The Batavia Bulldogs won the boys portion of the Clermont Northeastern Holiday Classic on Dec. 29 with a 60-51 victory over Clinton-Massie in the final.

The Batavia Bulldogs won the boys portion of the Clermont Northeastern Holiday Classic on Dec. 29 with a 60-51 victory over Clinton-Massie in the final.
By Chris Chaney
Sports Editor

Clermont Northeastern High School hosted its annual Holiday Classic basketball tournament on Dec. 28 and 29 with the Batavia boys varsity basketball team and the Clinton-Massie girls varsity basketball team earning in-season titles.

Also offering a freshman and junior varsity tournament, CNE held 20 games over two days at the high school and middle school.

Teams from CNE, Batavia, Clinton-Massie, Anderson and St. Bernard took part.

In both varsity draws, Clermont County and Southern Buckeye Conference rivals CNE and Batavia faced off in out-of-conference semifinal play, splitting the series.

Playing first on Dec. 28, the Lady Rockets of CNE notched their second win of the season and first over Batavia, 39-32. The Lady Rockets were led by Lexie Walker who scored a team-high 14 points while also grabbing seven rebounds. McKenzie Cooper had a game-high 13 rebounds and Andrea Johnson chipped in with eight points.

On the losing side, Batavia’s Leona Burton had a game-high 17 points while also bringing down a team-high 11 rebounds. Maggie Mehlman added seven points and four boards.

In the boys game later that night, fortunes swapped as Batavia beat the hosts, 63-47. The Bulldogs’ Shawn Adams led the way with 15 points and 11 rebounds while Ty Wolfe also posted a double-double scoring 12 points and hauling in 10 boards. Cole Maxson added 11 points for Batavia.

CNE was led by Nick Ernst’s 14 points, two rebounds and two steals. Chris Coleman added seven points, three rebounds and three assists in the loss.

The Batavia Lady Bulldogs claimed third place with a 37-26 win over St. Bernard. CNE’s boys were not as fortunate, falling to St. Bernard, 58-54, in the third-place game.

Both the CNE girls and Batavia boys moved on to the Dec. 29 finals where the varsity squads from Clinton-Massie awaited.

Again playing first, the girls game was won by Massie, 46-27. The Lady Rockets’ Andrea Johnson scored a team-high seven points, adding three steals and three assists. Kiley Cooper had six points for CNE.

In the boys championship, the Bulldogs emerged victorious earning their seventh win of the season to move their record to 7-2 overall and 3-2 in the SBC.

Wolfe notched his second double-double in as many games putting up 14 points and 12 rebounds. Seth Steele had a team-high 17 points to go along with eight rebounds.

Adams scored seven points to go along with 10 rebounds.