LEXINGTON — Seven Allen said Lexington coach Scott Hamilton had a clear message for his team at halftime against Wooster on Friday night.
“He told us we can’t get lazy, even though we were winning. We can’t get stagnant. We can’t sit around the court,” the sophomore point guard said.
That’s like telling Niagara Falls not to stop flowing.
As in fat chance with Allen running the show for a high-flying team averaging 81 points per game.
The speedy 5-foot-10 point guard — in just his third game with the Minutemen after transferring from Madison — helped push his rapidly-moving and unbeaten squad to a 78-50 win in the home opener.
Lexington is now 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the Ohio Cardinal Conference.
It’s clear with Allen, fellow sophomore Brayden Fogle and a raft of other young, high-speed teammates that this Lexington squad is not the half-court, pound-the-ball-inside team that a home gym full of fans have become accustomed to over the years.
‘We had to adjust. No doubt about it.’
Hamilton, the winningest coach in Lexington history in his 12th season, knows he has a different stable of horses this year, outscoring the first three opponents by 30 points a game.
“I don’t have that back-to-the basket guy like I have had in the past. You look at (6-7) Baden Forup, (6-5) Jonah Yaussy, (6-5) Cade Stover. I just don’t have that (this season),” Hamilton said.
“(Sophomore) Joey Caudill (6-4) is my big, he’s my inside guy. But he likes to float out. He likes to be 12 to 15 feet (from the basket), but he’s good in transition and he is good at running the floor.”
It’s all enough make the old ball coach from Fort Loramie, Ohio, scratch his head.
“We had to adjust. There’s no doubt about it. We had to go to their strengths and it’s new for me. I am old school. I want the “three-out, two-in” basketball.
“The good thing is my assistants helped me out a little bit and they’re younger than I am, so it’s all working out,” he said with a laugh.
Lexington, with four players in double figures, shot 55 percent from the field, including 65 percent on two-point tries. The Minutemen had a 37-30 rebounding edge and committed just 10 turnovers, compared to 17 for the Generals.
‘We’re a little bit different than the previous Lexington teams’
The new on-court velocity didn’t come as a surprise to the 6-4 Fogle, an all-district performer as a freshman.
“We knew before the season were going to be a very fast-paced team. With our guys, we got a lot of younger guys, but we’re also pretty fast. So it did not come as a shock to me.
“But I think traditionally we’re a little bit different than the previous Lexington teams,” said Fogle, who led the Minutemen with 15 points and 11 rebounds against Wooster.
Fogle praised Hamilton for adapting his strategy to match the talent on a team that has just one senior, starts three sophomores and has two more sophomores among its eight-player rotation.
“He knows what it’s going to take for us to win on and off the court. He loves to sub. He’s hard on us, but that’s what great coaches are for and I think he’s a great coach,” Fogle said.
Fogle said Lexington has welcomed the addition of Allen, another all-district performer as a freshman for the Rams last year.
Allen scored eight points, had two rebounds, handed out five assists and committed just one turnover Friday night, despite his driving style.
“He’s huge for us, especially in that faster style of like game. He’s a quick, shifty guard. He can shoot it. He can do everything you ask him to do and it’s a great complement, me and him together. I think we’ve both played at a higher level for basketball (in AAU) and I think it’s very good for all of us,” Fogle said.
Allen, who played football with Fogle and Caudill in the fall, said it didn’t take long to fit in with his new basketball teammates.
“It took me a couple of practices. We already had the chemistry. Most of the guys, we all play AAU together, so all of our chemistry has been there with each other,” he said.
‘You have got to play fast on the defensive side, too’
One thing Hamilton will not yield on is defense. Through three games, the Minutemen are allowing just 51 points per game.
Wooster (0-3, 0-1) shot just 35 percent from the field, committed 17 turnovers and had their shots blocked seven times.
“Everybody wants to play fast, but, but my argument is always you got to play fast on the defensive side of the ball, too. Well, these guys are getting out there defensively and they’re doing it. So we’re giving them a little freedom in what they’re trying to do,” Hamilton said.
“I made a couple subs tonight when when (Wooster) people took shots and made them with (a defender’s) hands down. I said, ‘Well, if you’re not going to defend, I’m not going to have you on the floor,'” he said.
“Our goal tonight was to hold Wooster to 48. So we didn’t get our goal,” Hamilton said.
Tougher challenges await, starting Tuesday
Lexington’s three opponents thus far are a combined 0-6. The future schedule is a lot tougher with OCC foes like Mansfield Senior, Ashland and New Philadelphia and a non-conference schedule that includes Wadsworth, Shelby and Ottawa-Glandorf.
The Minutemen travel to Mansfield Senior (1-0) on Tuesday. The Tygers knocked off Ashland on Friday night, 59-44.
“We have got to get our legs rested for Tuesday now,” Hamilton said. “Tuesday will be interesting.”
Fogle said he expects a track meet against Mansfield Senior at Pete Henry Gymnasium.
“I’m excited for it. They have a good crowd. I know they’re going to have an even better crowd with it being us and them and our rivalry, so I’m excited for it,” he said.
“I grew up playing with those kids. I have a good relationship with them and I respect them,” Fogle said.
(Below is the complete box score from Friday night’s Lexington-Wooster game.)
