Oak Hill Basketball advances to semi-state

Editors note: Minors interviewed with parent’s consent

Last week the Oak Hill boys’ basketball team won against Benton Central high school to take home the regional title at Frankfort Highschool.

The final score of the game was 75-56. This was the first regional win for Oak Hill since 2018’s state winning team and the fourth time ever winning regionals in Oak Hill history.

“They play for each other more so than anything else,” head coach Kevin Renbarger said.

Renbarger has coached the program for 30 years and has seen lots of different groups go through.

Renbarger said the team’s closeness is what sets them apart from other years as well as not wanting to let each other down when they play.

Managers Lilly Kroll and Sarah Young said, “Being more like brothers than teammates is especially good for them”.

The team added this win to their record making them 25-1.

The key players of the game were KD Simmons, Jace Tonagel and Will Tonagel. Simmons had 21 points. Then the Tonagel brothers came in with 14 for Jace and 12 for Will.

The victory was not just because of one player though but a whole team effort showcasing their skills offensively and defensively.

Benton Central was a team they had never seen before in the school’s history said Coach Renbarger. They spent lots of time the week leading up to the game watching film and getting ready to see what they were about said Renbarger.

When the score got closer for the Benton Central Bison, the Oak Hill Golden Eagles closed the deal by calling a time out and putting the starters back in.

“Trying to get all the guys settled down and getting high percentage looks” said Jace Tonagel was the next goal at hand during the end of the game.

The time-out helped them to regain their confidence and execute the rest of the game to come out on top.

Last Saturday, the stands were packed with Oak Hill fans at Frankfurt.

“The following of this particular basketball team is like none other that I’ve seen here at Oak Hill,” Coach Renbarger said.

Oak Hill will play again this Saturday at Muncie Central for Semi-State against Bishop Luers.

“If we do us, we should come out on top” Simmons said as they prepare for the next game.