Redskins focusing on faster starts

PORT CLINTON — Port Clinton just claimed a regional football title. The basketball team will soon have its sights set on winning an SBC Bay Division title. "We're expecting an SBC championship," senior guard Brayden Spencer said. "We're better than last year and it's wide open." The Redskins finished 7-16 overall last year, but they did win a sectional game and established a strong brand of defensive basketball. There was no better display of this than the three-game winning streak after Christmas when Port Clinton defeated Lake, St. Mary CC and Edison, holding them to an average of 32.6 points per game. Does head coach Ryan Hicks feel that this could be a turning point season? "Absolutely," he said. "I mean if you had asked me last year I would have said the same thing. "We're obviously going to have high expectations and high goals for ourselves every year. That's how I operate and I hope that's how the team operates under me." Hicks has the credibility to set high expectations. He was an All-Ohio forward for Port Clinton's 2010 Division II state-runner up team. The Redskins went 27-1 that season with their only loss coming in the state championship game. In his third season, Hicks has a lot of talented athletes to work with. But many of them have not joined team activities yet as the Redskins' football season moves to the state semifinal round. Tyler Webb, Josh Hurst, Adam Thorbahn, Cam Gillum and Owen Auxter have all played pivotal roles in Port Clinton's 13-win football season. Eventually, they will turn to basketball in search of another title. "A lot of our guys have had success in the fall, whether it's Brayden with golf or the football guys," Hicks said. "Hopefully that success breeds success within our team and helps us with close games and tight situations." Spencer was named boys golf player of the year in the Bay Division. Since golf season ends earlier than football, he's had more time in the gym to improve his game. "I've tried to be not so one-dimensional, working on my drive game and getting more shots up in the offseason," Spencer said. Spencer averaged 5.3 points per game his junior year. He knows that everyone on the team needs to raise their numbers from last year to avoid first half struggles. "We all have to be ready to score at big times and early in the game," Spencer said. "Last year we were known to start slow; this year we have to pick it up more." Port Clinton averaged 21 points per first half through 14 games last season, lowest in the division. "A lot of games last year when we had good looks we didn't knock them down,'' Hicks said. We're building our skill sets so when we have opportunities to score we can take advantage of it instead of scoring in the low to mid-40s." There's nobody more important to picking up those slow starts than Thorbahn, a physical 6-foot-3 junior who averaged 14.6 points per game last season, fourth in the Bay Division. He can score from a variety of spots on the floor and is the team's best rebounder now that Tommy Owens (7.6 rebounds per game) has graduated. Webb is another scorer who will need to step up if Port Clinton is to improve. According to Hicks, Webb spent the summer filling out athletically so he can excel on the perimeter and in the paint. That added muscle will help him defensively, where he averaged a steal per game last season. Hurst, a senior forward, is Webb's fellow wideout on the football field and was the Bay Division's most outstanding player in football. Like Webb, he averaged a steal a game last season to go along with his 3.9 points per game. "With the athletes that we have, I think we can compete and beat anyone on our schedule," Hicks said. "I'm a very competitive guy and I think our team has taken on that same mentality. We're not gonna go into any game not fully expecting to win regardless if we have two weeks of practice before the first game. "We're going to have goals of winning the league and winning a sectional title because for us, that's what it should be every year. We shouldn't go into the year and not have goals that are difficult to attain." Roster No.&emsp;&emsp;Name&emsp;&emsp;Pos.&emsp;&emsp;Ht.&emsp;&emsp;Yr. 2&emsp;&emsp;Nolan Chambers&emsp;&emsp;G&emsp;&emsp;5-8&emsp;&emsp;11 3&emsp;&emsp;Brayden Spencer&emsp;&emsp;G&emsp;&emsp;5-10&emsp;&emsp;12 4&emsp;&emsp;Sy Nickloy&emsp;&emsp;G&emsp;&emsp;5-11&emsp;&emsp;11 5&emsp;&emsp;Tyler Webb&emsp;&emsp;G&emsp;&emsp;5-8&emsp;&emsp;12 10&emsp;&emsp;Jackson Beasley&emsp;&emsp;G&emsp;&emsp;5-10&emsp;&emsp;10 12&emsp;&emsp;Owen Auxter G 5-8 11 13&emsp;&emsp;Josh Hurst&emsp;&emsp;F&emsp;&emsp;6-1&emsp;&emsp;12 23&emsp;&emsp;Adam Thorbahn&emsp;&emsp;F&emsp;&emsp;6-3&emsp;&emsp;11 32&emsp;&emsp;Cameron Gillum&emsp;&emsp;G&emsp;&emsp;5-9&emsp;&emsp;11