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By Eric Hickey, Contributing Writer 1:12 AM Saturday, February 11, 2012

NEW MIAMI — The task for the New Miami High School boys basketball team Friday night was daunting — facing a Cincinnati Christian squad which beat the Vikings by 46 points one month ago.

And while the Cougars speed and athleticism proved superior once again, New Miami showed the heart and effort coach Grady Morris said will be the backbone of the program.

Ryan Arington paced all scorers with 20 points, including three rim rattling break-away dunks, while David Jeffries added 17 as the Cougars prevailed 72-49 on a night New Miami welcomed standouts Kevin Lakes and John Philpot to their Hall of Fame.

“Cincinnati Christian is really good and they throw a lot of bodies at you,” Morris said. “We basically tried to answer with six players, but my God, did my kids play hard. Every team we play is bigger and stronger but I tell the boys nobody has a bigger heart. I think tonight we showed our heart.”

Cincinnati Christian used a half-court press to force 28 New Miami turnovers, many leading to baskets to open up a 41-26 halftime lead.

New Miami opened the third using hustle plays, and a box-and-one defense on Arington, to cut the lead to 44-36 but CCS closed the stanza on a 8-0 run to regain control.

“I have never seen a box-and-one from a team down 15 and that threw us off,” CCS coach Danny Celenza said. “We just needed to execute. We made some adjustments, knocked down some shots and pulled away.”

Steven Rogers paced the Vikings with 16 points, — eight of which came in the third — while Austin Morgan added 11 points.

“We are improving,” Morris said of the Vikings, who fell to 1-17, 0-9 in the Miami Valley Conference. “The biggest thing we have to change is the attitude. We are using a lot of freshman and sophomores while the seniors are helping us improve.”

Kollin Thomas and Jordan Eiras each added 11 points apiece for the Cougars, who improved to 11-7, 8-4 MVC. Celenza said Arington is just six points shy of 1,000 for his career, a mark he can attain tonight when CCS hosts Xenia Christian.

Nick Hayes pulled down 13 rebounds and Greg Goins added eight points and nine caroms for New Miami, which hosts Seven Hills next Friday.

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