SIDNEY — Lehman Catholic has all but two players back from a 15-win campaign last year, and sixth-year coach Pat Carlisle says it is the deepest team he has had in his tenure.

The depth will be needed to make a run at a Three Rivers Conference title.

Lehman won its TRC opener by dominating Milton-Union 57-26 on Friday at Schlater Family Gymnasium. It was the first home game for the Cavaliers (2-0, 1-0), which rallied in the second half to beat Miami Valley 50-48 on Monday.

Carlisle said it was a strong first week.

“We’ve got some guys who can shoot it. We’re a little athletic,” Carlisle said. “Hopefully we continue to come to practice and work hard. As I just talked about to them, the need of the daily grind. We got after it this week, and we played well.”

Lehman senior guard Donovan O’Leary is the team’s leading returnee. He scored 21 points in Friday’s win over the Bulldogs, with all his points coming in the first three quarters.

O’Leary, who is 6-foot-5, averaged 12.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game last year.

“He’s an incredible kid. He is our locker room leader. That’s the biggest thing he can bring,” Carlisle said. “… He had a really big game and had a really good November throughout the scrimmage season. Hopefully we’ve got some big things coming out of him.”

O’Leary is one of eight players who scored on Friday. Six players scored between four and eight points, including sophomore guard CJ Olding, who is taking on a larger role after playing sparingly off the bench last year.

Olding, a starter, hit two 3-pointers and finished with eight points. Freshman forward Shane Frantz hit two 3’s and finished with seven points off the bench.

Sophomore guard Turner Lachey and junior guard Daniel Carlisle (Pat’s son) each started and scored five points. Junior forward Devin Pride scored five off the bench, and junior starting forward Da’Ron Pride scored four.

“We’ve got some pieces,” Pat Carlisle said. “… It definitely helps spread the floor.”

Both Prides will see more playing time and will be counted on for rebounds according to Carlisle.

“They’re athletic kids, rebound extremely well,” Carlisle said.

Lehman led 16-7 by the end of the first quarter and pushed its lead to double figures in the second. But the Bulldogs (0-3, 0-2) scored the last eight points of the second to cut the gap to 27-15 at halftime, then scored the first two points of the third to pull within 10.

“At halftime, we talked that all the X’s and O’s is great, but we have to regain the momentum of this game now,” Carlisle said.

Lehman scored the next 14 points to run away. Carlisle, Lachey, Pride and Olding all made baskets in the third to help put it away, and O’Leary made 5-of-6 foul shot attempts.

The Cavaliers tied for fourth in the TRC last year. Co-champions Troy Christian and Miami East, each of which advanced to regionals, both have many returnees. Northridge, which finished third, has four of its top five scorers back and beat Miami East 55-51 on Friday.

Lehman is scheduled to travel to Casstown to face the Vikings (1-2, 0-1) on Tuesday. Miami East beat Troy by 10 points on Tuesday and lost its season opener by 11 points last Saturday to Chaminade-Julienne, which advanced to a Div. II state semifinal a year ago.

“They’re very good,” Carlisle said of Miami East. “They looked good Tuesday against Troy, and very disciplined. Hopefully we’re ready to sit and guard.”

Botkins stays undefeated

Botkins jumped out to a 16-2 lead in the first quarter of its Shelby County Athletic League opener on Friday against Fort Loramie. The Redskins managed to pull within seven points in the third quarter, but the Trojans turned up their defensive pressure, forced numerous turnovers and pulled away to a 63-34 win.

Collin Doseck led Botkins (3-0) with 19 points while Rylyn Paul scored 13 and Hunter Lenhart scored nine.

Alex Boerger led Fort Loramie with 11 points. It was the squad’s first game of the season and the first game for new head coach Mitch Westerheide, who has been the school’s athletic director since 2018.

Games to watch next week

• Botkins will travel to Jackson Center on Tuesday for what looks to be the biggest Shelby County Athletic League matchup of the week. Jackson Center was edged by Russia in its first league game on Dec. 1, while the Trojans’ win over Fort Loramie on Friday was their first league game.

• It’s year five of the Miami Valley League, and either Sidney or West Carrollton have finished first in Valley Division standings each year. Sidney is scheduled to host the Pirates on Friday in the first of two league matchups. (The Yellow Jackets will first travel to Stebbins on Tuesday, while West Carrollton will host Piqua.)

• Russia will try to keep its undefeated start going on Saturday when it hosts Minster at Clair C. Naveau Gymnasium. The Wildcats opened the season on Friday by beating Houston 66-31. Russia is scheduled to travel to Houston on Tuesday before Saturday night’s matchup. Minster is scheduled to travel to Wapakoneta on Saturday before next Saturday’s matchup.

Reach Bryant Billing at 937-538-4818, or follow @SidneyOHSports on Twitter and @BryantBillingSDN on Facebook.