After a slow Coffman start, Thomas Cochran found his groove with this slam dunk and led all scorers, dropping in 20 points for the ‘Rocks in the win over Orange. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
Thomas Cochran scored 20 points and Gabe Schmidt and Luke Muhlenkamp added 14 each as Coffman recovered from a 13-0 deficit to snap Orange’s 21-game OCC Central win streak.
Lewis Center, OH – It would be folly to race to any rash, broad judgments about the boys high school basketball season based on an otherwise intriguing game played Monday night. After all, there are still nine shopping days left until Christmas. Nothing meaningful is determined for at least two months.
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Even so, some eyebrows likely were raised upon learning that Dublin Coffman went to Olentangy Orange and knocked off the defending Division I state champion 62-57 in Ohio Capital Conference Central Division play.
But those in the know surely were aware that Orange graduated three starters from that special team that hoisted the gold trophy at University of Dayton Arena in March and compiled a remarkable 73-8 record the past three seasons. A fourth starter, senior point guard Levi Davis, opted to graduate early to get a jump on classes and football team activities at Ohio University.
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And because Orange’s football team, marvelously quarterbacked by Davis, captured the big-school state title to cap a 15-0 season only a week-and-a-half earlier, the basketball team delayed the start of its season and practiced for six weeks minus three football players until just a few days ago.
Fourteenth-year coach Anthony Calo fully expects his team to chase a third consecutive OCC Central title and make a deep run in the postseason. But as he pointed out continuously during the splendid run in 2024-25, a basketball season is a marathon with peaks and valleys along the course.
“Everyone wanted to tell me how loaded we are, but I know better than that,” Calo said. “I’ve said it before, but it’s a process. Dublin Coffman is a good team with four games under its belt already. We’ve got things to figure out in terms of getting tougher, being more resilient and finding a chemistry and rhythm with this group. Despite the hand we were dealt, we were still right there in the end. Nobody likes to lose, but what we showed tonight is something we can be encouraged about and build on.”
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After allowing Orange to score 13 unanswered points to open the game, the Coffman defense stiffened, frequently shutting down Orange big man Grant Miller.
On the other side of the coin, Dublin Coffman (4-0, 2-0) showed that it could well become a force to be reckoned with in an extremely tough Central Division with the likes of Hilliard Bradley, Olentangy Liberty, Upper Arlington and Orange (0-1, 0-1) lurking. And the Central District is believed to be even more balanced than usual.
The defeat snapped Orange’s 21-game win streak in Central play dating to February 10, 2023 (to Hilliard Bradley) and was the first home loss at home since Feb. 3, 2024 (to Pickerington Central).
“It’s a big-time win for us, for sure,” Shamrocks senior forward Gabe Schmidt said. “It seems like every time we’ve played them the past few years, we’ve lost by like 25 or 30 points. It’s early, but to get a win like this where we had to fight from behind shows ourselves and everyone else that we can battle.”
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What Schmidt referred to was a 13-0 hole Coffman dug itself into at the outset. Playing with the passion and energy of a proud champion, Orange came out like gangbusters. Center Grant Miller dunked off a feed from Reed Wilson just a few seconds after winning the opening tip, then took a charge on Coffman’s first possession. A steal and a layup by Treyton Schroeder and a 3-point shot by Schroeder followed. Coffman didn’t get off its second shot attempt until the 3:29 mark.
Luke Muhlenkamp rejects the shot attempt by Treyton Schroeder.
“We put in a game plan we worked on all week and to see ourselves get down 13-0 was a little discouraging,” Schmidt said. “That was not us. But we knew once we got things under control, startedf crashing the boards better and playing our brand of ball, we’d be fine.”
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Charlie Guth early in the second quarter gave Coffman its first lead. The teams were deadlocked 30-30 at halftime.
The Shamrocks built their lead to as large as nine four times in the fourth quarter, but the smaller Pioneers refused to quit, slicing the deficit to four with 24.5 seconds remaining. But a turnover on an inbounds pass deflated any chance of a comeback.
Thomas Cochran scored 20 points to pace Coffman while Schmidt (who was sidelined the entire second quarter with three fouls) and Luke Muhlenkamp added 14 each.
Despite graduating All-Ohio guard Colin McClure and his 22 points per game, Coffman has a fine collection of talent back from a 14-11 district championship team. The 6-foot-3 Schmidt, who dropped 41 points in a win over Olentangy Liberty, is the only senior who saw action Monday. At 6-8, Cochran is more of a wing player who can defend any position as evidenced by him guarding 5-10 sharpshooter Schoeder most of the night.
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“I like our makeup a lot,” third-year coach Adam Banks said. “We’ve got some skilled, athletic guys, good length and some grittiness. Gabe provides some great leadership. Thomas is matchup nightmare for anyone because of his ability to shoot it and dribble it at his size.
Jake Gaaskjolen scrambles for possession and clears the ball after a scuffle with Brian Ceol.
“We’re all about chasing the hardware, but this is just one game and it’s very early. We know that every game in our conference is going to be a dogfight. To win here, though, against the defending state champs is really satisfying.”
Cochran said the win erased nightmares of being drubbed at Orange his first two seasons.
“We knew what we had to do in order to beat them tonight and that was top keep Schroeder from getting off open threes and keep Grant Miller from driving left. It took a while for that to materialize, but I think our length ultimately helped us control the boards and helped deflect balls in the passing lane. This is just one win, I feel like we can do something special this year.”
Schroeder, a two-time first-team All-Ohio defensive back who snagged 23 interceptions in his career, had 18 points to pace Orange. Miller added 12 and Xavier Aguila 10.
“For a guy who hadn’t practiced for six weeks, I thought Treyton was great tonight,” Calo said. “The past two years, he was more of a facilitator … who was better at getting us into our offense and hitting threes in the flow. Now, we’re asking him to be more of a creator and scorer. Like I said, it’s going to be a process and our goal is to be playing our best basketball at the end of the year. The reality is we can have a really good team if we figure out a few things.”
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