CENTERVILLE – Basketball skills, athleticism, defense, and team concept were all on display Tuesday night at the Centerville High School gymnasium as the Trotwood-Madison Rams overwhelmed the Greenville Green Wave in the opening round of Division III tournament action by a 92-34 count.
The Rams, who have mainly been under the radar of most area fans this year due to not having a conference affiliation, were coming off a win over an unbeaten Cincinnati Aiken team and showed why they were the number-one seed in the district.
Greenville, which was seeking its first tournament win since 2016, took a 2-0 lead before the opening tip as a result of a Trotwood-Madison technical foul incurred during warmups. The Rams quickly overcame that deficit, going on a 20-2 run in over the next five and a half minutes, taking a 25-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. Junior guard Daveon Arnold poured in many of his 24 first half points to pace the attack, and 6’8″ senior Jermiel Atkins, a University Kentucky football recruit, dominated the paint as the Rams left no doubt as to the eventual outcome of the game.
The Wave’s zone defense struggled to contain the combination of inside and outside games at T-M, eventually stretching the margin to 53-21 at the half. Greenville committed 12 turnovers as the Rams’ full-court pressure took its toll on the Green and White, while Trotwood converted 21 of 37 shots from the field, including 8-17 from three-point range.
A running clock came into play at the 7:40 mark of the third quarter as the Rams opened up a 35-point lead and steadily pulled further ahead by making 13 of 16 field goals in the period, including a stretch of ten baskets in a row, while the Wave were shut out from the field in the stanza.
For the night, Arnold finished with 27 points to pace a multi-faceted Rams attack. Greenville was led by senior Layne Hocker with 8 points, while senior Drew Hamilton and junior Johnny Barr added 7 each.
In advancing 20 21-2 on the season, Trotwood-Madison unofficially went 37 of 60 from the floor and 9 of 14 from the charity stripe. The Rams move on to face Piqua next Tuesday in second-round play at Centerville.
Greenville concludes the season with a 2-21 mark and loses seven seniors to graduation. The Wave converted 11 of 40 shots from the field, 8 of 11 from the foul line, and were charged with 24 turnovers.
In the earlier game, West Carrollton’s Pirates held off the Arrows of Tecumseh in overtime 63-58 and will next meet Bellbrook, also at Centerville, next Tuesday.
