MOUNT VERNON — A holiday break filled with off days and nonconference match-ups will come to a close for area boys basketball teams this weekend. All nine squads will jump back into conference action on Friday or Saturday.
The top of the MBC looks ready for a shakeup, as the top four teams in the conference standings will face off with one another. Friday, first-place Loudonville hosts Centerburg, which is tied for second at 3-1 with Northridge and Utica.
Loudonville head coach Brandon Grimes said one of the challenges as a coach is keeping his team prepared over longer breaks like the recent one.
“Our guys do a good job of keeping themselves focused with what goals we’ve set as a team,” he said. “The guys understand the importance of every game we play.
“Every game is a battle, and we can’t overlook anybody.”
A few players were sick over break, Grimes said, but the Redbirds should be at full strength by Friday’s contest.
Loudonville will continue to focus on the same things: Boxing out and rebounding. Against a taller team like the Trojans, such fundamentals can be extremely important, Grimes said.
“We can’t allow any second-chance opportunities for any team,” he said. “Especially a team like Centerburg that has a little bit of length to them.”
The Redskins and Vikings will also take the court on Friday, with a chance to move into a tie for first in the MBC if Loudonville falters.
Utica coach Mike Delaney said he hopes the holiday break was beneficial to his team, but said it’s ready to get back into the swing of things with the conference.
“Playing those nonleague schools hopefully prepares for the second half of the league season,” he said, adding that there shouldn’t be any holiday break lag from his team after three nonconference games in the last week.
“The non-league games have allowed us to play ourselves back into shape,” he said.
For the upcoming contest with Northridge, Utica will focus heavily on the defensive side of the ball, Delaney said.
“We’re going to have to concentrate for 32 minutes,” he said. “The other thing is we’ve got to knock some shots down and rebound the basketball because both those teams are very good at rebounding the ball.”
In the rest of the MBC, East Knox travels to Danville on Friday. Johnstown will face a similar task as Utica, facing Ridgedale on Wednesday before meeting up with Fredericktown on Friday.
In the Ohio Cardinal Conference, Clear Fork will face West Holmes on Friday at home before heading to Ontario on Saturday.
Highland also returns to Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference action, matching up with Pleasant on Saturday.
All junior varsity games are scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m.