Kirtland made a run to the state semifinals last season for the second time in school history, but you would never hear coach Shawn McGregor say his team is picking up right where it left off. You could have fooled everyone in the Wickliffe gym on the afternoon of Dec. 13, though. The Hornets had fo ur players score in double figures, and 12 out of 13 players scored at least once as Kirtland won its season debut against the host Blue Devils, 82-51. The Hornets had a distinct size advantage and used that leverage to hold Wickliffe to one shot attempt on most trips down the floor. They also dominated the boards, grabbing 50 rebounds to 29 for the Blue Devils. Senior Lucas Renfro, stepping into the lead scoring role after the graduation of all-time leading scorer Vince Carriero, led the Hornets with 20 points. “We were excited to (finally) play,” Renfro said. “We have a really good team this year.  Sharing the ball, just being basketball players. Running out, getting into our lanes, and doing what we do.” Junior Sammy Ridgeway backed Renfro with 13 points. Senior Ben DiFranco added 11 points, and junior AJ Runyon chipped in with ten. Kirtland closed the opening frame with a 15-2 run, fueled by one-and-done rebounds on the defensive end and getting out in transition for easy buckets. The run turned a 14-10 lead into 29-12 at the end of the quarter. “They came in, they executed, they played hard, they did the things that we have been working on for the last five weeks,” McGregor said. “The football players joined us last week, so running them in and getting their wind back were things that we really worked on. “We wanted to get inside touches for the basketball guys who have been here all five weeks. They know they need to carry the load until the football guys catch up a little bit.” @KirtlandHornets senior Lucas Renfro (team-high 20 points) who has stepped into the leading scorer role for Kirtland after the graduation of Vince Carriero, goes over the Hornets’ 82-51 season-opening win at Wickliffe pic.twitter.com/8n79pP2uuc — Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) December 13, 2025 Seniors Jake LaVerde and Ryan Caimi, and juniors Mario Lorber and Ridgeway are the players from the state championship football team on the Kirtland basketball roster. The 6-foot-4 DiFranco scored three times in the paint in the second quarter as the Hornets extended the lead to 47-26 at halftime. Runyan, Renfro, Ridgeway, and junior Nick Nead all connected on triples in the third quarter as Kirtland took a 70-40 lead going into the fourth. 6-foot-5 senior Mike Dumstorff pulled down 12 rebounds, and 6-foot-2 senior Daniel Shafer grabbed nine. “Depth is huge,” McGregor said. “It’s always been our calling card as a program. We play a lot of guys, and when we start wearing (teams) down, that’s kind of the way it happens.” @KirtlandHornets Coach Shawn McGregor reviews Kirtland’s 82-51 season-opening win at @CVC_Athletics Valley Division foe Wickliffe pic.twitter.com/0X7eFP0Yxu — Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) December 13, 2025 Wickliffe (1-3, 0-1 CVC Valley) was led by senior Drew Rossman, who scored a game-high 24 points, which included five 3s. Sophomore Jayden Johnson added 10 points off the bench. The Blue Devils also graduated their all-time leading scorer in Walter Cable, and have four seniors out of 19 players in the program. Several of Wickliffe’s players are in new roles from what they were in last year, and a few are new to basketball altogether. “Typically, with us being on the smaller side, we like to be really scrappy,” Wickliffe coach Marc Lewis said. “(Kirtland) is a little bit taller than us. They’re more athletic, and basketball-athletic, too. It was tough dealing with their transition game, and we couldn’t get any pressure on them at all.” @WHS_Blue_Devils Coach Marc Lewis talks about his young team and an 82-51 loss to visiting Kirtland pic.twitter.com/6BtfP4g2AP — Jay Kron (@TownCenter2) December 13, 2025 Wickliffe will host Lakeside on Dec. 15. Kirtland will travel to Crestwood on Dec. 17. ...read more read less