MaxPreps/JJHuddle Ohio boys basketball athlete of the week winner & nominees

Game winner at the buzzer in Ohio
Hiland's Kennedy Schlabach hits a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer in the Division IV state semifinals against Ottoville. Video courtesy of Brandon Yoder/OhioSportsTicket.com.

You vote, you decide...who had Ohio's best individual performance this past week?
 
MaxPreps and JJHuddle are proud to announce that they will sponsor an athlete of the week in boys basketball during the 2016-2017 school year.

Each week during the season (regular and post), there will be a fan-generated contest to tab a weekly winner. Each winner will receive awards (bracelets and certificates).

How does it work?

Fans will nominate top performances (send emails to efrantz@maxpreps.com) and nominees will also be selected from those schools that report stats on MaxPreps. We will announce the weekly finalists (up to 10) on MaxPreps and JJHuddle every Tuesday and voting will be conducted in a special poll. Voting will cease at noon on Monday. The winners (two per week) will be announced the next day along with the next week's nominees.

Vote as many times as you want. It's a competition. Vote Now!

Last week over 118,000 votes were cast! And THREE nominees generated nearly 25,000 votes each. Therefore, this week we are naming all three players winners.

* Chad Neisel, Sandy Valley (Magnolia) (FINAL VOTING RESULTS)
Senior scored 20 points to become his program's all-time leading scorer (1,256 points) in a 59-57 D-III district semifinal win over River.

* Lane Ruby, Southeastern (Chillicothe) (FINAL VOTING RESULTS)
Freshman point guard scored a game-high 10 points as the Panthers rallied to win the program's first district title since 2003 with a 35-31 win over Oak Hill in D-III. Southeastern, which improved to 9-17, trailed 11-0 after the first quarter. Ruby previously scored a career-high 21 points in a 55-52 district semifinal win over Minford.

* Baylen Stinson, Elida (FINAL VOTING RESULTS)
Had 15 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and three steals as the Bulldogs beat previously unbeaten and AP No. 1 Upper Sandusky 58-53 in a D-II district final.


* Orion Monford, Perry (Lima)
Scored a team-high 21 points in 57-44 D-IV regional final win over Cincinnati Christian that secured the program;s first state tournament berth. Also scored a team-high 20 points in a 52-50 regional semifinal win that came just a day after assistant coach Herb Lane Jr. passed following an automobile accident on the way home from practice Monday. Lane Jr. was also Perry’s head football coach.

* Jayvon Graves, St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron)
Senior and Buffalo recruit had 17 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, four blocked shots and two steals in a 72-48 D-II regional final win over Cleveland Central Catholic. Had 23 points, five rebounds and four assists in an 87-51 regional semi win over Lake Catholic.

* Alonzo Gaffney, Villa Angela-St. Joseph (Cleveland)
Sophomore had 24 points in the Vikings 70-51 D-III regional final win over West Salem Northwestern. Had 17 points ans even boards in an 87-47 regional semi win over Garfield.

* Jeremiah Francis and Sterling Manley, Pickerington Central
Duo dominated rival Pickerington North during a 75-58 D-I regional final win. Francis, a sophomore, had 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Manley, a senior and North Carolina recruit, had 21 points and 11 rebounds.

* Torrey Patton, Trotwood-Madison
Senior had 19 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and four steals in an 83-54 D-II regional final win over Dunbar. Had 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists in a 61-56 regional semi win over Taft.

* Daniel Unruh, Elida
Scored 31 points in a 64-54 D-II regional semifinal win over Holy Name. Had 13 points in a 54-45 regional final oss to Wauseon.

* Marreon Jackson, Garfield Heights
Senior and Toledo recruit scored game-high 27 points in a 69-65 D-I regional final loss to St. Edward. Had 12 points, nine rebounds and two assists in 29-22 regional semi win over Uniontown Lake.

* Jerome Hunter, Pickerington North
Junior forward powered his way to back-to-back 27-point performances in a D-I regional final win over Upper Arlington (64-44) and a regional final loss to archrival Pickerington North (675-58).