Boys Basketball: Grove City Christian Eagles find success with new strategy
With no seniors on the roster and his tallest player being 6-foot-2, Grove City Christian boys basketball coach Chris Timlin realized his team would face challenges this season.
The Eagles responded by using aggressive defense and strong perimeter shooting to get out to a solid start. They were 5-3 overall and 4-1 in the MSL-Cardinal Division before playing Berne Union on Jan. 7.
“Normally, we prioritize transition offense, full-court defense and a trapping mentality the first three to four weeks of the season,” Timlin said. “This year’s roster does not support our normal philosophy. We do not have the depth or experience necessary to play that style. This season, our focus has been on physicality, half-court defense and mental toughness.
“The kids beat one another up pretty good in November. I have been extremely pleased with our effort on the glass considering our lack of size.”
Two of the losses were by one point, as the Eagles fell to Howard East Knox 50-49 in overtime Dec. 30 and Wellington 44-43 on Jan. 4.
“The start definitely gives us confidence, but we just have to execute better,” sophomore guard Seth Vaughn said. “We can’t have tough losses by one like this ever again. It stinks.”
Wellington, currently a member of the MSL-Ohio, will join the MSL-Cardinal beginning with the 2022-23 school year.
The Eagles’ other loss through eight games was a 90-54 setback against Harvest Prep on Dec. 14. The Warriors have won eight consecutive league championships, including sharing the title with Grove City Christian in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.
The Eagles’ perimeter game has been led by Vaughn, who matched a single-game program record for 3-pointers with eight in a 68-64 win over Fairfield Christian on Dec. 23. He finished with a season-high 28 points. Will Lucas also hit eight 3s in a game in December 2020. He has since transferred to Grove City, but is not playing basketball for the Greyhounds.
“I was just thinking about winning,” Vaughn said. “I totally forgot about the record. We started off hot and then they came back, so I just had to hit a couple more 3s. We hit big shots at the end.”
Timlin believes Vaughn has unlimited potential.
“He’s a very good shooter,” Timlin said. “He’s only a sophomore. As he continues to produce – as long as he stays healthy – he’s going to rewrite some records here when it comes to 3-point shooting at Grove City Christian. He’s off to a great start.”
Tristan Taylor, a 2015 graduate, had held the previous program record of seven 3s since the 2014-15 season. He is the brother of junior Braydan Taylor, who is the tallest player on the team at 6-2.
Vaughn is the brother of Derek Vaughn, a 2013 graduate and former player in the program. As a senior, Derek averaged a team-high 17 points and was first-team all-MOCAL and honorable mention all-district.
“When my brother was in high school, he was a really good shooter, too,” Vaughn said.
The Vaughns live in the Teays Valley school district, about 20 miles from Grove City Christian.
Through eight games, Taylor was averaging a team-high 18.6 points, followed by Vaughn (15.2) and Caleb Ransom (14.5). Ransom (8.5) and Taylor (7.8) led in rebounding.
“That’s one of the things that makes the group special,” Timlin said of the balanced scoring. “You never know whose night it’s going to be. We’re really hoping that we can find that fourth scorer. That’s going to be the key moving forward.
“We are a scrappy bunch of young players right now. Our rebounding statistics through eight games are proof of this. We have plenty of guys 6 feet or smaller getting the job done.”
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@ThisWeekFrank
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Boys Basketball: Grove City Christian finds success with new strategy
