College Insider: Locals part of Taylor’s strong season on hardwood

The Taylor University men’s basketball program is on the rise, thanks in large part to a strong local influence.

The Trojans are coached by Josh Andrews, a Hamilton High School graduate who was also the head coach at Middletown, and their record has improved in all four of his seasons at the helm.

Taylor went 11-19 in 2013-14, 13-17 in 2014-15 and 14-17 in 2015-16. The squad is 18-10 overall and 9-7 in the Crossroads League this year.

Sophomore guard Evan Crowe (Franklin) is the Trojans’ leading rebounder (6.1) and No. 2 scorer (13.2). He’s made 26 starts and has converted 69 treys, shooting 40.1 percent from beyond the arc, 41 percent from the field and 83.3 percent from the line.

Junior guard Tim Fleming (Fairfield) has started every game and is averaging 3.7 points, a team-leading 3.7 assists and 2.5 boards per contest.

Freshman guard Ryan Robinson (Hamilton) is contributing 7.9 points and 2.4 assists per game off the bench. He’s shooting 73.2 percent from the charity stripe.

The Trojans will visit Huntington (Ind.) on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

• Junior post Chris Sloneker (Monroe) is averaging 1.4 points and 1.6 rebounds per game coming off the bench for Wittenberg, which is 17-6 overall and 11-5 in the North Coast Athletic Conference.

Sloneker is also shooting 55.6 percent from the field for the Tigers, who will host Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

Men's swimming: Junior Bradford Johnson (St. Xavier) of Middletown registered three top-four finishes for Wright State in a 153-103 dual loss at Ohio State on Feb. 3.

Johnson was first in the 200 freestyle relay (1:25.98), third in the 100 breaststroke (58.33) and fourth in the 100 free (48.79).

The Raiders will travel to Chicago for the Horizon League Championships on Feb. 22-25.

Women's basketball: Sophomore forward Darby Glaab (Talawanda) has started two games for Air Force, which is 3-19 overall and 1-11 in the Mountain West Conference.

Glaab is averaging 1.4 points and 1.5 rebounds per game while shooting 85.7 percent from the foul line.

The Falcons will play on the road against Nevada on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m.

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