A chance for history
Bluejays extend win streak to seven straight
Every time the Athens Bluejays take the court they spare a small glance for the banners that hang along the entrance.
Every
“Most people didn’t expect much out of Athens basketball with Cam gone, so it’s nice to prove them wrong.”
Kody Lepak
number that marches up and down their blue expanse recalls past glories and former stars.
Yet one banner has remained almost untouched over the years. In the long story of Athens boys basketball,
Athens junior
because this year’s team brings something different to the court - balance.
“At the start of the year everyone was saying ‘You’re not going to be any good, Cam’s gone, he was your scorer, and without him you’re nothing,’” senior guard Dayne Diethelm said. “But we got his cousin who’s just as big, only one team has ever won a conference crown for the Bluejays.
This year’s squad aims to change that, and they just might do it. That’s
and we can pass the ball around and everyone can score, so we’re proving them wrong.”
The loss of Cameron Ford is big, but the ‘Jays know exactly what they have this year, and are winning by committee rather than being a one-man show.
“We have four guys scoring ten points a game now,” Diethelm says. “Cooper can shoot the ball, I can drive, Kody can shoot the ball, we can dish out and really do everything.”
It didn’t look that way in the first half against the Hornets, and perhaps the holiday layover had something to do with it. Athens struggled to find a rhythm and the Hornets held the ‘Jays to just 17 point in the first period.
Not that Colby was sizzling the nets, as Athens held a high flying Hornets squad to 21.
“They’ve been averaging over 60 points a game, and we held them to 21, so awesome defense,” Athens coach Aaron Ellenbecker said. “But us scoring 17? We said we’re a better shooting team than that and we came out in the second half with a little more fire.”
It was a slow burn for the ‘Jays, who trailed Colby 28-22 in the second half, but Athens found a spark in Kody Lepak and Aiden Janke, who earned points in the paint off of offensive rebounds.
Janke was a man among boys, and his interior presence battered Colby defenders away as if they were flies.
Janke finished with 15 points in the second half for a game high 20, and Lepak added ten more as Athens built a 42-35 lead with seven minutes to play. The ‘Jays defense was suffocating in the final five minutes, holding Colby to five points as they won 57-40 thanks to a 40 point effort in the last stanza.
Cooper Diedrich and Dayne Diethelm added 11 and 10 points in the winning effort.
“It feels pretty good to have the win and some momentum,” Lepak said. “Most people didn’t expect much out of Athens basketball with Cam gone, so it’s nice to prove them wrong.”
Top of the Marawood - North totem pole is how Athens will end 2020. If all goes according to play, the ‘Jays will stay on top in 2021.
“We haven’t had a conference championship since 1950,” Diethelm said with an upwards glance at the banners. “Every time we come out here we see it. It’s something we all want so bad.”
FIGHT THROUGH IT-Dayne Diethelm dribbles his way out of a double team during the Athens Bluejays non-conference home game with Colby on Monday night. Diethelm scored ten points as the ‘Jays improve to 7-1 in the 2020-21 season.STAFF PHOTO/ROSS PATTERMANN
