WEEKEND SCORES
FRIDAY (Boys): Logan 66, Unioto 47 … Paint Valley 63, Valley 55 … Piketon 54, Valley 47 … Portsmouth West 56, Huntington 50 … Alexander 61, Southeastern 54 (OT)
FRIDAY (Girls): McClain 77, Zane Trace 17
SATURDAY (Boys): Valley 62, Adena 57 … Portsmouth 61, Southeastern 52 … Chesapeake 62, Piketon 61 … McClain 52, Westfall 39 … Amanda 76, Paint Valley 43 … Vinton County 58, Huntington 35 … Hilliard Davidson 74, Zane Trace 45
SATURDAY (Girls): Piketon 54, Whiteoak 19 … Vinton County 82, Paint Valley 47
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
BOYS: Zane Trace’s Cam Evans scored 23 points in Saturday’s loss to Hilliard Davidson; Adena’s duo of Preston Sykes and Logan Bennett both posted double-doubles with 14 points and 16 boards and 13 and 13, respectively; Huntington’s Elijah McCloskey finished with 20 points in Friday’s loss to Portsmouth West; Paint Valley’s Cruz McFadden had 19 against Portsmouth Clay while teammate Bryce Newland added 18 points and 10 rebounds; SE’s Lane Ruby scored 24 in a loss to Alexander
GIRLS: Piketon’s Gracie Lightle finished with 21 points, 18 of which came in the first half, of a 54-19 win over Whiteoak; Paint Valley’s Baylee Uhrig had 10 points in the Bearcatss’ loss to Vinton County
CURRENT STANDINGS
BOYS (Conference play has not started):
Paint Valley 1-1 … Piketon 1-1 … Adena 0-1 … Unioto 0-1 … Westfall 0-1 … Zane Trace 0-1 … Huntington 0-2 … Southeastern 0-2
GIRLS:
Southeastern 2-0, 2-0 … Unioto 2-0, 2-0 … Paint Valley 2-2, 2-0 … Huntington 2-1, 1-1 … Piketon 2-1, 1-1 … Adena 0-2, 0-2 … Westfall 0-3, 0-2 … Zane Trace 0-4, 0-2
WHAT’S ON TAP
In boys action, Zane Trace hosts Chillicothe Tuesday night in a crosstown matchup. The Cavaliers are 2-0 with wins over Granville and Zanesville while the Pioneers are looking to bounce back after a sizable loss to Hilliard Davidson. Tuesday’s matchup pits Pioneers guard Cam Evans against Cavaliers forward Jayvon Maughmer. That alone should sell tickets.
Friday, the SVC action begins as the Pioneers once again step into the spotlight in a trip to Unioto. The Tanks are thought to be an underdog in that contest after losing guards Logan Swackhammer and Brandon Kennedy as well as forwards Peyton Hill and Gabe Fisher to graduation. A loss to Zane Trace would snap a 69-game winning streak in conference action.
But head coach Matt Hoops is fully aware of the target on his program’s back an he plans to have his roster ready.
While Zane Trace and Unioto renew a rivalry, Westfall travels to Huntington, Piketon hosts Paint Valley and Adena makes a trip to Southeastern. Then on Saturday, Adena goes to Piketon, Unioto visits Huntington, Zane Trace welcomes in Paint Valley and Southeastern heads to Westfall.
Currently, the SVC’s boys are a combined 2-10.
We’ll know much more about where each of the programs stand after this weekend.
As for the SVC’s girls, the third night of conference play tips off Tuesday. Possibly the most interesting matchup of any is Paint Valley at Unioto. The Shermans have relied on Jocie Fisher, Emily Coleman and Cree Stulley early and often while the Bearcats are young, yet dangerous with the likes of Baylee Uhrig, Kami Crawford and Lea McFadden leading the pack.
Adena goes to Huntington that same night to face Braiden Collins and Allison Bayse while Piketon entertains Macie Graves and Southeastern. Zane Trace will also travel to Westfall where one of the two will get its first win of the year.
Thursday, Paint Valley travels to North Adams and Southeastern heads to Lynchburg-Clay for non-conference dates while six of the SVC’s eight teams tip off on Saturday. Those games include East Clinton at Adena, Huntington at McClain, Fairfield at Paint Valley, Piketon at Western, Peebles at Southeastern and Zane Trace at Waverly.