SETTING THE SCENE: Riding a 5-0 start, the Milford High School boys basketball team will face its stiffest challenge to date when the Eagles host undefeated McNicholas on Wednesday night in its lone match-up of this week. The Eagles, newly minted as the No. 8 ranked team in the area according to the Cincinnati Enquirer weekly poll, will take on the Rockets, No. 1 this week in the Division II rankings. Milford is coming off a week that featured Eastern Cincinnati Conference victories over Loveland and West Clermont that have propelled the Eagles into a share for first place in the league standings.

A LOOK BACK: December 12 at Loveland: Milford 57, Loveland 52

GAME REWIND

Milford overcame a three-point end of third quarter deficit by outscoring Loveland 23-15 in the fourth quarter to come away with a 57-52 victory. The Eagles led at the end of each of the first two quarters before Loveland took control in the third period, only to see the Eagles complete the comeback with a big fourth.

RECORDS

Milford 4-0, 2-0 ECC

Loveland 2-2, 1-1 ECC

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Jake Ayler 14 points

Steven Huxell 12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists

Loveland

Jalen Greiser 20 points

Matthew Toigo 15 points

NUGGET OF NOTE: Junior A.J. Dickerson saw his most extensive action of the season, finishing with a career-high eight points in 21 minutes of action.

FINAL GAME STATS

December 15 vs. West Clermont: Milford 53, West Clermont 51

GAME REWIND

Milford and West Clermont battled down to the final seconds in the first-ever meeting between the schools, with the host Eagles ultimately prevailing 53-51. The Wolves played from behind throughout the fourth and final quarter with Milford’s Jake Ayler making four of five free throws in the final minute to seal up the win. West Clermont had a chance at the buzzer but Jay Tiemeyer’s potential game-winning three rattled out.

RECORDS

Milford 5-0, 3-0 ECC

West Clermont 2-2, 1-2 ECC

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Jake Ayler 17 points, 5 rebounds

Steven Huxell 11 points

West Clermont

Jay Tiemeyer 24 points

Dallas Padgitt 18 points, 10 rebounds

NUGGET OF NOTE: Milford was outstanding from the free throw line, connecting on a season-best 81% (13 of 16).

FINAL GAME STATS

A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS: A look at Milford’s schedule for the week:

• Wednesday, Dec. 20 vs. McNicholas, 7:30 p.m.
• 2017-18 Record: 4-0, 2-0 GCLC (1^st Division II area coaches’ weekly poll)
• Top Scorer: Senior Ryan Reidy (15.5 ppg)
• Last Meeting: 2016-17; McNicholas 60, Milford 50

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: A look at Milford’s statistical leaders:

Points per game: Jake Ayler (14.4), Steven Huxell (11.6), Nathan Gallimore (9.2)

Assists per game: Steven Huxell (3.2), Nathan Gallimore (2.4), Jake Ayler (1.8)

Rebounds per game: Nathan Gallimore (5.0), Steven Huxell (4.4), Jake Ayler (4.2)

Steals: Steven Huxell (19), Caleb Farrell (5), A.J. Dickerson/Nathan Gallimore (4)

Blocks: Hunter Pollitt (8), Connor Foster (3), Brady Sluder (1)

Field goal percentage: Hunter Pollitt (.684), Jake Ayler (.550), Brady Sluder (.500)

Three-point percentage: Jake Ayler (.583), Steven Huxell (.500), Nathan Gallimore (.370)

Free throw percentage: Nathan Gallimore (.800), Jake Ayler (.778), A.J. Dickerson (.625)

PLENTY TO GO AROUND: The Eagles feature a roster with the potential to have a different leading scorer virtually every game. Throughout their careers on varsity and developmental levels, several players have shown the ability to be big-time scorers. Here is a look at the players who have led the Eagles in scoring this season: Jake Ayler (3), Nathan Gallimore (1), Steven Huxell (1).

INSIDE THE ECC: Milford and Walnut Hills have each jumped to 3-0 starts in league play to pace the ECC standings early. Loveland and Withrow are just behind at 2-1 each. The schedule for ECC conference games will now take a break until after the first of the year.

POLL WATCH: Milford made its first appearance of the season inside the top-10 of the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Division I area coaches’ poll, coming in eighth in the Dec. 18 edition of the rankings. Moeller continues to hold the No. 1 spot, but has seen its margin clipped to just two points over Princeton. Moeller earned five number one votes this week to seven for Princeton, with third-ranked Mason earning the final top vote. Walnut Hills of the ECC is fourth this week with St. Xavier rounding out the top-five. In the others receiving votes section, the ECC is represented by West Clermont, Withrow and Loveland. The coaches’ poll is released every Monday at Noon at preps.cincinnati.com/coachespolls.

Milford Eagles Season/Career Highs

Jake Ayler

Points—Season: 21 at Sycamore; Career: 21 at Sycamore (2017-18)

Rebounds—Season: 6 at Harrison; Career: 6 at Harrison (2017-18)

Assists—Season: 3 twice; Career: 3 four times

A.J. Dickerson

Points—Season: 8 at Loveland; Career: 8 at Loveland (2017-18)

Rebounds—Season: 4 at Sycamore; Career: 4 at Sycamore (2017-18)

Assists—Season: 3 at Harrison; Career: 3 at Harrison (2017-18)

Caleb Farrell

Points—Season: 3 at Harrison; Career: 7 at Glen Este (2016-17)

Rebounds—Season: 4 twice; Career: 4 twice (2017-18)

Assists—Season: 3 at Anderson; Career: 3 at Anderson (2017-18)

Connor Foster

Points—Season: 8 at Loveland; Career: 8 at Loveland (2017-18)

Rebounds—Season: 3 twice; Career: 3 twice (2017-18)

Assists—Season: 1 vs. West Clermont; Career: 1 vs. West Clermont (2017-18)

Nathan Gallimore

Points—Season: 19 Anderson; Career: 19 at Anderson (2017-18)

Rebounds—Season: 8 at Anderson; Career: 8 at Anderson (2017-18)

Assists—Season: 6 at Harrison; Career: 6 at Harrison (2017-18)

Steven Huxell

Points—Season: 16 at Harrison; Career: 16 at Harrison (2017-18)

Rebounds—Season: 7 at Sycamore; Career: 7 at Sycamore (2017-18)

Assists—Season: 5 at Anderson; Career: 5 at Anderson (2017-18)

Jack Liles

Points—Season: 4 at Harrison; Career: 4 at Harrison (2017-18)

Rebounds—Season: N/A; Career: N/A

Assists—Season: N/A; Career: N/A

Hunter Pollitt

Points—Season: 9 at Sycamore; Career: 9 at Sycamore (2017-18)

Rebounds—Season: 4 twice; Career: 7 vs. Turpin (2016-17)

Assists—Season: 1 at Sycamore; Career: 1 three times

Cade Riesenberg

Points—Season: 2 at Sycamore; Career: 2 at Sycamore (2017-18)

Rebounds—Season: N/A; Career: N/A

Assists—Season: N/A; Career: N/A

Brady Sluder

Points—Season: 5 twice; Career: 5 twice (2017-18)

Rebounds—Season: 5 at Sycamore; Career: 5 at Sycamore (2017-18)

Assists—Season: 1 twice; Career: 1 twice (2017-18)