The Press-Dispatch
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B-4 Sports Wednesday, October 23, 2019 The Press-Dispatch By Dennis Marshall Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Pike County is definite- ly making an impact on the Oakland City University basketball programs with a trio of former Pike Central Chargers on the Mighty Oaks teams. Senior Tyler Toopes re- turns for a second season at OCU, after playing two sea- sons at Danville Area Com- munity College, freshman Hailey Marchino begins her college career after earning an All-PAC honorable men- tion selection a season ago, and Reid Craig enters for his third season as the manager of the men's team. Toopes is OCU's top re- turning scorer, after averag- ing 16 points per game this past season and helping the Mighty Oaks win the Na- tional Christian College Ath- letic Association (NCCA A) Tournament. "He's crafty with the ball," first year OCU men's head coach Lee Moore said. "He looks for teammates as well as his own shot. He's going to be a great player for us from the wing and I'm excit- ed to get him on the court." Toopes is a good ball han- dler and a knockdown shoot- er who is expected to play ei- ther shooting guard or small forward. He is coming off of an ankle injury that has slowed him down a little this offseason. "He has been working his tail off even while he has been in rehabilitation with his ankle," Moore said. "He says his running is feeling pretty good. Jumping is just not back to 100 percent year, but he doesn't let that get in the way. He is out there working hard and leads by example with his work eth- ic on the court." Moore called Toopes a supportive, vocal team lead- er and said that he has a green light on the offensive end of the court. "I would like for him to be able to have as much confi- dence and as big of a green light as possible," Moore said. "We let him know that when he is open, we want him shooting it." Toopes was recruited by the Mighty Oaks out of high school. So he reached out to the university once he fin- ished his second season at Danville. "I called [former OCU head coach Mike] Sandifar and told him I would like to come back and play close to home," Toopes said. "It was a good decision for me. I like being close to home, and spending time with my family and everything." Despite being the team's top returning scorer, Toopes isn't worried about any indi- viduals accolades going into the season. "I just like to win and, hopefully, we can go and have another opportunity to play for a ring," he said. "Whether it comes with me having zero points or 30 points, it doesn't matter to me. All that matters is win- ning and trying to get anoth- er ring. We are coming off a championship, so it is hard to expect anything less than another great season. Our schedule is a little tougher with some really good op- ponents, but the way Coach Moore is leading us right now, I think that anything is possible." The OCU men host their Alumni Game at 11 a.m. on Oct. 26. The Mighty Oaks will be on the road at Aus- tin Peay State University, NCA A Division-1 school, for an exhibition game on Nov. 5. "It will be nice to see how we stack up against them," Toopes said. "Obviously, we're not expecting to go out there and run them out of the gym by 30, but it would be nice to compete, have some fun and see where we are at. It will be some of the tougher competition that we see all year. It's a nice start and it will make us humble, for sure." The team's regular sea- son begins on Nov. 8 at the Region Crossover Tourna- ment in Hillsdale, Mich., against Malone University. "They have really gotten after it," Moore said. "It's been encouraging to see the work ethic that they bring to the table. It's been a great school to come to and we have been made to feel right at home by a lot of great folks here at the university. We are excited to see what God has here for us." Craig is kind of the un- sung hero of the men's pro- gram. He handles a lot of responsibilities behind the scenes that are easily over- looked. "This is a fun group of guys to be with," he said. "I like watching them play. We have been all over the place together." Craig said the most re- warding part of the experi- ence was when the Mighty Oaks raised the NCCA A tro- phy this past season. "There is a lot of hard work that went into the tournament last year and fortunately it paid off with a championship," he said, adding that this opportu - nity should really help him with his future career after he earns his degree in busi- ness with a concentration on sports administration. Moore said Craig helped make his transition into the head coaching position seamless. "He is just a phenomenal young man," Moore said. "He does his job and does it well. He takes it serious- ly and he is a huge help for our program." Marchino was playing in an A AU tournament, follow- ing her senior season at Pike Central, when she decided she wasn't ready to give up the game she loves. "A fter that, I just decided that I wasn't ready to be do- ne with basketball," Marchi- no said. "So I got in touch with [OCU] coach [Shayne] Ross, and just decided that's what I wanted to do." She emailed Ross one of her highlight tapes and not long after, the coach let her know OCU was interested. "I came for a visit and we decided that I was going to continue my basketball ca- reer as a Lady Oak," she said. Marchino said she had been pleased with her deci- sion because it has been a re- ally good experience so far. "Everybody here is re- ally nice and they have a good definition of family," she said. "I feel like I have a lot of people I can rely on if I need help with something." OCU plays a faster-paced offense that Marchino said she is still getting use to, after playing in a more me- thodical system at Pike Cen- tral. "We didn't really push the ball a whole lot, but here [coach Ross] is all about pushing the ball and getting up and down the court fast," she said. "It's really fun and really tiring. I'm just hoping I can keep up and meet their expectations. I just want to help the team out in the best ways I can." Ross said he brought Marchino in because the team needed a shooter. "We were hoping she would come in work hard and she has far exceeded those expectations," he said. "She pushes through. Her strengths right now purely lay in her ability to shoot. We are working on helping her improve her other skill lev- els. With what she does and if she plays hard, she has a great opportunity to contrib- ute to us this year as a role player. "With her it's kind of learning as quickly as pos- sible and being patient with herself in understanding that she isn't where she wants to be or where we need her to be, but she is on her way." Ross said his expectations have been tempered a little for the upcoming season af- ter both of his seniors went down with season-ending in- juries. "That was a big blow very early on that I wasn't expect- ing and we have had a cou- ple more injuries with some of our upperclassmen," he said. "We are going to be relying on freshmen and sophomores who don't have a whole lot of college expe- rience and it's quite a jump from the high school to col- lege level." The Lady Oaks will be on the road at the University of Evansville for an exhibition game at 6 p.m. on Oct. 29. OCU hosts Campbells- ville University-Harrods- burg in its regular season opener at 7 p.m. on Nov. 11. "We have a tough sched- ule early on," Ross said. "I think we will take some bumps, but from what I have seen from this team, we are going to play hard and fast. That will give us an oppor- tunity against some teams that may be more talented. We are going to test their heart and see if they have the heart to play with us and I think that will win some games, and as the season progresses, I think we will get better and better." Former Chargers ready to lace it up as Mighty Oaks Former Pike Central Chargers Hailey Marchino, Reid Craig and Tyler Toopes stand for a photo on Oakland City University's basketball media day on Wednesday, Oct. 16. Gibson Southern players pile on Cameron Clem- ents (80) after a tackle during the fifth and sixth grade youth football tournament at Mt. Vernon on Sunday, October 20. Colten McCollom (75) prepares to protect the quarterback and the goal from Gibson Southern during the fifth and sixth grade youth football tour- nament at Mt. Vernon on Sunday, October 20. Charger youth football players work together to take down the Gibson Southern ball carrier during game action on Sunday, October 20 at Mt. Vernon. Tre'Mikael Dickerson (11) chases down Gibson Southern player (33) trying to keep him from get- ting a touchdown during the fifth and sixth grade youth football tournament at Mt. Vernon on Sun- day, October 20. Gage Morton (23) tackles Gibson Southern ball carrier during the fifth and sixth grade youth foot- ball tournament at Mt. Vernon on Sunday, Octo- ber 20. Above: Gage Morton (23) jumps on Gibson Southern's ball carrier after stumbling for the tack- le during the fifth and sixth grade youth football tournament at Mt. Vernon on Sunday, October 20. Left: Cameron Clements (80) dodges Gib- son Southern player (1) while trying to carry the ball down field. Below: Gibson Southern players team up to tackle Cameron Clements (80) during the fifth and sixth grade youth football tournament at Mt. Vernon on Sunday, October 20. Aiden Wiscaver (68), Landon Hart (24) and Gage Morton (23) run the ball down field after receiving the kick during the fifth and sixth grade youth football tournament at Mt. Vernon on Sun- day, October 20. 5TH & 6TH CHARGER YOUTH FOOTBALL VS. GIBSON SOUTHERN