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Middletown took back control of first place in the Greater Miami Conference standings after it defeated Lakota East on the road by the score of 45-35 Tuesday. The Middies, who began the day tied with Mason, received some help when Princeton (10-3 overall, 5-3 in the GMC) upset Mason (12-2 overall, 6-2 in the GMC) 70-66 Tuesday.

In the win against Lakota East, Middletown led 28-25 heading into the final quarter. The Middies, however, outscored the Thunderhawks 17-10 in the final frame.

Senior guard Geovonie McKnight led Middletown with 20 points. Sophomore teammate Vincent Edwards, who has offers to Dayton and Purdue according to Yahoo! Sports, registered his 11^th double-double of the season, scoring 11 points and pulling down 12 rebounds.

Meanwhile, junior Robbie Harpring led Lakota East with 12 points.

Lakota East is scheduled to host Princeton at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Middletown will also be in action at the same time Friday when it visits Oak Hills (7-6 overall, 5-3 in the GMC).

Middletown 45, Lakota East 35

Middletown (10-4, 7-1 in the GMC) – V. Edwards 4 2 11, Sorrell 2 0 4, Marshall 1 2 4, Smith 3 0 6, McKnight 8 4 20. Totals: 18 8 45.

Lakota East (5-9, 2-6 in the GMC) – Harpring 3 4 12, Owens 1 0 2, Brady 1 0 2, Lowry 4 0 9, Baxter 3 0 6, White 1 2 4. Totals: 13 6 35.

Halftime: Middletown 21-12. 3-pointers: M 1 (V. Edwards); L 3 (Harpring 2, Lowry).

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Geovonie McKnight, Lakota East, Lakota East basketball, Lakota East Sports, Middletown basketball, Rob Harpring, Robbie Harpring, Vincent Edwards, Vincent Edwards basketball, Vincent Edwards Middletown

Junior Monty Boykins scored a season high 24 points and made a pair of key free throws in the final seconds as Lakota West defeated Middletown by the score of 56-53 Friday. The loss was the Middies first against a Greater Miami Conference opponent this season.

After Boykins converted two free throw attempts with 18 seconds remaining, Middletown was able to get off a three-point shot before the buzzer. The attempt resulted in an air ball.

Sophomore point guard Tyler Williams (13 points) and junior Ali Barnes (10 points) also scored in double figures for Lakota West.

Senior Geovonie McKnight (19 points) and Vincent Edwards (16 points, 10 rebounds) led Middletown.

The loss creates a tie for first place in the GMC between Middletown and Mason (12-1 overall, 6-1 in the GMC). Lakota West is one game behind and tied with Fairfield (11-2 overall, 5-2 in the GMC).

The Firebirds are scheduled to host Fairfield at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, while Middletown will visit Lakota East (5-8 overall, 2-5 in the GMC) at the same time Tuesday.

Lakota West 56, Middletown 53

Lakota West (8-5, 5-2 in the GMC) – Blue 2 1 5, Barnes 4 1 10, Williams 3 6 13, Boykins 6 10 24, Bowling 1 0 2, Stalker 0 2 2. Totals 16 20 56.

Middletown (9-4, 6-1 in the GMC) – Edwards 1 0 2, Edwards 6 3 16, Sorrell 4 0 8, Marshall 3 2 8, McKnight 6 5 19. Totals 20 10 53.

Halftime: Middletown 31-28. 3-pointers: LW 4 (Barnes, Williams, Boykins 2); M 3 (Edwards, McKnight 2).

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Ali Barnes, Geovonie McKnight, Lakota West, Lakota West basketball, Lakota West sports, Middletown basketball, Monty Boykins, Monty Boykins Lakota West, Tyler Williams, Tyler Williams Lakota West, Vincent Edwards

The Lakota East football team will be tested this Friday night when it hosts Middletown in a scrimmage at 7 p.m. Last year, the Middies were the co-champions of the Greater Miami Conference with a 10-1 overall record and a 7-0 mark within conference play.

Middletown features one of area’s top athletes in quarterback Jalin Marshall. As a sophomore in 2010, Marshall rushed for 1,426 yards on 173 carries (8.24 yards per carry) and scored a total of 29 touchdowns (12 passing, 17 rushing). Last season, Marshall rushed for 308 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries in a 49-35 win against Lakota East. Marshall also threw for one touchdown in that game.

>>>2011 LAKOTA EAST FOOTBALL SCHEDULE<<<

Marshall, according to Yahoo! Sports, already has accumulated scholarship offers from Cincinnati, Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee and UCLA.

Meanwhile, Lakota East also returns its young signal caller from a year ago in junior Rob Harpring. In 2010, Harpring threw for six touchdowns and ran for six more for the Thunderhawks.

“I think Rob has improved tremendously, not only in knowing what we want him to do, but he has gotten bigger, quicker and faster,” Lakota East second-year head coach Rick Haynes said. “He has done everything we have expected him to do this offseason, so I believe that Rob is going to have a good year.”

>>>PHOTOS OF FOOTBALL PRACTICE AT LAKOTA EAST<<<

The Thunderhawks hope to improve upon its 3-7 overall record and a 2-5 mark in the GMC from last year.

“The biggest advantage is that our kids know exactly what we are doing on both sides of the ball,” said Haynes, who implemented the triple-option attack on offense last fall. “Last year, it was all new for them in terms of offense, in terms of running the triple … now they are used to what is expected of them.” (more…)

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: Cody Quinn, football, football practice, Geovonie McKnight, Jalin Marshall, Lakota East, Lakota East football, Lakota East Sports, practice, Rick Haynes, Rob Harpring, Zach Edwards

Lakota East was attempting to accomplish something that a boys’ Greater Miami Conference basketball program hadn’t done in 20 years – finish the regular season with a 20-0 record. However, Middletown, which had ruined Moeller’s perfect season earlier in the week, defeated the Thunderhawks by the score of 66-65 last night, Feb. 18.

The Middies trailed 47-32 heading into the final quarter, but roared back and won the game on a buzzer beater. According to Cincinnati.com, Middletown junior Geovonie McKnight drove the length of the floor with 5.8 seconds left and converted a layup at the buzzer for the win.

Middletown senior Mikey Brown led all scorers with a career-high 22 points. Freshman forward Vincent Edwards scored 13 points and McKnight added 12 points for the Middies.

Seniors Michael Boyd (16 points) and Cameron Lee (17 points) led the Thunderhawks.

With the loss, Lakota East officially finishes the regular season with a 19-1 overall record and a 13-1 record in the GMC. Middletown finishes the season with a 16-4 overall record and a 11-3 record in the GMC.

The Southwest Ohio sectional tournament begins next weekend. Lakota East opens as the region’s No. 2 seed next Saturday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. against No. 31 seed Talawanda (5-13 overall, 3-9 in Fort Ancient Valley Conference) at Lakota West High School.

Middletown enters the tournament as the No. 7 seed. The Middies will open against No. 27 seed Woodward (5-11 overall, 3-9 in the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference) on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 3:30 p.m. at Mason.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: basketball, boys' basketball, Cameron Lee, Geovonie McKnight, Lakota East, Lakota East Sports, Michael Boyd, Middletown, Mikey Brown, Vincent Edwards

Lakota West lost to Middletown at home last night, Feb. 11, after upsetting the Middies on the road earlier this season. This time around, Middletown jumped out to a 26-13 halftime lead and cruised to a 61-45 victory.

Middletown (14-4 overall, 10-3 in Greater Miami Conference) junior Geovonie McKnight (18 points) and freshman Vincent Edwards (19 points) combined to score 37 points in the win. In the loss to Lakota West, McKnight and Edwards only combined to score 18.

Last night, sophomore Monty Boykins did not play for Lakota West. In the earlier season upset of Middletown, he scored 23 points.

Sophomore guard Ali Barnes led Lakota West with 15 points. Senior forward Phillip Cook added 10 points and six rebounds.

With the loss, Lakota West falls to 8-11 overall and 5-8 in the GMC. The Firebirds have now lost seven of their last nine games.

Lakota West will wrap up its regular season on the road at Fairfield (9-9 overall, 5-8 in GMC) Friday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m.

Pictures provided by Mark Ferland/Ferland Fotos. Actual game photos from the Middletown game played Feb. 11. For more photos of other Lakota West athletic events visit ferlandfotos.smugmug.com.

Posted in: Sports, Winter Sports |

Tags: Tags: Ali Barnes, boys' basketball, Geovanne McKnight, Geovonie McKnight, Lakota West, Lakota West sports, Middletown, Monty Boykins, Phil Cook, Phillip Cook, Vincent Edwards