Three state-ranked team lead Richland County Boys Basketball Power Poll

MANSFIELD — Three state-ranked teams call Richland County home.

So, it is easy to figure out the Top 3 of the Richland County Boys Basketball Power Poll. There are still six teams with three losses or fewer in this week's poll while also having a .500 team and one that is creeping closer and closer to that mark.

Let's take a look at how this week's poll shook out.

STATE RANKINGS: Shelby joins Lexington, Crestview in latest AP Boys Basketball Poll state rankings

11. St. Peter's (1-11)

The Spartans saw their losing streak reach seven games with two losses since the last power poll falling to Medina Christian Academy 71-37 and Wellington 52-28. They host Lucas on Friday night before heading to Bucyrus on Saturday for the start of 10 games in 24 days where they will have to dig deep especially with winnable games against Temple Christian, the Spartans' lone win this year, and New London looming.

10. Madison (1-13)

The Rams saw their losing streak reach 11 games after two losses since the last power poll. First, they fell to Mount Vernon 60-45 as Justin McCraney had 16 points and Owen Wigton scored 12. Then, on Tuesday night, Madison fell to Lexington 67-38 as Wigton scored 11 and Will Kepple added 10. The Rams will try to stop the bleeding on Friday night at New Philadelphia.

9. Ontario (4-10)

The Warriors split their two games since the last power poll falling to River Valley 82-58 before knocking off Clear Fork 67-59 for a strong win to begin the second half of the season. Grayson Purvis had a nice game with 15 points against River Valley while Grady Schroeder added 13 and Brady Zehe had 12 for some nice balance. Against Clear Fork, Schroeder dropped a career-high 30 while Landon Foltz scored 10 and Purvis had 10. If the Warriors can continue to play with this kind of balance, they could have a strong finish to the season and maybe make some noise in the tournament. First, they travel to Galion on Friday night.

8. Clear Fork (7-7)

The Clear Fork Colts also split their two games since the last power poll beating Galion 62-53 as Beau Dornbirer and Garret Hotz had 19 points apiece to knock off the Tigers. Then, the Colts lost to Ontario in a close one, 67-59, as Adam Vanausdle and Hotz had 21 points apiece but ran into a hot hand to keep them at .500 on the season. Clear Fork hosts Pleasant on Friday in a game that could give the Colts a ton of momentum heading down the home stretch as they look for their first winning season since 2018-19.

7. Plymouth (6-8)

The Big Red are now winners of three straight after beating Monroeville 51-39 last week to improve to 6-8 on the season as the six wins are already two more than they had all of last season. It is the longest winning streak since January of 2022 when the Big Red won three straight. If they can knock off New London on Friday night to push it to four, it will tie the longest winning streak since February of 2019.

6. Lucas (9-3)

The Cubs take a bit of a fall in this week’s power poll after seeing a two-game skid thanks to a 72-61 loss to Crestview on Monday night dropped them to 9-3 on the season. Gabe Porter and Zac Winters had nice games for the Cubs with 16 points apiece while Aidan Culler had 12 and Logan Toms added 10 so the Cubs played well against the top team in the power poll. Lucas closes out the week with a road game at St. Peter’s before hosting Elgin on Tuesday. The Cubs have a stretch of games coming up that will really test them ahead of the tournament which is exactly what they want as the search for a district championship.

5. Mansfield Senior (10-3)

The Tygers go from No. 3 to No. 5 in this week’s power poll after a surprising 83-56 loss to Lexington on Saturday night. The Tygers have three losses this year and two of them are to the Minutemen by a combined 52 points. Kyevi Roane did have a sensational game with 27 points as he dominated the paint but he didn’t get much help and the Tygers are now two games out of first place in the Ohio Cardinal Conference. They have a big weekend ahead with a trip to Wooster on Friday and a home game against Shelby on Saturday. Two wins could get them right back in the Top 3 next week.

4. Mansfield Christian (10-3)

The Flames make a move up in the standings this week thanks to a dominating 87-49 win over Mapleton pushing their winning streak to four games. Davion Mack had a career night with 33 points while Amarr Davis had 17 and Davis Wushinske added 11. The Flames have been on an absolute roll since dropping that close one to Lucas back on Jan. 5 and they seem to be playing their best basketball in preparation for the rematch on Feb. 9. First, they have a full slate of games coming up with a trip to Crestline on Friday and Highland coming in on Saturday in their first of three straight double weekends. That Feb. 9 game is going to be something else.

3. Shelby (11-2)

The Whippets move up to No. 3 this week after breaking into the Top 10 of the AP Boys Basketball Poll state rankings. They did it with two very convincing wins over Marion Harding, 61-41, and Galion, 71-54, in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference play last week. Karsen Homan has a career night with 15 points against Harding while Alex Bruskotter had 14 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for a near triple-double while Issaiah Ramsey added 11 points and Casey Lantz had 10 for some amazing balance. On Saturday, Bruskotter dropped 28 points while Lantz added 13 and Brayden DeVito had 12 for some more balanced scoring. Shelby is in complete control of the MOAC title race with a two-game lead and can continue to shrink their magic number at Highland on Friday before heading to Mansfield Senior on Saturday in a fun Richland County battle.

2. Lexington (16-1)

The Lexington Minutemen took care of business last week putting themselves in a prime position to win the Ohio Cardinal Conference championship. First, it was a dominant 83-56 win over Mansfield Senior to give themselves a 2-game lead in the league standings. Elijah Hudson played possibly his most inspired game of his career with 26 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks and three assists while Seven Allen had 14 points and eight assists in one of the best all-around games of his young career. Then, Lexington, the No. 2 ranked team in all of Division II, took care of Madison on Tuesday night 67-38 to improve to 10-0 in the OCC needing just two more league wins to clinch at least a share and three for an outright title. Hudson had 16 points while Brayden Fogle and Allen had 12 apiece in that win. Lex hosts Ashland on Friday for a chance to knock that magic number down to one.

1. Crestview (14-0)

The Cougars remain the top team in this week’s power poll thanks to a huge 72-61 win over Lucas in a revenge game to push their winning streak to 14 games which ties the program record and is tied for the best start to a season with last year’s squad. Speaking of balance, Justice Thompson scored 23 points while Dylan Bruner added 20 and Tyson Ringler had 12. Sam Wells and Jarek Ringler added seven apiece as the entire starting five combined for 69 points. The Cougars host Monroeville on Friday for a chance to break the program record for longest winning streak and best start to a season while continuing to remain in complete control of the Firelands Conference title race. It has been a special year for the Cougars, who are ranked No. 8 in Division III, and it may only get better and better from here on out.

Last Week’s Rankings

11. St. Peter's

10. Madison

9. Ontario

8. Plymouth

7. Clear Fork

6. Mansfield Christian

5. Lucas

4. Shelby

3. Mansfield Senior

2. Lexington

1. Crestview

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Crestview, Lexington, Shelby all state ranked in Richland County Boys Basketball Power Poll