SETTING THE SCENE: With another big game on the horizon at the end of this week, the Milford High School boys basketball team takes to the court twice this week, looking to stay near the top of the Eastern Cincinnati Conference standings. After falling in a first place showdown to Walnut Hills in its last outing, the Eagles are 6-2 overall and tied for second in the league at 4-1. This week tips off at home on Tuesday night with a visit from Kings, before the Eagles take to the road on Friday to battle a Withrow squad it shares second in the ECC with as the week begins.

A LOOK BACK: January 2 at Turpin: Milford 52, Turpin 35

GAME REWIND

Milford used a hot start from three-point range and a strong defensive effort to race to a huge lead and ultimately a 52-35 Eastern Cincinnati Conference victory at Turpin. The Eagles held the Spartans scoreless in the first quarter and led 31-8 to eight at the half as Turpin missed its first 19 shots from the field. The visitors nailed 7 of 10 three-pointers from the first half and ended up matching a season-high with nine treys for the game.

RECORDS

Milford 6-1, 4-0 ECC

Turpin 1-8, 0-4 ECC

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Jake Ayler 12 points, 5 rebounds

Steven Huxell 12 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists

Brady Sluder 9 points, 9 rebounds

Turpin

Nick Hadad 10 points

NUGGET OF NOTE: The 35 points yielded by the Eagles were the fewest allowed by a Milford team since a 54-30 win over Northwest during the second game of the 2015-16 season.

FINAL GAME STATS

January 5 vs. Walnut Hills: Walnut Hills 55, Milford 47

GAME REWIND

The battle for sole possession of first place in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference went to Walnut Hills as the visiting team knocked off host Milford 55-47. MHS nearly erased a double-digit lead after three quarters of play, getting within four points at the 2:30 mark, but couldn’t overcome a 6 of 16 free throw shooting performance for the game.

RECORDS

Milford 6-2, 4-1 ECC

Walnut Hills 9-2, 5-0 ECC

KEY PLAYERS

Milford

Jake Ayler 15 points, 4 assists

Nathan Gallimore 12 points

Walnut Hills

Kameron Gibson 22 points, 10 rebounds

Nick Smith 17 points, 7 rebounds

Zubi Nwankwo 8 points, 10 rebounds

NUGGET OF NOTE: Walnut Hills dominated the rebounding battle by a 44-19 margin, in part by making 22 of 42 field goals and totaling 12 offensive rebounds.

FINAL GAME STATS

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

• Tuesday, Jan. 9 vs. Kings, 7:30 p.m.
• 2017-18 Record: 1-8, 1-4 ECC (RV Division I area coaches’ weekly poll)
• Top Scorer: Junior Jake Peters (11.8 ppg)
• Last Meeting: 2016-17; Kings 55, Milford 44 & Milford 55, Kings 41
• Friday, Jan. 12 at Withrow, 7:30 p.m.
• 2017-18 Record: 6-5, 4-1 ECC (RV Division I area coaches’ weekly poll)
• Top Scorer: Junior Mike Hill, Jr. (13.0 ppg)
• Last Meeting: 2016-17; Milford 53, Withrow 42, Withrow 49, Milford 33 & Milford 52, Withrow 45

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

Points per game: Jake Ayler (14.5), Steven Huxell (10.9), Nathan Gallimore (9.6)

Assists per game: Steven Huxell (2.9), Jake Ayler/Nathan Gallimore (1.9)

Rebounds per game: Nathan Gallimore (4.9), Jake Ayler (4.4), Steven Huxell (4.3)

Steals: Steven Huxell (11), Nathan Gallimore (6), Caleb Farrell (5)

Blocks: Hunter Pollitt (10), Connor Foster (4), Jack Liles/Brady Sluder (2)

Field goal percentage: Hunter Pollitt (.625), Jake Ayler (.543), Brady Sluder (.500)

Three-point percentage: Jake Ayler (.632), Steven Huxell (.522), Nathan Gallimore (.409)

Free throw percentage: Nathan Gallimore (.818), Jake Ayler (.757), AJ 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 (5), Nathan Gallimore (1), Steven Huxell (1), Jake Ayler/Steven Huxell (1).

INSIDE THE ECC: With the ECC schedule nearing its halfway point, Walnut Hills has taken a one game lead by virtue of its win last Friday night over Milford. WHHS is 5-0 in league play, one game ahead of Milford and Withrow, each at 4-1. The schedule for ECC conference games this week includes: Tuesday-Kings at Milford, Loveland at Walnut Hills, West Clermont at Anderson and Withrow at Turpin; Friday-Milford at Withrow, Walnut Hills at Kings, West Clermont at Loveland and Turpin at Anderson.

POLL WATCH: Milford continues to rank ninth in the most recent Cincinnati Enquirer area Division I coaches’ poll that was released on Jan. 8. Princeton has supplanted Moeller as the No. 1 team, earning nine first place votes to four for the Crusaders. Mason, Oak Hills and Walnut Hills from the ECC round out the top-five. Representing the ECC in others receiving votes are West Clermont, Withrow and Kings. 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 twice; Career: 6 twice (2017-18)

Assists—Season: 4 vs. Walnut Hills; Career: 4 vs. Walnut Hills (2017-18)

A.J. Dickerson

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

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

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

Caleb Farrell

Points—Season: 5 at Turpin; Career: 7 at Glen Este (2016-17)

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

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

Connor Foster

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

Rebounds—Season: 4 vs. McNicholas; Career: 4 vs. McNicholas (2017-18)

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

Nathan Gallimore

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

Rebounds—Season: 8 twice; Career: 8 twice (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: 5 at Turpin; Career: 5 at Turpin (2017-18)

Rebounds—Season: 1 vs. Walnut Hills; Career: 1 vs. Walnut Hills (2017-18)

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

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: 1 at Turpin; Career: 1 at Turpin (2017-18)

Assists—Season: N/A; Career: N/A

Brady Sluder

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

Rebounds—Season: 9 at Turpin; Career: 9 at Turpin (2017-18)

Assists—Season: 2 at Turpin; Career: 2 at Turpin (2017-18)