Van Winkle, looking to revive a program that hasn’t had a winning record since 2006-07, figured he was just one of many Hamilton people wearing a smile after the season opener.
“I think the town loves basketball,” Van Winkle said. “To be honest, that’s why I came here. It means a whole bunch to the community, to the kids and to the town. And when it means a lot to everybody, then obviously as a coach it means a lot.”
A’Shon Riggins (17), Jamil Daniels (16), Ryan Robinson (13) and Adam Robbins (10) were the top scorers for Big Blue in a game that started 79 minutes late (for a variety of freshman and junior varsity reasons) and didn’t end until after 10 p.m.
Daniels converted a three-point play in the closing seconds of the first half to give HHS a 30-29 advantage at the break, then the visitors ran off the first 11 points of the third period.
“We really started playing with energy,” said Daniels, a senior forward. “We knew we should’ve been beating them by more in the first half, so we all talked to each other and started passing the ball around more. We started playing with more team chemistry.”
Buccaneers coach Kent Anderson called two timeouts during Big Blue’s 11-point binge to start the second half. The first came with 6:40 showing after Hamilton opened with two layups and a short jumper. The second came with 5:09 on the clock after Robinson’s basket made it 41-29.
“We’ve just got to be tougher,” Anderson said. “The key to the game was their 6-0 run to start the second half. We’re down 30-29 coming out, we got exactly the backdoor lob we wanted to run, and we didn’t read it right.
“We could’ve taken a one-point lead and changed everything. Instead, we came down and let them get three straight scores. And to be honest with you, seven down, I thought we put our heads down and weren’t tough enough. I give them a lot of credit. They took it to us.”
Van Winkle said his assistants deserve some credit for Big Blue’s play early in the third quarter.
“We came out and got three set plays, and two were dead layups,” Van Winkle said. “It was execution, but it was also our assistant coaches seeing things and writing everything down.”
HHS was never able to extend its lead beyond 17 in the second half. The visitors also never let the margin slip below nine.
“We grew through the game and grew through our scrimmages,” Van Winkle said. “We would get leads early in scrimmages and then not execute very well on offense. Here, we have a 10-point lead and they call a timeout. I told the guys we had to take care of the ball. Keep attacking, but take care of the ball.
“We really grew in that area tonight. We made three or four passes on offense to get better shots and hold the lead.”
Indeed, Big Blue shot 70.6 percent from the field after halftime, 57.9 percent overall. Xenia shot 43.8 percent in the first half, 27.3 percent thereafter.
Losing 6-foot-5 junior Danny Naylor to an apparent broken hand early in the contest certainly didn’t help the Buccaneers, but Anderson didn’t want to use that as an excuse.
“I thought we got the ball inside early against their zone, then we quit attacking the high post,” he said. “We settled for passing around the perimter and jacking up threes, and when we did get it inside, we weren’t physical enough at the rim.
“Hamilton is much, much improved from where they were last year. Defensively, they’re way better. They’re much more together in terms of what they’re doing. They’re going to win a lot of ballgames.”
Hamilton ruled the glass 37-29, getting seven rebounds apiece from Riggins, Daniels and the 5-9 Robinson.
“Ryan Robinson averaged about 1.5 rebounds a game last year,” Van Winkle said. “When I say he’s expanded his game, that’s what I’m talking about. He’s not afraid to get to the rim. He’s not afraid to get in there and get rebounds. He’s become a really good all-around player.”
It was the first action for Daniels in nearly a year as he was ineligible for the last 13 games of his junior campaign. He had 17 points and eight caroms in last year’s 61-49 loss to Xenia.
On Friday, the 6-3, 185-pound Daniels was 6 of 9 from the floor and blocked three shots.
“I have to work hard on and off the court,” he said. “I have to do a little bit of everything for the team. I can be a big man and a guard. I’m a stretch forward. I can guard. I can rebound. And I can get the ball to my teammates.”
Daniels said the feeling within the squad is that Big Blue can contend for the Greater Miami Conference championship.
“If we keep playing like this, we’ll win a lot of games,” he said.
HHS was 4 of 12 beyond the arc, 1 of 3 after halftime. Van Winkle liked the fact that his players stopped launching treys and focused on working for better shots.
Sophomore Eric Jackson contributed four points, five assists, two boards and two steals in more than 20 minutes of action. Riggins had four assists, three steals and two blocks.
“We’re not surprised,” Van Winkle said. “We feel like we’ve got a decent team. We feel like we can win the league.
“I was a little nervous with the unknown tonight, but we’ve got guys that have a little bit of experience at 7:30 on Friday night. Xenia didn’t have as much experience as we did. That really helps.”
Ray James tallied 14 points and Rocky James added 10 for the Buccaneers. Jevon Johnson grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and tossed in eight points.
Both teams are back in action Saturday night. Hamilton hosts La Salle, while Xenia travels to Beavercreek.
Hamilton 10-20-19-15—64
Xenia 17-12-9-15—53
HAMILTON (1-0): A’Shon Riggins 5 6 17; Ryan Robinson 4 3 13; Adam Robbins 4 1 10; Jamil Daniels 6 4 16; Eric Jackson 2 0 4; Brooks Robinson 1 2 4. Totals: 22-16-64.
XENIA (0-1): Brent Bauer 2 3 7; Rocky James 4 1 10; Ryan Johnson 3 0 6; Jevon Johnson 4 0 8; Ray James 6 0 14; Joey Anderson 1 0 2; Andrew Roach 3 0 6. Totals: 23-4-53.
3-pters: H 4 (R. Robinson 2, Riggins, Robbins); X 3 (Ray James 2, Rocky James)
About the Author