VANDALIA – On a cold, blustery night in West Central Ohio, Vandalia-Butler’s Aviators remained undefeated with a Miami Valley League win over the visiting Greenville Green Wave by a score of 55-30. In a game played in front of a sparse gathering of approximately 350 spectators, both teams, like most of the fans, seemed to want to be in front of a fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate rather than on the hardwood of the Student Activity Center.
Butler jumped out to a quick 11-2 lead before the Wave scored their first field goal at the 2:48 mark of the opening period. Employing a man-to-man defense with trapping tendencies in both the half-court and full-court, along with a strong inside game offensively led by 6’4” junior post Julius Rusk, the Aviators rolled to a 27-9 advantage before a Greenville timeout with 3:13 remaining in the first half. While the Wave struggled on the offensive end of the floor, converting only 4 of 18 field goal attempts in the first half (0 for 7 from beyond the arc) and turning the ball over 15 times, Butler was able to work the ball into the paint for some easy baskets, all while making 9 of 13 foul shots on their way to a 33-11 halftime lead.
The second half saw more of the same as Vandalia outscored the Wave 17-6 in the third stanza and ended any hopes of a Greenville comeback. Enjoying a 50-17 lead, Butler emptied the bench and coasted to the final 55-30 margin as their record improved to 11-0 in MVL action and 12-0 overall. The Green Wave played their third straight away game against the cream of the crop in the MVL, having previously lost last week to Sidney (9-2, 10-2 overall) and Tippecanoe (9-1, 10-2). With the loss, Coach Matt Hamilton’s squad falls to 1-10 in league action and 1-12 overall.
Rusk led the Aviators with 9 points and 11 rebounds, while Charlie Neely added 10 points and Troy Fletcher 9. Butler finished 19 of 55 from the floor (4 of 13 from three-point range) while netting 13 of 18 free throws. Drew Hamilton with 11 points and David Conway with seven paced the Green and White, who were 10 of 36 from the field (making only 1 of 15 attempts from three-point land) while converting 9 of 11 foul shots, mostly in the last few minutes of the game. The battle of the boards was won by Butler 32-23 as the Wave once again were plagued by the turnover bug as they were guilty of 26 miscues denying them more looks at the basket.
Butler next plays Friday night at Fairborn before returning to the SAC for a Saturday matchup with neighborhood rival Northmont. Two big contests loom for the Aviators as they vie for a Miami Division title, a home game against Sidney on January 31st, and a regular season-ending visit to Tipp on February 14th. Greenville finds the schedule easing a bit as they host Troy Friday evening and travel to Xenia next week on the 21st.