Sun staff
As Milford walked off the floor of the University of Dayton Arena on Saturday, March 14 following a 63-39 loss to Huber Heights Wayne in a Division I Southwest Ohio District Final, the Eagles could find solace in their many accomplishments.
The 2014-15 Eagles will be remembered as one of the best teams in school history. Simultaneously mirroring and chasing the records set some 44 years prior by the 1970-71 team, the Eagles left an indelible mark upon the program, school and community.
“This year set a great precedent,” head coach Joe Cambron said. “The seniors deserve so much of the credit for that. It also sets the tone for where Milford wants to be every year; we want to be in a position to compete for sectional championships and play for district championships and to keep advancing.”
Cambron also expounded on the communal impact, saying that he was overwhelmed by the amount of support not only at the district final in Dayton, but also over the course of the season as evidenced by the sold-out crowds his team played in front of on a nightly basis.
“There were so many people (at the district final) from Milford to support our players and I think that says a ton about our community,” Cambron said. “Not only do they like winning, but I think it was a great testament to our players that so many travelled up (to Dayton) to see them.”
After the first quarter, those Eagle fans had good reason to feel some optimism about their team earning win No. 23 on the year. Despite playing a team that has not fallen outside of the top-10 in the state all season, the Eagles came out of the gate making a statement that they wouldn’t go down without a fight.
“Physically, we don’t match up well at all with them, so we were trying to pack it in and make them beat us from the perimeter,” Cambron explained. “We trapped them on the first possession (of the game) to try to send them a message that we weren’t scared of them. So, we trapped them on the first possession and ended up getting a turnover.”
The Eagles hung tight with the Warriors through the first period, trailing only 15-12. Cambron said that reigning in Wayne’s offense was Milford’s best bet to have a chance to steal a victory down the stretch and they did an admirable job of that, giving up just 26 points in the first half.
“In the first quarter, we took the ball to the basket, we were driving — offensively, we did what we wanted to do,” he said. “Defensively, we turned them over, they missed shots, we rebounded.
“And in the second quarter, we feel like we got opportunities. We missed two what we think were easy layups, which, against them, there is no such thing as an easy shot. We went 5-11 from the free throw line (in the first half), so we executed the game plan in the first half, but we didn’t capitalize on free throws and a couple of open looks that we got.”
Giving up 26 points in a half to a team that expects to score that in a quarter was a point of pride for Cambron’s team. In fact, the Eagles didn’t give up more than 19 points in any frame on Saturday.
However, the size, length and athleticism of Wayne proved to be too much for Milford in the second half. While the Eagle defense held the Warriors explosive offense in check, Wayne returned the favor holding Milford to their lowest output of the season.
Milford shot 38 percent from the field and 47 percent from the line.
Senior Ryan Gallimore led the way for the Eagles with 10 points, while Will Hannah and Brad Hall added six a piece and Mitchell Wenzler had five.
The loss ended Milford’s season with a 22-4 record, which was the best overall mark in program history. Accolades also included most consecutive wins (18) and the school’s first district finals appearance since 1970-71.
Cambron, who was named the Coach of the Year in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference, passed along all credit to his team, especially the leadership exhibited by four seniors.
“You couldn’t ask for a group of players to blend as well as they did,” Cambron said. “They each had their own specialties: Will (Hannah) was a great scorer, Ryan (Gallimore) was a great facilitator and point guard, Grant (Riesenberg) was a do-all, do-everything defender, rebounder and Justin (Arnold) was a great energy kid and a great shooter.
“The legacy that they will leave is leadership and really sacrificing their own glory for the good of the team.”
That legacy is one that Cambron expects to permeate through to the eight juniors that were on this team’s roster, the two sophomores who played up and the countless other Milford freshmen and youth players who were along for the ride this season.
The groundwork for a truly special program was laid and affirmed this season and Cambron, along with the backing of the entire Milford community, hopes that it continues into the future.