Richland County Boys Basketball Power Poll: Lexington remains No. 1, but teams sneaking up
MANSFIELD — The Richland County Boys Basketball Power Poll has never been this crazy.
The top six teams all have one or fewer losses and No. 7 only has two losses. There are eight teams with .500 records or better and everyone seems to be picking up signature wins on a nightly basis.
Just a reminder, which is hopefully common sense, but the Richland County Boys Basketball Power Poll is not about which team can beat which team. When dealing with Divisions II-IV, that simply wouldn't be fair. Instead, this is a ranking of who is having the best season at this point in time, as it has been since the inception of the power poll five years ago. Hopefully, that can clear some things up.
Now that that is over with, let's get back to having some fun with this week's power poll.
1. Lexington (6-0)
Winter Storm Elliott did a number on Lexington's schedule last week and even into this week, spoiling the Minutemen's Christmas. Their game against Mansfield Senior last week was postponed to Feb. 17, the final game of the season for both teams, which should be one heck of a battle with the Ohio Cardinal Conference title likely on the line. Then, they had their game with Ontario on Tuesday postponed to Jan. 10 because of frozen pipes at Ontario. It was two huge opportunities for the Minutemen to possibly pad their lead in the power poll. They will just have to wait until Friday when they travel to Mount Vernon for their first game since Dec. 17.
2. Crestview (7-0)
The Cougars remain at No. 2 as the only other undefeated team in Richland County after knocking off a very, very good Colonel Crawford team 56-54 last week behind a balanced offensive attack. Heath Kash led the way with 17 points, Sam Wells had 14, Justice Thompson added 12 and Jarek Ringler scored 11 to go with eight rebounds. The most surprising thing was the Cougars did it without their big man in the middle, Owen Barker, who was busy playing in the All-American football game in Dallas that night. The Cougars have it all and could surprise some people this year as they look for their first district championship since 1965.
3. Shelby (7-1)
The Whippets make the jump up to No. 3 this week after possibly two of the most impressive victories of year for any Richland County team. First, they knocked off Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference foe River Valley 70-56 in a game that likely featured the two favorites to win the league title as Shelby now owns the outright lead. Issaiah Ramsey had a huge game with 20 points on 10-of-10 shooting while also locking up RV's Carson Smith on defense in the second half. Alex Bruskotter led all scorers with 22 points while adding seven assists and six rebounds. Then, Shelby followed that up with a hard-fought 60-56 overtime win over Linsly, a boarding school in Wheeling, West Virginia, that plays 30 games a year, at the Mount Vernon Nazarene University Holiday Showcase. Now, the Whippets have a huge opportunity to make a case for No. 1 with Mansfield Senior coming to town on Wednesday before heading into the New Year break.
4. Mansfield Christian (7-1)
The Flames are off to their best start in 32 years with a 56-50 win over Cardington on Tuesday night at the Highland Holiday Invite. 7-1 is their best start since the 1990-91 season when they started 8-1 en route to a 20-3 season under legendary coach Keith Clark. Amarr Davis had 20 points in the win over Cardington while Griffin Barker added 14. Davis is just 15 points away from 1,000 for his career and can likely get it on Wednesday against Horizon Science Academy back at Highland. With the way the Flames are playing right now, it could be a tight race to the Mid-Buckeye Conference championship as well as a possible run to the district tournament.
5. Mansfield Senior (6-1)
The Tygers roll in at No. 5 this week thanks to two very impressive wins since the last power poll. First, they started off with a huge defensive effort in a 40-29 win over New Philadelphia to remain undefeated in OCC play. Karion Lindsay and Elias Owens led the way in that one with 11 points apiece while Kyevi Roane had eight. Then, the Tygers strolled to Harvest Prep for the Holiday Hoop Fest and beat Toledo Scott 48-43 on Tuesday behind Owens, who was named the game's MVP with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Nathaniel Haney added 13 points and Roane had nine. The balance of the Tygers is very impressive as they are out to their best start under Marquis Sykes since 2018-19, when they opened 9-1. The Tygers have two huge games this week with road trips to Shelby and Madison. Two wins there might just help them leapfrog everyone and into the No. 1 spot.
6. Ontario (5-1)
The Warriors bump up to No. 6 this week after a 56-45 win over Pleasant in MOAC action in their only game since the last power poll. Gage Weaver had a huge game with 24 points while Brady Zehe added 10 and Landon Foltz collected eight. The Warriors are looking strong to start the year and are right in the thick of things in the MOAC title race. They travel to Madison this week as Tim Mergel returns for his first game back at his old school in what looks like an instant classic.
7. Lucas (6-2)
The Cubs drop to No. 7 this week after going 0-2 since the last power poll. They took a 66-55 loss to Fredericktown and a 52-45 loss to Proctorville Fairland at the Mount Vernon Nazarene University Holiday Showcase last week. Andrew Smollen had a nice game against Fredericktown with 16 points while Corbin Toms added 14 and Josh Burtscher added 12, so the Cubs showed plenty of balance but were without leading scorer Logan Toms in that one. Lucas has a chance to get healthy this week as it is off until Jan. 2, when the Cubs travel to Harvest Prep for a New Year's bash with Minster.
8. Madison (4-4)
The Rams pulled back to .500 with a nice 59-54 win over Mount Vernon last week as they had one of their most balanced offensive efforts of the season. Seven Allen had 19 points while Owen Wigton had a breakout game with 16 and Jayden Jeffries had 15. After dropping four straight, the Rams are back to their winning ways with two in a row and they hope to make it four this week with games against Ontario and Mansfield Senior. The Rams could completely break the power poll rankings with two wins.
9. Clear Fork (2-6)
The Colts nearly picked up a momentum-building MOAC win over Marion Harding but ultimately fell 59-50 in their only game since the last power poll. Adam Vanausdle had 11 points for the Colts in a balanced effort, but Harding was simply too much. They hope to start winning some games this week with trips to Fredericktown and Northmor on the agenda.
10. St. Peter's (1-9)
The Spartans had one of their toughest offensive performances against Central Christian last week, falling 60-15 against that 2-3 zone. The Spartans have a golden opportunity to take a breath and get healthy before hosting Plymouth on Jan. 3.
11. Plymouth (1-7)
The Big Red fell 69-45 to Wynford in their only game since the last power poll to make them 1-7, matching the 2020-21 season's start. They will try to snap out of it on Thursday at St. Paul.
Last Week's Rankings
Lexington
Lucas
Crestview
Mansfield Christian
Shelby
Mansfield Senior
Ontario
Madison
Clear Fork
St. Peter's
Plymouth
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Richland County Boys Basketball Power Poll: Lexington Minutemen No. 1
