WEST CARROLLTON — West Carrollton has one of the tallest lineups in the Miami Valley League, while Sidney has one of the shortest. Mitchell Davis, who is Sidney’s tallest player at 6-foot-4, was kept busy all through a matchup on Tuesday.

But he and the Yellow Jackets dominated the last three quarters to win their sixth consecutive game by beating the Pirates 56-44 on the road.

With the win and Stebbins’ 49-35 loss to Tippecanoe on Tuesday, the Yellow Jackets are now tied with the Indians for first place in MVL Valley Division standings. Sidney (11-5) and Stebbins (11-5) each have 9-4 league records.

“We’re moving the ball, and the way we’re rebounding and playing defense right now, it’s been an emphasis,” Davis said of the Yellow Jackets’ hot streak. “One of the big points of emphasis is moving the ball more and not having so much individual stuff.

“Today, we had four people with double digit points. We were really spread out. Everyone was rebounding, everyone was passing. We’re really clicking right now.”

The Pirates led 17-12 at the end of the first quarter, but Sidney held them scoreless for the first six minutes of the second and took a 27-23 lead by halftime.

“We had to stick with it,” Davis, who scored seven points in the second, said. “We knew they were going to come in pumped up. We’re one of the teams to beat right now. So we just had to match their energy and contain them. We felt like once we got a few possessions under our belts, we could settle them down and really take the lead.”

A’Zon Steele scored eight points in the third to help lead a 20-16 edge which gave Sidney a 47-39 heading into the fourth. The Pirates had pulled within five late in the quarter, but Jayce Daniel hit a 3 from the right wing at the buzzer to push the gap to eight.

West Carrollton made a few baskets in a spurt to pull within 49-44 with under three minutes left. But Julius Spradling, who had struggled at the free-throw line, made two foul shots to push the margin to seven.

Sidney held the Pirates scoreless the rest of the way.

“Pretty impressed with how we battled tonight,” Sidney coach John Willoughby said. “I thought Mitch and Ethan (New) did a great job inside battling. And again, all of our guards are so good at rebounding, which helps us out because we’re undersized.

“We battled hard tonight. I’m proud of the way we battled. I was worried about this game, because they’re so much bigger than we are.”

West Carrollton junior forward Chylan Ingram (6-7) averages 8.2 points and an MVL-best 11.6 rebounds per game. Center Joseph Ingram (6-6) and forwards Byron Freeman (6-3) and Brandon Foster (6-4) each average between five and six rebounds per game.

The group led a strong rebounding effort — Willoughby said the Pirates had 22 offensive rebounds — but Sidney limited West Carrollton to one-shot possessions in a few key stretches and brought down 27 rebounds, 19 on the defensive end.

“It was toughness, all the way down, everyone that went in the game,” Davis said. “We all wanted the ball. We got down there and rebounded. Even though they got 20 boards on offense, we rebounded when we needed to, we pushed down the court and we outran them most of the game.”

Davis and Spradling, who played through sickness, each scored 14. Steele and Daniel each scored 12. Davis had nine rebounds and six blocks, Daniel had six rebounds, New had five rebounds and Spradling and Steele each had three steals and three rebounds.

Freeman led West Carrollton with 13 points. Chylan Ingram scored two, which matches a season-low.

“Certain teams like to drive more than others, so we like to stay in the lanes and take away the gaps and driving lanes,” Willoughby said. “We were pretty good at it tonight.”

New, who is 6-2, guarded Joseph Ingram most of the night, and Willoughby credited him for his defensive effort.

“Mitchell was on the perimeter, and Ethan did a great job battling inside,” Willoughby said.

“… Everybody battled. We didn’t shoot our free throws very well (17 for 29), and we gave up 22 offensive rebounds, and we still win by (12). That shows how the guys battled. We try to stress that to our younger kids: you’ve got to battle through things.”

Sidney is scheduled to host Fairborn (8-6, 7-5 MVL Valley) on Friday. The Skyhawks beat Piqua 66-55 on Tuesday.

The Yellow Jackets had a four-game winning streak snapped when they lost 44-42 at Fairborn on Dec. 19. It was the first of four defeats in a five-game stretch.

Sidney led 31-27 heading into the fourth quarter of the Dec. 19 matchup but couldn’t hold on in the final minutes. The Yellow Jackets led almost all of the game.

“That’s a game we let get away from us,” Willoughby said. “… We weren’t prepared well enough. We’ll have them prepared for Friday.”

Botkins wins third straight

After losing two consecutive games, Botkins pushed its current winning streak to three games by beating Jackson Center 47-37 on Tuesday.

The Trojans (12-3, 7-1 SCAL) pulled away with an 18-12 advantage in the fourth. They led 8-4 at the end of the first quarter, 20-16 at halftime and 29-25 at the end of the third.

Collin Doseck led the squad with 21 points while JJ Meyer added 14.

Botkins is scheduled to travel to Fairlawn on Friday.

Russia earns most lopsided win

The Raiders earned their most lopsided victory of the season yet on Tuesday, as they beat Houston 78-26 at Clair C. Naveau Gymnasium.

The scoring total ties the second highest of the season for Russia, which was again ranked No. 1 in Division IV in this week’s Associated Press Division IV state poll. The squad scored 84 in a 39-point win over Meadowdale in the WPTW Holiday Classic.

Russia (15-0, 8-0) is scheduled to host Versailles on Saturday.

Lehman drops another TRC game

Lehman Catholic lost 56-47 to Miami East on Tuesday in a Three Rivers Conference game to drop to 11-4 overall and 5-4 in league play.

The Vikings led 19-12 at the end of the first quarter, but Lehman used an 11-6 advantage in the second to pull within 25-23 at halftime. Miami East ran away with a 21-15 edge in the fourth.

Lehman is in fourth place in TRC standings behind Troy Christian (11-1, 8-0), Northridge (7-6, 6-1) and Miami East (9-6, 6-2). The squad is scheduled to travel to Bethel on Friday.

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