Despite losing first-team all-GMC pick Nate Johnson – who finished fifth in the conference in scoring, third in steals and first in assists – to graduation, the balanced Thunderhawks went into Saturday’s game at Colerain in third place, a half-game behind co-leaders Sycamore and Fairfield.
They have a chance to match last season’s overall win total, which included a first-round tournament win. Their only Ohio losses have been two to Sycamore and one in their only game against Fairfield.
Lakota East coach Clint Adkins isn’t sure what that says to the coaches who will gather at Lakota West on Sunday afternoon to complete the tournament draw process.
“The coaches do their homework,” Adkins said before Saturday afternoon’s GMC game at Colerain, an 86-31 win over the Cardinals. “They know our program and what we’ve accomplished. There’s a lot of parity in Greater Cincinnati.”
Lakota East (14-4, 11-3) had just two players ranked among the GMC’s top five players in any of the six listed categories going into the weekend. Senior Charlie Kenrich, a 6-foot-3 forward, was second with an average of 7.2 rebounds per game and fourth with a 58.4 field goal percentage, while 5-10 freshman guard Trey Perry ranked fifth with a 57.8 field goal percentage.
Only two Thunderhawks, both second-team all-conference picks last season, were averaging double figures in points. Junior Jack Kronauge, a 6-2 guard, led the team with an average of 11.7 points per game. Senior Kobe Peck, a 5-11 guard, was right behind at 11.1 points per game, yet Lakota East was leading the GMC with an average of 68.1 points per game, a 49.8 field goal percentage, a 40.3 3-point percentage and 263 assists.
“It’s a group of guys who are willing to share the ball and don’t care about who scores,” Adkins said. “If you check the statistics, I think we lead the league in assists. That’s important to us every year.”
“I like our balance,” Peck said. “Everybody can score. There’s no ‘Me, me, me.’
At the other end of the court, the Lakota East defense – relying on relentless, full-court pressure – was limiting opponents to an average of 40.8 points and a 27.0 3-point percentage, both second best among GMC teams.
Kronauge scored 15 points in the first five minutes and set career highs with six 3-pointers on six tries and 27 points in Saturday’s win at Colerain. The entire second half was played with a running clock as Lakota East forced 26 turnovers. The winning margin was the Thunderhawks’ widest of the season by 10 points.
Saturday’s game originally was scheduled for Friday before being postponed due to the weather. The Thunderhawks originally were scheduled to play a non-conference game against Lima Senior at Ottawa-Glandorf High School at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday. That game was at least postponed and might be cancelled, according to Lakota East athletic director Richard Bryant.
“Cancelling for now, unless we can pick them up later,” Bryant said in an email. “We will need to see our (tournament) draw before we do that.”
Lakota East (13-4, 10-3) won back-to-back GMC championships before finishing second last season behind Fairfield, were coming off an 83-70 win over Princeton – their fourth win in the last five games. The Thunderhawks have won three outright championships and shared two titles.
The Thunderhawks, Sycamore and Fairfield all were scheduled to wrap up league play against teams in the lower half of the standings. After Colerain, Lakota East was due to play at Mason on Tuesday and at home against Hamilton on Friday. Fairfield’s schedule included a home game against Oak Hills, postponed from Friday to Saturday, as well as away games at Hamilton and Middletown and the regular-season finale at home against Colerain.
Sycamore was due to play at Mason on Friday before that game was postponed to Saturday. The Aviators have home games scheduled against Hamilton and Middletown and face the possibility of playing at Hamilton in a game that already has been postponed twice. It will be played only if needed to sort out the conference championship puzzle.
The Thunderhawks aren’t worried about the GMC.
“In order for us to win, Fairfield and Sycamore would have to lose,” Adkins said. “We’ll just worry about playing our game.”
According to Peck, the players are motivated more by last-season’s second-round sectional loss to La Salle than finishing second in the GMC.
“We talk about it at every practice and every game,” Peck said.
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