ASHLAND — The Ontario Warriors boys basketball team knew their undefeated start’s legitimacy was being questioned from the outsiders.
On Saturday, Jan 3, they answered the doubters loud and clear. They are legit after a 65-60 win over Ashland pushed them to 11-0 to finish the first half of the schedule perfectly and continue their best start to a season since winning their first 21 games in 2013-14.
The Warriors now have wins over Shelby, Lexington and Ashland in three of their last four games, proving that they are legit.
“Before the game, I had an individual talk with each player and I told each of them that this is our first major test of the year,” Ontario coach Jerry Moton said. “I challenged each of them to step up, accept the challenge and pass the test.”
They passed with flying colors. After jumping out to a 13-9 lead after the first quarter and trailing 26-23 at the half, the Warriors found themselves down 36-29 early in the third quarter.
Then, they caught fire. Ontario went on a 16-4 run to take a 45-40 lead late in the third quarter before extending it to 48-42 heading into the fourth. Ontario started the fourth just as good as it ended the third pushing the lead out to 53-42.
And that was when Ashland made its run. The Arrows chipped away at the Warriors’ lead and cut it down to 53-50 before the Warriors could blink. But Ontario never panicked and closed the game out on a 12-10 advantage to pull off the victory.
“We knew Ashland was a great team and was going to make a run on us,” Moton said. “All good teams make runs. It was about responding to their runs, and I think we did a great job of doing that.”
Super sophomores Cardae Brown and Trindon Flenoury led the way with 20 points apiece. They combined for 18 in the third quarter alone. Kolbe Ramion and Jamir Jones added nine apiece for the Warriors. Ashland Paxton Ediger led the Arrows with 27 points while Gabe Baith had 13.
“We are grateful for this start,” Brown said. “But at the same time, we want to keep our focus on our next game and make sure we do everything we can to prepare for it so we can keep this thing going.”
The Warriors (11-0, 6-0) host River Valley on Jan. 9 with sole possession of first place of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference on the line. The 11 wins are just two fewer than the total wins of the last two seasons combined after winning six games in 2023-24 and seven in 2024-25.
“It is great to start like this especially after the last two years,” Moton said. “What we try to do is let them know that they are supposed to be doing what they are doing. When we win, we celebrate it, but we also keep them humble and grounded at the same time. After this win, we talked about the things we can do better because this wasn’t our best game. We are looking forward to every challenge.”
And they will enter those challenges with confidence that they have built up during an undefeated start.
“It feels great,” Flenoury said. “We feel like we have the talent that helped us go 11-0 and hopefully even further.”
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Ontario boys basketball stays unbeaten with signature win over Ashland
Reporting by Jake Furr, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
