By Ed Letsinger

Any thoughts of a North College Hill letdown against Cincinnati Country Day with their big Monday showdown looming against Taft were quickly dispelled Friday night in the Trojans dominating 86-56 win.

Behind the performance of super sophomores O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker, the No. 1 ranked Trojans jumped on the Indians early and never let up in this Miami Valley Conference battle.

Mayo did a little bit of everything, scoring 24 points, grabbing 15 rebounds and dishing out 13 assists while collecting five steals on defense.  Walker provided the fireworks with five thunderous dunks en route to a game-high 26 points.  He also snared 10 rebounds and handed out five assists.

“I think they came (in tonight’s game) with energy and enthusiasm and they got the whole team involved and that’s what they’ve been doing lately,” said North College Hill coach Jamie Mahaffey of Mayo and Walker.  “On the floor they’re talking to all the players and making sure everyone is where they’re supposed to be … they’re like coaches on the floor.”

Cincinnati Country Day was simply outmanned but hung around for awhile in the first half.  With North College Hill leading 32-15 midway through the second quarter, the Indians put together a 12-8 run to end the half down only 40-27.  Kurt Smith scored seven points in the quarter and Sonny Snell added five points to keep CCD within shouting distance.

“I thought we played a little sloppy in the first half and weren’t rotating right on defense and getting to the right places on the floor,” said Mahaffey.  “But I thought we played with a lot more intensity in the second half.”

North College Hill (10-1) gradually pulled away in the second half.  Walker scored 11 points in a dominating third quarter performance that included two rim-rattling dunks, one coming on a stick-back off a missed shot that stretched the lead to 55-37.  Walker and Mayo combined to score 17 of the Trojans 21 third quarter points.  Snell, who scored a team-high 16 points, dropped in three 3-pointers for CCD in the quarter.

Showtime continued into the fourth quarter.  Walker added his fifth and final slam and Mayo followed soon after with an alley-oop dunk in an electrifying sequence that made the score 79-48 before Mahaffey emptied he bench at the 4:08 mark of the game.

On the evening, Mayo and Walker combined for 50 points, 25 rebounds and 18 assists.  Freshman guard Damon Butler added 10 points for the Trojans.  CCD’s Kurt Smith complimented Snell with 12 points.

Up next for North College Hill is No. 2-ranked Taft on Monday in a Martin Luther King holiday special at Fairfield High School at 4 p.m.  It’s one of the most anticipated games of the season.

“The fans are all excited about it (the game) but it’s just one game on our schedule,” said Mahaffey of the Taft game.  “We just have to take it a game at a time.”