LEXINGTON — Elijah Hudson showed the youngsters Friday night the old man can still play a little basketball.
The 6-foot-8 forward — the only senior on an unbeaten Lexington basketball team that starts three sophomores — scored 18 points, pulled down eight rebounds and blocked five shots in a 60-49 win at home against Madison.
It was exact performance the Minutemen (5-0, 3-0 in the Ohio Cardinal Conference) needed on a night his younger, heralded teammates had a difficult time finding the range on their home court.
Hudson connected on 8-of-13 shots, nearly 62 percent.
The rest of the Minutemen were just 18-of-50 (36 percent) against a stubborn Rams team (1-5, 1-2) that kept Lexington close most of the way, outscoring the Minutemen, 20-16, in the fourth quarter.
‘I just try to lead the guys the best I can’
Afterward, Hudson admitted being the lone senior on a team with sophomores like Brayden Fogle, Seven Allen and Joe Caudill makes his job easier. Clearly his teammates believe in him, selecting him as a team captain this season along with Caudill.
“We have got a lot of talent on this team. So I get a lot of that weight lifted off of my shoulders more then (being) any other single senior on a different team. So it’s really, really nice. I just try to lead the guys the best that I can,” Hudson said.
Despite his size, Hudson has been more of an outside threat in his high school career with a good long-range jump shot. But this season he has worked inside more, only trying two triples against Madison.
“My shot hasn’t been falling really for me this year. So I’m just resorting to other things, trying to be more of a team player,” he said.
Lexington coach Scott Hamilton said Hudson has become a more complete player this season.
Hudson is helping to replace 6-foot-7 post Baden Forup, who graduated last year and is now averaging 15 points and seven rebounds a game at Capital University in Columbus.
“(Elijah) has been good for us this year. We really asked him to step up on the defensive side, which you can see with the five blocked shots that he had tonight. We’ve really worked on him defensively and being — I don’t want to say a shot blocker — but a rim protector without fouling,” Hamilton said.
“We’ve really tried to make him play on both ends of the floor this year. We know he’s capable offensively. He made some really nice passes tonight. The guys see him in a bigger role than just staying at the 3-point line and shooting,” Hamilton said.
“He’s become more active than just being that stationary guy. And the guys have recognized that. They’ve seen him, they’ve hit him a couple of times. He’s becoming more of a well-rounded player for us and and he did a nice job tonight,” the coach said.
‘I love these guys’
Madison coach Chris Armstrong’s young team continues its early-season baptism by fire. The Rams’ five losses have come against teams with a combined record of 18-6, including unbeaten Lexington and Shelby.
“We’ve got a high character group of guys. I love these guys. We came into this season with some new faces. They’re growing. This group wants to get better. They’ve got that ‘get-better mindset’ that we talked about,” Armstrong said.
Madison opened the season with a 72-44 loss to Shelby, launching the rapidly moving learning curve.
“(Shelby) whooped us pretty good. They got us pretty good. I think we’re seeing growth. I told the guys there are no moral victories. We want to play to win. We’re not satisfied with that. But at the same time I acknowledged we competed much better (tonight),” Armstrong said.
In an 11-point loss, what hurt Madison most was allowing a taller Lexington squad to dominate the offensive glass. The Minutemen had a 44-26 rebounding edge, including 20-6 in offensive rebounds.
Those extra rebounds allowed Lexington a 14-2 margin in second-chance points and a 46-26 lead in points from the paint.
Still, Armstrong sees the effort from his players.
“We don’t have a ton of size. We don’t have that big (post player). So we’ve got to gang rebound, team rebound. We’re starting to get a little more physical and understand the level that we’ve got to defend and rebound at to give ourselves a chance.
“Those are a lot of extra possessions to give such a talented (Lexington) team,” Armstrong said.
Statistically speaking
Lexington shot 41 percent from the field (26-of-63) and 40 percent from the foul line (6-of-15). Madison connected on 42 percent from the floor (19-of-45) and 50 percent from the line (5-of-10).
Fogle and junior guard Gavin Husty both had 10 points for Lexington.
Senior Will Kepple and junior Owen Wigton both had 11 points for Madison.
The 6-4 Fogle led the Minutemen with 12 rebounds, including eight offensive boards.
Senior Degan Herr led the Rams with five rebounds.
Lexington committed 12 turnovers, compared to 17 for Madison.
Highlight Reel: Madison at Lexington
Next on the schedule
Lexington travels to Orrville on Saturday afternoon to take on Division I foe Wadsworth (2-3) in the Steve Smith Classic. That tip is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
Madison hosts New Philadelphia (2-1, 2-1) next Friday night in another OCC game.
(Below is a PDF with the complete box score from the Madison-Lexington basketball game from Friday night.)
