It’s been a wild month of January for the Avon Eagles.

After losing to Clearview on Dec. 30 in the championship game in the holiday tournament, the Eagles finished 2009 at 4-4 and 2-1 in the West Shore Conference.

The Eagles had nine days off to regroup before their conference game against Vermilion, and with a few days left in January, the Eagles have put themselves in position to contend for the WSC crown.

The Eagles are 4-2 in January, and all four victories have come in conference play.

Their two biggest wins this month have come on the road against the top two teams in the WSC.

The first win came on Jan. 22 against Bay, who was previously unbeaten in conference, 78-70.

RJ Kauffman led all scorers with a season-high 31 points, while Marvin Coleman chipped in with a season-high 17. The win put the Eagles just a game behind the Rockets and North Ridgeville for first place in the conference.

Last Tuesday, the Eagles traveled to North Ridgeville and defeated the Rangers 54-43. Kauffman once again had a big game for the Eagles with 24 points.

Both Kauffman and Coleman have been a big part of the Eagles (8-6, 6-2) success this month. During the six-game span in January, Kauffman has averaged 21.3 points a game. Coleman, who transferred from Southview, began the season coming off the bench. Now a starter, Coleman has averaged 11.1 points a game during the month of January.

Claude Gray has also come up big for the Eagles in the last two games. In the team’s victory against Bay, Gray had 14 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals. Gray followed that up with 18 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and five steals in the win against North Ridgeville.

The high-flying Eagles finish January at home, tonight, against Fairview.

If the Eagles can defeat Fairview, they will be in great shape down the stretch to contend for the WSC title.

Saints take down another rival

The Southview Saints made it 2-for-2 against their two biggest rivals when the defeated Elyria 59-56 last Tuesday night. Earlier this month, the Saints beat cross-town rival Admiral King. With the merger of Admiral King and Southview looming, this was the Saints final chance to go out winners.

For players like Jeremiah Frymier, who is a senior, beating both Admiral King and Elyria means a lot.

“This is my senior year, and we beat them at home, so I’m happy,” said Frymier after the team’s win over Elyria. “We beat Admiral King, too, and have won two in a row. We’re on a winning streak and feeling good.”

The Saints have a chance to go 3-0 when they play the Admirals for the final time in the regular season on Feb. 20.

Bad news for the Admirals

Admiral King hasn’t been able to find the magic it had last season, and things got a little tougher for the Admirals last Saturday. Before their game against John Hay it was revealed that both seniors Gary Donald and Malcolm Barnett were lost for the rest of the season, due to being academically ineligible. This is a big blow for the Admirals (5-6) as they looked to turn things around in the second half of the season. Donald averaged 11.9 points and 9.1 rebounds, while Barnett was working his way back from a wrist injury, that caused him to miss nine of the team’s 11 games.

Leaders of the PAC

On Feb. 2, Clearview and Wellington will play each other for the first and only time this season.

Through the first half of the season the Clippers and the Dukes have separated themselves as the class of the Patriot Athletic Conference.

There is no surprise that the Clippers (9-2, 6-1) are in first place in the Stripes Division. They returned six letterwinners and are arguably the most talented team in the division and in the county. The Clippers are led by the trio of Anthony Hitchens (17 ppg., 4.8 rpg.), Tony Williams (11.8 ppg., 3.9 spg.) and Kyle Baughman (13.1 ppg., 3.4 apg.).

The Dukes have raced out to a 8-3 start under first year head coach Nathan Morris. Wellington returned five letterwinners and are currently 6-0 in the PAC.

The Dukes success is predicated to their defense, as they allow just 47.1 a game and are holding their opponents to 35.9 percent shooting from the field. Offensively, the Dukes are led by Robert Shays (14.4 ppg.), Justin Kidd (11.0 ppg.) and Jason Perry (10.4 ppg., 7.0 rpg.).

Clearview is on the road to face Black River tonight, while Wellington host Brooklyn in conference play.

Stat of the Week

Monroeville’s Ryan Stower had an interesting game on Jan. 23 against Mapleton. He made five field goals and ended his night with a game-high 30 points. How is that possible? Well let’s rundown Stower’s stat line.

His five field goals were all 3-pointers (15 points), he also made 15 free throws. Monroeville won the game 50-46.