Middletown Christian v.s. Dayton-Jefferson 1-16-09

Last night my old high school basketball team from Middletown Christian faced off against one of the toughest teams in their conference, Jefferson High School from Dayton. Many people were excited about this game for two reasons: it was a big conference game for both teams and because both teams have two outstanding players. Im talking, of course, about Jefferson's Adreian Payne and Middletown Christian's Kenneth Gaynor.

Both players are fun to watch and both can do an amazing job with the ball. Through out the night the game seemed less like a game between the two teams and more like a game between Gaynor and Payne. Both are among the leading players in their Metro-Buckeye Conference and in the area. The battle between Gaynor and Payne was hard fought but in the end neither was the victor as both players had an astounding team high of 28 points a piece. Both players made some big plays for their teams during the game. Gaynor, who hit his 1,000 point career mark a few games ago, had two shot blocks against Payne along with a couple of steals and some huge rebounds and Payne had two dunks.

The Eagles, who entered the game with a record of 7 wins and 4 losses, stayed with the Broncos most of the game holding the Bronco's lead to two most of the second half. But late in the fourth, with the Broncos up by two, the Eagles made some key turnovers which Jefferson capitalized on. The Eagles ended up losing the game with a final score of Jefferson 65 to the Eagles 52. Lucky for the Eagles they get another shot at the Broncos later in the season. The eagles record moves to 7-5 and the broncos move up to 8-2. The Eagles play again Tuesday night, January 20, away at Summit Country Day.