News Archive
Four Boys Hoopsters Lauded With ECC Honors
The Milford boys basketball team, coming off a fourth place finish in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference this year, had four members of its roster named all-conference. Headlining the list of honorees is first team selection Jake Ayler, a first time All-ECC honoree.
In addition to Ayler being tabbed among the top 11 players in the league, senior Nathan Gallimore and junior Steven Huxell were picked for the All-ECC second team. Junior Connor Foster was Milford’s honorable mention selection for this year.
Ayler came into his own during his junior season, becoming one of the league’s top scorers, ranking sixth with 12.3 point per game. Despite being just 5’10”, Ayler finished third on the Eagles in rebounding (3.5) and added 1.4 assists per game. A dangerous threat both outside and driving to the hoop, Ayler connected on 43 percent of his three-point tries, was a 51 percent overall shooter and made 79 percent of his free throws. He twice went over 20 points in a game, including a career-best 22 in a late season contest against Taft.
Gallimore followed up his honorable mention selection last year by earning a slot on the second team this winter. As a senior, Gallimore led the Eagles in three-pointers made (39) and was the squad’s top free throw shooter at 85 percent. He exploded for a career-high 27 points late in the year in a contest against Winton Woods.
After earning a mid-season varsity call-up last year, Huxell proved to be one of the Eagles’ most versatile all-around players in his first full season. As a junior, Huxell put up 10.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and a team-leading 2.3 assists per game. Huxell tallied a career-high 20 points against Withrow and handed out seven assists against Shroder, the most by any Eagle this year.
Despite an injury that cost him much of the second half of the year, Foster has a steady force in the paint for the Eagles. Standing at 6’7” and blessed with great athleticism, Foster finished with averages of 3.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game, while blocking six shots. Foster’s best game came against Kings when he scored a career-high 13 points.
Milford finished the season 11-12 overall and 8-6 in ECC play. The Eagles scored an OHSAA Tournament opening victory over Western Brown before falling in the sectional semifinals to Lakota East.
