Michael Williams said.
Beavercreek has maintained the No. 1 ranking in the MaxPreps Ratings Percentage Index for Division I schools in Southwest Ohio since its unveiling on Tuesday and Sunday’s win will help solidify that spot for the time being. The Beavers also appeared in the Ohio AP state poll rankings released on Monday at No. 10.
“We’re playing our best basketball that the school has probably played in a long time,” Isaiah-Michael Williams said. “Just because we band together, we practice hard and we get the job done.”
Beavercreek players all spoke about putting the team before anything else and that policy has been on display more than during the game again Woodward.
After losing a close game at state ranked Kettering Alter to begin the week, Beavercreek rebounded with a blowout win over Springboro before showing out against Woodward.
The rigors of the schedule won’t get much easier with rematches against the GWOC, including its only loss against Centerville, highlights its second half.
Ellerbe said the team has been motivated by wanting to show it’s a different group than previous years, such as last season’s 11-12 campaign, and Sunday was the biggest indicator that this year’s Beavercreek team is up for any challenge.
“We are excited but yet focused because we got to play again on Tuesday,” Isaiah Williams said. “We were excited about this opportunity and I’m so happy for our guys and for our coaches and just for Beavercreek.”
Contact Steven Wright at 937-502-4498 and follow on X (formerly Twitter) @Steven_Wright_.
