GREENVILLE – Sophomore Michael McMahon hit a three-point shot from the right wing with seventeen seconds showing on the clock to lift the Greenville Green Wave to their first win of the season, as they defeated the Xenia Buccaneers 47-46 in Miami Valley League play. In a game that saw numerous lead changes through the fourth quarter clutch foul shooting by the Wave proved to be the difference in a hotly contested game.
Xenia came out firing in the opening stanza, hitting 7 of 12 from the floor, including two from beyond the arc. The Wave’s senior guard Liam Jasenski countered with two of his own from long distance and a layup by senior Owen McGreevey at the buzzer cut the Bucs lead to 20-11 at the end of one quarter.
McGreevey’s basket was the start of a 23-4 run by Coach Matt Hamilton’s crew as they went into the locker room with a 28-24 advantage that eventually grew to 32-24 with 6:19 remaining in the third quarter. Jasenski’s eleven first-half points were a major factor in the Wave’s surge, while Xenia went cold, hitting only 4 of 24 shots in the middle two quarters due in no small part to aggressive Greenville defense. Xenia finally put together a small 6-0 run to get back in the game late in the third period.
With the Wave clinging to a 34-33 margin after three, the fireworks began that kept a good-sized crowd on the edge of their seats until the final buzzer. Sophomore Isaac Kerg converted two foul shots at the 2:45 mark, the first of a stretch that saw the Green and White make seven of eight from the charity stripe to finish the game. After the Buccaneers’ Gavin McManus drilled a three from the left corner to give his team a 40-39 lead with 2:30 remaining, the Wave’s Johnny Barr canned two free throws to put the Wave back in front at 41-40 with 2:14 left.
Drew Hamilton made one of two from the foul line with 1:45 showing to increase the lead to 42-40. After Xenia regained the lead at 43-42 on a three by Cayden Jenkins, Jasenski put the Wave back in front 44-43 by making two more foul shots with 1:14 on the clock. McManus responded by making one of two technical foul shots to tie the game at 44 before teammate Cristian Corbett converted one of two to give Xenia its last lead of the game at 45-44 at the 28.7 seconds mark.
Following a Wave timeout with 20 seconds remaining, McMahon came through with his huge three-point conversion to make it 47-45 with :17 showing. A foul on an attempted shot by Corbett put the Bucs’ junior guard on the line with four seconds left in regulation. He made the first in front of a boisterous Wave Stage Crew before missing the potential game-tying toss with the ball going out of bounds off of a Xenia player with only two seconds remaining. A Wave in-bounds pass ended the game and the home team had its first victory of the young season.
The Wave played scrappy ball the entire contest and were able to overcome, making only five field goals in the second half by cashing in from the foul line in the fourth period while holding Xenia to only eight field goals in the last three quarters.
Unofficially for the game, the Wave were 14 of 35 from the floor and 14 for 22 from the line, while Xenia was 15 of 49 from the field and 12 of 20 from the charity stripe. From three-point land, GHS made 5 of 9, and the Bucs only 4 of 18. Rebounds between the two teams were basically even, with Xenia holding a 20-19 edge while the Wave had 22 turnovers to the Bucs 13.
Jasenski led the Wave attack with 13 points, while McMahon finished with 10, including the game-winner. Jenkins paced Xenia with 11, with McManus and Henry adding seven each. Greenville goes to 1-4 overall, 1-3 in the MVL, and next travels to Stebbins on Tuesday before returning home Friday to face West Carrollton. Xenia remains winless at 0-4, 0-3 in league play, and ventures to Troy on Tuesday before hosting Butler on Friday.
