Big Blue season ended by athletic Falcons

Merz scores a team-high 15 points for HHS in final prep game, but it’s not enough in D-I sectional.

Hamilton's Corey Wise (left) drives past Aiken's Nick McCoy as he brings the ball up court during the first quarter of a boys Division I sectional game at Fifth Third Arena on Wednesday, March 3. Big Blue fell 81-59. Contributed photo by David A. Moodie

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By Jay Morrison, Staff Writer Updated 8:18 AM Thursday, March 4, 2010

CINCINNATI — The Hamilton High School boys basketball team’s season came to a decisive end Wednesday night, March 3, in a Division I sectional semifinal contest.

Big Blue had no answers defensively for an athletic Aiken squad that seemed to score at will on the way to an 81-59 victory at the University of Cincinnati’s Fifth Third Arena.

“They’re up there with the best we’ve played athletic-wise,” Hamilton coach Tim Robinson said of the Falcons. “They shot the ball very well. We knew they had a couple of good shooters, but in our zone we just couldn’t get out to them fast enough.”

The 81 points were the most Big Blue allowed all season. Hamilton finished the year 6-16, while Aiken improved to 14-7 and advanced to an 8 p.m. sectional championship game against Moeller.

“We were scared to death of them slashing to the basket because they are so athletic,” Robinson said. “You have to give them credit, because they made a lot of shots.”

The Falcons shot 53 percent from the floor, with Aaron Thomas leading the way with 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Nick McCoy added 14 points by making 6-of-10 shots, and Romnel Hicks hit 5-of-8 from the floor for 13 points.

Hamilton, meanwhile, struggled from the 3-point line, making just 4-of-18 (22 percent) and only 19-of-58 shots (33 percent) overall.

“They did a good job of pushing us out on our 3s,” Robinson said. “We weren’t shooting at the line because they were pressuring us, so instead of shooting 20-footers we’re shooting 24- and 25-footers.”

Senior Robert Merz led Hamilton with 15 points in his final prep game, and senior Jake Turner also capped his career with a double-digit effort, scoring 10 points.

Casey Taylor, Sam Bachmann and Jordan Evans also played their final games for Big Blue.

“We’ve been together for so long, these guys are like family now,” Merz said. “We had losing seasons, but we had a lot of positives. Nobody quit on us, we all stayed together as a team.”

Added Turner, “It hurts to end it on a loss, but I’m never gonna forget about these two years I played on varsity. These are the best memories I’ll have from high school.”

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