Trojans’ 12 treys spark win over GA

Results

TeamTOutcome
Portsmouth70Win
Gallia Academy56Loss

Trojans’ 12 treys spark win over GA

By Paul Boggs

PORTSMOUTH — Indeed, it appears as if a couple extra days off didn’t do any harm to the Portsmouth Trojans’ legs.

That’s because the host Trojans, in an Ohio Valley Conference makeup matchup on Monday night, torched the nets from three-point land against the Gallia Academy Blue Devils — tossing in 12 treys en route to defeating Gallia Academy 70-55 inside PHS’ Trojan Arena and completing the season sweep.

That’s correct: triples better by the dozen —and accounting for half (36) of the Trojans’ tally.

Portsmouth book-ended the contest with a pair of opening and closing 22-point quarters, stymied the Blue Devils sans two starters to five first-period points, and withstood a fiery Gallia Academy comeback bid to capture its second consecutive victory.

The Trojans raised their OVC record to 5-7, while the Blue Devils — after simply shocking league-leader Fairland 55-47 last Tuesday night — are now 4-8 in the league.

Both clubs are now 8-11, as —speaking of last Tuesday night — that was when the Trojans last played prior to Monday, as they rolled Rock Hill while senior standout Matthew Fraulini became the ninth Trojan in school history to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau.

The game against Gallia Academy was originally scheduled for Friday night, but because of the flu bug biting the Gallipolis City School District, it was postponed until Monday.

All indications are that the Trojans took advantage of the weekend off, because they looked fresher — and faster — against Gallia Academy, who was without starters Reece Thomas and Cooper Davis due to illness.

Defensively, they had hands in passing lanes, applied backcourt ball pressure, forced turnovers turned into transition layups, and rebounded well.

Offensively, they made multiple layups off steals —and dialed up those dozen three-pointers, including six from Fraulini, who poured in a game-high 27 points on 10 total field goals.

They also won several loose balls, making those hustle plays that don’t show up on the stats sheet.

Portsmouth coach Eugene Collins said it was a solid performance from his Trojans —aside from being doubled up 20-10 in the second stanza — from opening tip to final buzzer.

It could have easily been the Trojans’ third win in a row, which lost a late lead at Fairland —and fell 75-73 in overtime on Jan. 24.

“Our guys were ready to go and I think we’re feeling pretty good right now. We thought we had Fairland, but we were able to come home and get a good win against Rock Hill and then follow it up with this win tonight. I think guys are feeling confident that we have things going in the right direction,” said Collins. “We’re getting better in a lot of areas, from free-throw shooting and our rebounding tonight which was big. We’re trying to work on things, and no better way than to work on them than getting a win.”

What was most important on Monday was Portsmouth playing at a preferred fast pace, getting the basketball up and down the floor while the Blue Devils —with freshman center Isaac Clary —wanting to slow things down and operate in a half-court set.

The Trojans turned the Blue Devils over early and often, scoring the final 14 points over the final three minutes and 42 seconds of the opening quarter — and leading 22-5 at the first stop.

Gallia Academy led 2-0 and 4-3, but the Trojans got threes from Fraulini and Jesse Dixon to go ahead 6-4 just a minute and 50 seconds in — and never trailed again.

Miles Shipp scored on a fast break to make it 8-4, then Clary converted one of two free throws at the 3:57 mark for the Blue Devils’ final point of the period.

As part of the Trojan onslaught over those final four minutes, Chris Duff drilled a pair of threes —one from the corner and one off the wing —while his top-of-the-key trifecta made it 27-12 with 4:40 remaining in the second stanza.

The 22-5 advantage, and Shipp’s shot from the top to make it 24-7, were Portsmouth’s largest leads.

Truth be told, the Trojans just looked quicker and crisper.

“It was critical that we got off to a good start tonight,” said Collins. “When we make shots, we can get in our press and our pressure bothered them. I knew it was going to be a game of us wanting to get up and down and them wanting to play in the half-court and throw it inside to their post guys.”

But the Blue Devils’ furious rally was thanks to Portsmouth playing suddenly sloppy, and the guests getting three-pointers to fall from Logan Blouir and Devin Lee once — and Carson Call back-to-back.

“We were helping down on their post guys and we were leaving a few guys open. They adjusted and put some guys in who made some shots, but I was willing to give up some perimeter shots versus them just throwing it down in the post every time and getting us in foul trouble,” said Collins.

The Blue Devils’ deficit went from 15 (27-12) to four (29-25) over a span of three minutes and 52 seconds, but then Fraulini found the range from deep off the wing to beat the first-half horn.

Collins said the set play for Fraulini, the biggest shot of the game, turned the momentum back in the Trojans’ favor — and stopped the proverbial bleeding.

The Trojans then scored the opening eight points of the third frame —on back-to-back threes by Dixon and Fraulini followed by a transition bucket by Donovan Carr.

“That was a big swing,” explained Collins. “They had momentum, but we called a set play there to end the half. We ran it to perfection with Matt (Fraulini) knocking that three down. Then we came right back out to start the second half and scored the first eight points with two more threes to start. That was 11 straight points, so that was a big big thing for us to keep the game going the way we wanted it to go.”

That made it 40-25 only a minute and 50 seconds into the second half, as Gallia Academy didn’t score until the 5:42 mark when Clary converted an old-fashioned three-point play.

Furthermore, Fraulini was just warming up, as he halted a five-point personal run by Clary with another three-ball from the corner to make it 46-34 —and threw down a slam dunk at the 1:23 mark for a 48-36 advantage.

Fraulini finished with 21 second-half points, splitting a pair of free throws exactly three minutes earlier to make it 43-28.

“Hats off to Matt Fraulini. He was big with 21 points in the second half. He made some big three-pointers when they were trying to pressure us,” said Collins.

In the fourth quarter, Call and Blouir both bagged threes to trim the deficit to seven points twice (48-41 and 53-46), but on each ensuing possession, Fraulini (51-41) and Dixon (56-46) drained trifectas for two more 10-point leads —as Dixon put back a missed dunk from Fraulini for a dozen-point cushion (58-46) with 3:52 to play.

From there, Carr connected on 5-of-6 free throws in the final 3:24, as Fraulini’s sixth three made it 64-50 —followed by his steal and layup at the two-minute mark that made it a 16-point edge (66-50).

The Trojans, without the Blue Devils fouling, then ran out the final minute-and-a-half of the clock — although Drew Roe found Fraulini wide open underneath the basket with 25 seconds remaining.

That final Fraulini field goal made it 14 twos and 12 threes for Portsmouth, as Dixon (11 points) and Duff (nine points) had three threes apiece —with Shipp scoring five twos for 10 points, including six points in the first quarter.

Roe registered two first-half buckets and Dariyonne Bryant one.

Blouir, on six total field goals and 3-of-4 free throws, paced the Blue Devils with 17 points —while Clary, on six field goals and 3-of-5 foul shots, followed with 15.

Call connected for a dozen on his four treys, as Damon Cremeens (two field goals) and Ben Cox (one field goal and 2-of-2 free throws) contributed four points apiece.

Portsmouth returns home, and returns to OVC action on Friday night, against Ironton for its Senior Night tilt.

Only Fraulini and Jack Workman are Trojan seniors, as they seek to avenge a 62-61 setback at Ironton on Jan. 10.

This time, the Trojans will need that couple of days off to rest their legs — as they aim to come out firing again against the Fighting Tigers.

“We’ve been making 10, 11, 12 threes every night. That’s been our trend,” said Collins. “Our goal is to win these last five games, and we’re playing well right now. It was a huge win for us tonight.”

* * *

Gallia Academy 5 20 13 17 — 55

Portsmouth 22 10 16 22—70

GALLIA ACADEMY 55 (8-11, 4-8 OVC)

Devin Lee 1 0-0 3, Colton Caldwell 0 0-0 0, Logan Blouir 6 3-4 17, Carson Call 4 0-0 12, Ben Cox 1 2-2 4, Isaac Clary 6 3-5 15, Justin Wilcoxon 0 0-0 0, Damon Cremeens 2 0-1 4; TOTALS 20 8-12 55; Three-point goals: 7 (Carson Call 4, Logan Blouir 2, Devin Lee 1)

PORTSMOUTH 70 (8-11, 5-7 OVC)

Amare Johnson 0 0-0 0, Matthew Fraulini 10 1-3 27, Dariyonne Bryant 1 0-0 2, Drew Roe 2 0-0 4, Jesse Dixon 4 0-0 11, Miles Shipp 5 0-0 10, Chris Duff 3 0-0 9, Jaylind Thomas 0 0-0 0, Donavan Carr 1 5-6 7; TOTALS 26 6-9 70; Three-point goals: 12 (Matthew Fraulini 6, Jesse Dixon and Chris Duff 3 apiece)

Portsmouth

PTS REB AST STL BLK
00000

Gallia Academy

PTS REB AST STL BLK
00000

Court

Portsmouth

Details

Date Time League Season
February 3, 2020 7:30 pm OVC 2019-20

Logan 58 Athens 54 a final

Results

TeamTOutcome
Athens54Loss
Logan58Win

Logan 58
Athens 54 a final

Justin Wolfe the 6-6 big man for Logan had his way in the paint scoring 25 points on the night as the Bulldogs had no one to counter the Logan size inside … Athens scoring duo Brayden Markins and Brayden Whiting put up 18 each on the night … this one was tied at 54-54 with 1:29 to play … Athens had the ball twice on the good side of the court but turned it over each time without getting a shot up … Logan’s Tegan Myers went 4/6 from the line to give the Chiefs the win over D2 Athens at McAfee … a great effort for the Bulldogs as they were down as many as 13 points into the 3rd period before making a push to get the lead with 3:54 to play at 52-50 Athens … only to be outscored with 2 Wolfe buckets by Wolfe before the Myers trips to the line to seal the game …

… Pfloyd’s official “UN-official” Napkin Stats – Athens

Scoring …Brayden Markins 18, Brayden Whiting 18, Will Matters 7, Jack Cornwell 6, Nate Trainer 5
3 Pointers … 5/17 … Brayden Whiting 2, Nate Trainer 1, Jack Cornwell 1, Will Matters 1
FTs …. 7/8
TOs …. 10
PnP …. 9 fgs/ 18 points in the paint
PnT …. 1 fg/2 points in transition
PBck … 3 fgs/ 6 points on putback baskets

… great effort by the Bulldogs of Coach Cozart to get back into a game that had them trailing by double digits for the better part of 3+ quarters missing the big presence and strength of Isaiah Butcher along with the 3rd scoring threat of the 6-3 big for AHS … without Butcher AHS has to put 6-2 Brayden Whiting down low on the post – out of position, outsized … the dawgs having to rethink the offense and defense along with changes in rotations … tough situation going into the post season …

… Pfloyd’s official “UN-official” Napkin Stats – Logan

Scoring … Justin Wolfe 25, Tegan Myers 14, Nolan Robinette 8, Mason Frasure 4, Colten Castle 4, Colten Ruff 3
3 Pointers … 2/10 … Nolan Robinette 2
FTs …… 11/24
TOs …. 6
PnP …. 20 fgs/40 points in the paint
PnT …. 1 fg/ 2 points in transition
PBck … 5 fgs/ 10 points on putback baskets

… D1 Logan vs D2 Athens … Logan put the ball in the hands of their big man in the middle Justin Wolfe for 25 points … Wolfe had 4 offensive boards for putback baskets in the 1st quarter alone … 13 rebounds for the game … Logan did an excellent job of feeding the post the entire game, going over the top of the smaller Athens defenders in the post … Logan takes on another SEOhio opponent in the Warren Warriors this Tuesday at Logan …

Athens

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
1Andrew Stephens01210
3Brayden Markins1811420
4Nate Trainer57200
5Reece Wallace00000
14Brayden Whiting186200
20Jack Cornwell62100
30Will Matters72400
34Jake Sayers00000
 Total54291530

Logan

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
3Mason Frasure40000
5Tegan Myers140000
10Ian Frasure00000
14Colten Castle40000
21Justin Wolfe240000
23Nolan Robinette90000
24Colton Ruff30000
25Conner Ruff00000
 Total580000

Court

Athens
The Plains, OH 45780, USA

Details

Date Time League Season
February 8, 2020 7:30 pm SEO 2019-20

Federal Hocking 69 Trimble 67 a final

Results

TeamTOutcome
Federal Hocking69Win
Trimble67Loss

Federal Hocking 69
Trimble 67 a final

By Pfloyd

… the battle for #1 in the TVC Hocking … the Lancers of Coach Thompson looked to avenge their 52-59 loss @ Trimble earlier in the season … packed house in Stewart ! the games on the tail end of an afternoon benefit for starting PG for FH , Collin Jarvis’ mom Ticia who is battling cancer … more than 900 fans filled the gym tonight after attending the benefit which raised more than $4300 … great cause, outstanding turnout – my thoughts and prayers for Ticia & family – so much love and support from the FH community … wonderful atmosphere – felt special as soon as I walked into the school/gym … the game was as special as the pre-game benefit event … JC2124 – great job tonight all around buddy – well done …

… not sure you could GET more people in the FH gym tonight ! – 900 fans , 2 radio stations, newspaper folks, OU photogs, OU TV peoples AND pfloyd ! – the game didn’t disappoint … the Lancers looked to run away and hide right from the opening tip ! everyone for Fed Hock was involved in pushing the score up at the 4:38 mark Fed Hock was up 7-2 … by 2:15 FH had moved to a 16-4 lead by the time the 1st quarter ended the Lancers were on the good end of a 24-14 scoreboard … 7 players dented the scoring column for the Lancers led by 6-5 Brad Russell’s 7 points (including a trey)/Hunter Smith added another 3 ball (5 pts), Quentin Basim 4 / 2 each by Wes Carpenter, Nathaniel Massie, Elijah Lucas , Ian Miller … for Coach Caldwell’s Tomcats they were led by Cam Kittle’s 8 pts (2 triples)/Blake Guffey 4/ Sawyer Koons 2 … one name missing from the scoresheet was Brayden Weber (0 pts) who was chased all over the court by Collin Jarvis & Quentin Basim for 4 quarters … Fed Hock 24 Trimble 14 after 1 … quarter #2 was more of the same as FH fed off of the frenzied fans – Russell continued to pull FH ringing up 7 more points (14 for the half) adding his 2nd triple to the mix of scoring, Basim off the bench added 6 points (10 in the half) Nathaniel Massie picking up the final 4 points of the quarter for FH … Trimble turned up the defensive effort trying to get back into the game forcing 5 more FH turnovers (10 TOs for the half) to no avail as the Lancers extended their lead to 16 points before halftime even with the offensive efforts of Austin Wisor (3) , Kittle with another trey and 5 points in the 2nd by Blake Guffey (9 pts) … Federal Hocking 41 Trimble 25 at the half … any fan of hs sports in SEOhio KNOWS that any lead on a Howie coached team is not big enough … it is not in the DNA of a Trimble athlete to rollover or admit defeat until the final whistle/buzzer … the 3rd quarter we saw the Tomcats start the road back into the game … THS outscored FH 15-11 in the quarter … forced 5 more TOs/15 on the game for FH … got a couple of putback buckets … Brayden Weber got his first points of the game with 4 points each from Wiser/Sawyer Koons …. 2 points each from Tyler Weber/Cam Kittle … Fed Hock continued getting big minutes/offense from their big Brad Russell 6 pts/20 points thru 3 … both Fed Hock & Trimble fans were looking at the scoreboard now … Fed Hock 52 Trimble 40 after 3 … the final period was what pfloyd came to see – a great game between 2 very good teams … the Tomcats pressured everywhere – forced 6 Lancer TOs but could only get to within 12 at 4:58 in the period 45-57 Lancers … after the FH time out Trimble closed out the rest of the game outscoring FH 22-12 … Blake Guffey 8 pts/Tyler Weber 7/Austin Wisor 5/Brayden Weber 4 /Cam Kittle 3 for the Tomcats – outstanding surge/run to the final buzzer … this one was FH 63-57 at 1:49 to play … 27.7 on the clock FH owned a 67-65 lead at 2.5 sec to play FH 69-67 … a missed FT by FH with 1.9 on the clock allowed Trimble a final 3 point attempt from beyond half court … short … the Tomcats coming up just short of a miracle comeback Federal Hocking 69 Trimble 67 a final …

… Pfloyd’s official “UN-official” Napkin Stats – Trimble

Scoring …. Blake Guffey 18, Cam Kittle 16, Austin Wisor 12, Tyler Weber 9,Brayden Weber 6, Sawyer Koons 6
3 Pointers …. 8/29 … Cam Kittle 4, Austin Wisor 2, Tyler Weber 1, Blake Guffey 1
FTs ………. 5/8
TOs …….. 14
PnP …….. 15 fgs/ 30 points in the paint
PnT ……. 3 fgs/6 points in transition
Pbck …… 3 fgs/ 6 points on putback buckets

… this one was the proverbial “digging yourself a hole” game for Trimble … down 16-18 points throughout the 1st 2 quarters … FH seemingly able to get what they wanted WHEN they wanted it … the Trimble floor leader – Brayden Weber – held scoreless for the first 2 quarters, only 6 points for the game … the size for FH making life miserable at both ends of the floor … easy for a lesser team to play it out, go through the motions BUT we’re talking about a Howie coached TEAM, athletes from Trimble HS who literally have NO IDEA what it means to “quit” on their school, their teammates, or themselves – battling back in this one multiple times to get within 2 points -multiple times … making the right decisions on the court in crunch time so that even when the odds were against them : 1.9 sec on the clock down 2 THEY – the Trimble Tomcats took destiny into THEIR hands … they had a 3/4 court shot to WIN – odds against it going in yes, odds were on Trimble’s side that THEY would have a chance AT THE END to get the W … win or lose the Tomcats of Coach Howie are MY kind of TEAM …

… Pfloyd’s official “UN-official” Napkin Stats – Federal Hocking

Scoring … Brad Russell 26, Quentin Basim 13, Hunter Smith 13, Nathaniel Massie 9, Wes Carpenter 4, Elijah Lucas 2, Ian Miller 2
3 Pointers …. 6/14 … Brad Russell 2, Hunter Smith 2, Nathaniel Massie 1, Quentin Basim 1
FTs ……….. 7/17
TO …… 21
PnP …… 18 fgs/ 36 points in the paint
PnT ….. 5 fgs/ 10 points in transition
PBck … 3 fgs/ 6 points on putback buckets

… 13 years since the Lancers had beaten Trimble on the hardwood … a lot of emotions happening from BEFORE the tip off, through the pre-game presentations, into the game and after the game for the Federal Hocking community, fans, staff, coaches, players … THIS was a BIG game for soooo many reasons for FH … a loss would say to many – “the Lancers are on the right track BUT the TVC Hocking STILL runs through Trimble” a win ? “We have arrived ! WE can compete for the league chp ! WE ARE LANCERS ! … FH threw the first punches jumping out to the BIG leads in the 1st two quarters leading 24-14, 41-25 at the half … FH took punches in the 2nd half as the Tomcats battled back into the game – another defining moment for the Lancers : vs Trimble, taking blows , losing ground as the scoreboard shows Trimble has it down to 12 points 45-57 4:58 in the 4th … Trimble STILL closing our lead is 6 points 63-57 1:49 to play … Trimble is STILL coming – a BIG triple from Hunter Smith , another BIG triple from Quentin Basim … Federal Hocking didn’t fold, the Lancers STEPPED UP to beat the BEST in Athens County … lots of lessons learned as a FH team figured out how to “go get a W” … figured out that they have players who CAN step up in crunch time … Russell, Basim, Hunter, Massie ALL got it done down the stretch … the game ball has to go to Collin Jarvis though as he drew the short straw assignment having to chase Brayden Weber for 32 minutes (he was not alone as Basim et al. traded on/off BUT the biggest portion of the 32 minutes was CJ on an island defensively vs B. Weber : 6 points all in the 2nd half (17 pts in the first game @ Trimble) … anytime a team defensively can take the ball out of B. Weber’s hands you have a chance – you let B.Weber be the starting point of every possession for the Tomcats – team has NO chance … great win by the Lancers, great being a part of the amazing atmosphere in that gym at FH last night …

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read more https://www.southeasternohiopreps.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=84280 

Federal Hocking

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
4Hunter Smith130100
20Wes Carpenter40310
24Nathaniel Massie98530
25Ellijah Lucas29314
30Quinton Basim131100
33Ian Miller20000
34Bradley Russell2612522
2Lane Smith00000
10Brandon Bond00000
12Cedric Newman-Simpson00000
22Terrell Mayle00000
23Collin Jarvis05400
32Adam Douglas00000
42Dylan Schwarzel00000
 Total69352276

Trimble

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
3Brayden Weber60000
12Austin Wisor120000
15Cameron Kittle160000
24Sawyer Koons60000
40Blake Guffey180000
5Tyler Weber90000
 Total670000

Details

Date Time League Season
February 7, 2020 7:30 pm SEO 2019-20

Chillicothe 62 Warren 40 a final

Results

TeamTOutcome
Warren40Loss
Chillicothe62Win

Chillicothe 62
Warren 40 a final

 Chilli IS the best team in SEO … the trio of Tre Beard/Jayvon Maughmer/Brandon Noel put up 59 of the 62 points – simply outstanding tonight – I’ll put up a game rundown tomorrow – just don’t have time tonight … Coach Huffer didn’t make the trip to the WarriorDome due to illness BUT Coach Beard filled in nicely … great , no – OUTSTANDING Chilli D … after finishing the first half leading 24-19 the Cavs took over in the 3rd and put this one out of reach – Maughmer 8 points and a dunk in the 3rd/Noel 9 points & 2 dunks in the 3rd/ Beard 5 points & a trey in the 3rd … 46-31 Cavs after 3 game, set and match … the three amigos put on a D1 recruit clinic – strong in the paint, 3 dunks in the quarter, defense/defense and more defense … a fun TEAM to watch … told Coach Beard after the game that I was available to negotiate his NEW contract with tonight’s W in tow – Coach Beard – one of truly good guys courtside whether at the 2 spot OR as tonight in the leadoff position …

… I watched Chillicothe , the trio of Tre Beard/Jayvon Maughmer/Brandon Noel, dominate two games this week – drubbing Logan 65-42 @ Logan, dominating in the last quarter & a half Warren @ the WarriorDome 62-40 … each game had the same scenario’s “next level” Defense by the Cavs, “next level” offense by Beard/Maughmer/Noel , “next level” strength/size/quickness by the Cav Trio … ALL leading to the same end – Cavs W’s over SEOhio teams that does nothing but solidify Chillicothe being firmly placed at the top of the Elite 8 rankings at #1 … was hoping for the 3rd round of Chillicothe vs SEOhio teams had THE game of the weekend been played Saturday night ! my #1 Chillicothe vs my #2 Jackson !! … both of these teams are playing as well as I have seen ANY teams playing this season ! … the flu got the “W” this weekend …

… Pfloyd’s official “UN-official” Napkin Stats – Warren Local

Scoring … Brandon Simoniette 11, Evan Byrd 6, Brayden Sallee 6, Joel Chevalier 4, Josh Welch 4, Isaac Colgrove 4, Dennis Pettey 3, Jake Bumgard 2
3 Pointers … 5/24 … Brandon Simoniette 2, Evan Byrd 2, Dennis Pettey 1
FTs ……. 9/10
TOs …… 17
PnP … 8 fgs/ 16 points in the paint
PnT …. 0
Pbck …. 2 fgs/ 4 points on putbacks

… the Warriors committed 8 TOs in the first quarter … 8 “empty” trips down court vs the #1 team in SEO AND STILL LED 10-7 after the 1st quarter ! can’t have empty trips vs the Cavs especially when CHS was missing everything offensively – 0/7 from behind the arc, both Maughmer and Noel showed nothing on the scoreboard , only Tre Beard the excellent PG for CHS scored in the first (7 points) … you had to know that the other 2 heads of the 3 headed offensive machine was going to get going especially being 6-8 (Noel) & 6-6 (Maughmer) – the game for Chilli was going to go inside the paint – as they did getting 21 fgs in the paint the final 3 qtrs of action … the Warriors had no answer offensively : outside (5/24 in 3 pointers) … only 8 fgs inside vs the Cavs 21 fgs inside) … a learning experience for the BBB! you learn something EVERY TIME you play the best – the Warriors played the best last night vs Chillicothe …

… Pfloyd’s official “UN-official” Napkin Stats – Chillicothe

Scoring …. Brandon Noel 24, Tre Beard 20, Jayvon Maughmer 15, Eli Taylor 2, Vincent Roper 1
3 Pointers … 3/17 … Tre Beard 3
FTs … 11/18
TOs …. 10
PnP …. 21 fgs/ 42 points in the paint
PnT …… 4 fgs/ 8 points in transition
Pbck …. 3 fgs/ 6 points on putback baskets
Dunks … 4 … Noel 3, Maughmer 1

… Coach Beard goes to 1-0 on the season … Cavs put together a great 2 game run on the road vs Logan the only other D1 team in SEOhio and @ Warren – annually one of the most difficult courts to play on in SEOhio to go with annually one of the most consistently good,quality programs/teams in SEOhio …

Opponents the last 2 games (Logan/Warren)

Points allowed : 41 ppg
3’s allowed : 4/19 pg
TOs forced : 18 pg
PnP allowed : 8 fgs/16 ppg
PnT allowed : 1 fg/2 points in transtion by the opponent per game
Pbk allowed : 1fg/2 points on putbacks per game

… get better soon Coach Huffer ! Coach Beard – pfloyd will be in Chillicothe to negotiate your new contract Monday morning LOL … pfloyd hopes he is available to catch the Jackson @ Chillicothe whenever it is rescheduled ! it WILL BE a dandy !!!

Warren

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Chillicothe

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Warren

Details

Date Time League Season
February 7, 2020 7:30 pm SEO 2019-20

Valley over Beaver Eastern

Results

TeamTOutcome
Valley59Win
Beaver Eastern40Loss

Valley grounds Eagles for SOC II win

By Paul Boggs

 

LUCASVILLE — The flu epidemic, floating around bad enough in Scioto County, closed Valley Local Schools among others on Friday.

But the host Indians, in Friday night’s Southern Ohio Conference Division II tilt against Eastern, looked — and played — very much alive and well.

Valley scored the opening eight points and never trailed, grounded the Eagles to only six first-period points, and extended its advantage to as large as 22 twice in the third quarter —en route to routing Eastern 59-40 on The Reservation.

With the victory, the young Indians completed the season sweep of the Eagles, which are completing their debut boys basketball season in the SOC II.

Valley, in also scoring 59 points against the Eagles again, raised its record to 8-10 — and to 6-6 in the division.

The Indians indeed are improving, overcoming injuries and roster changes, to be playing some of their better basketball of the season.

Valley head coach Eric Horton ranked Friday night’s outing “right up there”.

Horton also explained that the Indians are learning to gel together at the right time — and after losing freshman impact player Carter Nickel to injury.

“Carter went down four or five games ago, and it has taken us that long to adjust without him in the lineup. We knew we were going to put it together before the end of the season. Tonight was a big step forward for us,” said the coach. “We were able to interchange guys and go with different lineups. No matter who we had out there, we were able to move the ball and find the right guy and get good looks. Some nights, we haven’t made those shots. But tonight, those went in. When we make our shots, we feel we’re going to be a very hard team to beat.”

In limiting the Eagles to only a Neil Leist three-point play and a Dillon Mattox three-pointer in the first quarter, Valley locked down defensively —not allowing a single solitary point in the first five minutes.

Then, after Eastern got to within 17-15 at the 5:37 mark of the second quarter following first-quarter deficits of six (12-6) and seven points (10-3), the Indians ended the half on a 16-3 run to lead 33-18 at halftime.

In the third frame, Valley built the lead to 22 points twice —at 45-23 with 2:14 to play and 47-25 just 25 seconds later.

The Indians’ advantage never dipped below four points for the final 23 minutes and 15 seconds, as only a Drake Ferguson old-fashioned three-point play prevented the Eagles from being shut out in the final 5:37 of the second quarter.

The Indians’ defense indeed did the job, holding Eastern to only 40 points —and prolific scorer Hunter Cochenour to only eight over the middle two cantos.

“We wanted to limit them to one possession, and I thought if we could get it down to a half-court game, our defense would show up and it did,” said Horton. “We held them to 40 points, which is outstanding.”

Cochenour and Leist led the Eagles with eight points apiece, but Cochenour had half of his points from the free-throw line on six attempts — and Leist didn’t score in the second half.

“We want to pride ourselves on our defense and be a defensive team first. There are going to be nights where the ball doesn’t go in the basket for you, so you have to rely on something. From day one when I got here last year, we’ve wanted to be a good physical defensive team. The officials ‘let us play’ tonight, which I love. It was physical on both ends. They have some kids which can shoot the ball, including Cochenour who is an outstanding player,” said Horton. “We rotated a couple of guys on him, we were very conscious of running him off the circle, and making him drive the ball inside and not let him stand out there and shoot. We were able to accomplish that. I don’t know what we held Cochenour to, but we had somebody in his pocket all night long and that’s what we wanted to do. We physically made it tough on them to drive the ball and we closed down their shooters. If you can do both of those things, the other team is going to have a tough night offensively.”

Meanwhile, the Indians also exhibited excellent ball movement —whether it was running the fast break or working the ball inside.

George Arnett, another freshman, finished as one of three Indians in double figures — and as the contest’s leading scorer.

Arnett amounted eight total field goals and 2-of-3 free throws for 19 points, 11 of which were after halftime.

His three-point goal made it 17-11 a minute-and-a-half into the second stanza.

While the Indians often rely on their underclassmen, their two seniors — Kayden Mollette and Mason Zaler — were go-to guys against Eastern.

Mollette scored a dozen of his 15 points in the opening half, driving to the basket for five deuces — before popping a trey with a minute and five seconds remaining before halftime to make it 31-18.

Zaler —the six-foot five-inch center —added 11 points on three field goals and 5-of-7 free throws.

He scored easy inside on the opening possession, followed by a two and a three by Jared Gahm to make it 8-0.

“We came right out and executed a play for Mason (Zaler) right off the bat that resulted in an easy basket. That just set the tone for us,” said Horton.

Bryce Stuart, the six-foot sophomore, scored five points as well on a basket and 3-of-4 free throws — while freshman Ty Perkins posted the pair of buckets which went for the two 22-point leads.

The Eagles fell to 6-12 and 3-10, and host SOC II co-leader Waverly (11-1 in SOC II) on Tuesday night.

Valley, meanwhile, returns to the road —and returns to SOC II action —on Tuesday night at Portsmouth West.

Perhaps the Indians are poised for a strong run in February — after ending January quite alert and well.

“It feels real good to see these guys starting to put things together both defensively and offensively,” said Horton. “You want to try to have your team in the best possible position to go in and play its best basketball at tournament time. Tonight was a giant leap forward for us in doing that. Those top eight guys are just doing a tremendous job right now.”

* * *

Eastern 6 12 10 12 — 40

Valley 12 21 14 12—59

EASTERN 40 (6-12, 3-10 SOC II)

Trenton Brown 0 0-0 0, Drake Ferguson 1 1-1 3, Dillon Mattox 2 0-0 5, Gabe McBee 1 2-2 4, Hunter Cochenour 2 4-6 8, Neil Leist 3 1-1 8, Brennen Slusher 1 0-0 3, Chase Carter 2 2-2 7, Ethan Perry 0 0-0 0, Bailey Strong 0 0-0 0, Jake Tribby 1 0-4 2; TOTALS 13 10-16 40; Three-point goals: 4 (Dillon Mattox, Neil Leist, Brennen Slusher and Chase Carter 1 apiece)

VALLEY 59 (8-10, 6-6 SOC II)

George Arnett 8 2-3 19, Brecken Williams 0 0-0 0, Ty Perkins 2 0-0 4, Colt Buckle 0 0-0 0, Kayden Mollette 6 2-3 15, Jared Gahm 2 0-0 5, Jacob Greathouse 0 0-0 0, Bryce Stuart 1 3-4 5, Nick Mowery 0 0-0 0, Mason Zaler 3 5-7 11; TOTALS 22 12-17 59; Three-point goals: 3 (George Arnett Kayden Mollette and Jared Gahm 1 apiece)

Valley

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
1George Arnett190000
2Brecken Williams00000
3Ty Perkins40000
4Dylan Ellis00000
10Carter Nickel00000
12Kayden Mollette150000
13Jared Gahm50000
21Jacob Greathouse00000
23Devin Stiltner00000
24Bryce Stuart50000
25Nick Mowery00000
32Mason Zaler110000
 Total590000

Beaver Eastern

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
3Trenten Brown00000
5Drake Ferguson30000
10Tyler Hanshaw00000
12Dillion Mattox50000
15Gabe McBee40000
20Hunter Cochenour80000
22Neil Leist80000
23Brennen Slusher30000
30Chase Carter70000
32Ethan Perry00000
33Bailey Strong00000
44Jake Tribby20000
50Austin Daniels00000
 Total400000

Court

Valley

Details

Date Time League Season
January 31, 2020 7:30 pm SEO 2019-20

Vinton County 51 Jackson 82 a final …

Results

TeamTOutcome
Vinton County51Loss
Jackson82Win

Vinton County 51
Jackson 82 a final …

… the Ironmen of Coach Morrow rolled into McArtur with a 15-2 record , the only blemishes on the JHS pocket schedule one to Chillicothe at home -14, loss #2 to Wheelersburg by -2 on the second day of a B2B (for JHS the game 1 was AT Elite 8/defensive minded Unioto AT the U) … looking at the VC schedule entering this matchup the Vikings quality opponents were -26 vs Zane Trace, -13 vs Athens and -11 vs Fairfield Union … on paper, looking at the matchup Jackson sits at #3 , Vinton County (10-4 pre game) at #21 … top 25 team MIGHT be able to hang with Elite 8 #3 for 1 or 2 quarters UNLESS #3 has a few players battling the flu bug, one of those players the best PG Below the Lancaster-Dixon Line AND the #21 team is led courtside by one of the BEST coaches in SEOhio … THEN one has to think – hmmmmmmmm I’ve seen Jackson 3 times prior to last night, Vinton County ? Nada … THEN you have to wonder – are the rankings worth the paper(screen)they’re printed on – after watching the game imo the rankings of each team are/were right on the money … Jackson 82 Vinton County 51 a final …

… Vinton County is a club which starts 3 seniors( Will Arthur 2 points/Gavin Arbaugh – 13 points/Aaron Stevens 5 points) /1 soph (Zane Karr 2 pts) 1 junior Lance Montgomery (17 pts) … the first off the bench 2 sophs & a junior (Eli Radabaugh & Braylon Damron sophs … Esiason herrold a junior) … having watched the freshman, JV games as well VC has size, quality perimeter scorers, PGs in the pipeline … the 3 seniors put up 20 of the VC 51 points … 31 to underclassman … VC HAS a bright future AND they are not out of a possible 3 way tie at the TVC Ohio when all is said a done ! … On this night vs my #3 VC DID stay in the game for about 2 1/2 quarters – one must DEFINE “stay in the game” … the Vikings were within striking distance of the Ironmen which means that IF they got a stop or two AND hit a couple of shots THEN VC would be in a 2 possession game … the quarter scoring :

Jackson ….. 15 …. 28 …. 19 …. 20 – 82
Vinton Co … 12 …. 19 …. 15 …. 5 – 51

… running qtr scores:

Jackson …. 15 …. 43 …. 62 …. 82
Vinton Co .. 12 …. 31 …. 46 …. 51

… at the 5:32 mark of the 3rd a Jackson timeout … JHS leading by 10 points 47 – 37 … from the 5:32 to the end of the 3rd Jackson when on a 15-9 run … the final quarter Jackson 20 – 5 … combined from 5:32 in the 3rd ALL Ironmen : 35-14 run to close this one out 82-51 … +31 for Jackson … 16-2 Jackson leaving McArthur while the Vikings dropped their 5th game at 10-5 on the season …

Vinton County was out of their league both literally and figuratively … Jackson had the best player on the court in PG Caleb Wallis … a player who doesn’t have to count on ANYONE to “get HIM the ball” … starting EVERY trip down court – whether that’s after a made bucket or in transition – with the ball , with the opportunity to “make a decision” ( keep it, take it to the rim, take to the elbow, take the 3 ball, take it baseline … ALL of the penetration with the ball either gets Wallis all the way to the rim OR more importantly imo gives CW a chance to make a decision/see the floor/find his teammates) ANY TIME Caleb Wallis has the ball in his hands the opposition is behind the 8 ball – he scores at the rim, he can kill you with the 3 ball, he penetrates AND FINDS teammates in the corner, cutting to the rim, behind the 3 point line … Wallis makes you pay , the entire Ironman TEAM makes you pay as Boston Kuhn/Griffin Brown/Wallis AND THE BEST ROLE PLAYER IN SEO – Caden Donaldson – ALL take and hit the 3 ball … Jackson went 9/15 from behind the line Kuhn/Wallis/Brown/Donaldson ALL with at least one triple … add to the mix Braxton Hammond who crashes the boards at both ends, gets out in transition where last night he finished above the rim for a transition dunk & 1 that brought the house down – put the exclamation on this one … Jackson 82 Vinton County 51 a final …


…Pfloyd’s official “UN-official” Napkin Stats – Vinton County

Scoring … Lance Montgomery 17, Gavin Arbaugh 13, Eli Radabaugh 6, Aaron Stevens 5, Esiason Herrold 4, Will Arthur 2, Zane Karr 2, Brock Hammon 2
3 Pointers … 4/20 … Eli Radabaugh 2, Gavin Arbaugh 1, Aaron Stevens 1
FTs …. 13/17
TOs …. 19
PnP …. 12 fgs/ 24 points in the paint
PnT … 1 fg / 2 points in transition
Pbk … 1 fg/ 2 points on putback buckets

… Coach Combs is one of the best in the last 20 seasons, in position with the injuries to Alexander, suspensions at Athens to either win or tie for the TVC Ohio and finish with 15 or 16 wins on the season … with what I saw on the freshman, JV and younin’s on varsity – the Vikings will be improving on this season’s record even IF VC finishes with 15-16 W’s … good talent over the next 5 years plus … I always enjoy making the short 30 minute trip to McArthur – always to run into the fine coaching staff around Coach Combs , fellow seops posters – Dundas good to see and chat last night !

… Pfloyd’s official “UN-official” Napkin Stats – Jackson …

Scoring … Caleb Wallis 29, Caden Donaldson 12, Braxton Hammond 9, Evan Evans 8, Drew Bragg 6, Jacob Winter 6, Griffin Brown 5, Boston Kuhn 5, Nate Woodard 2

3 Pointers …. 9/15 … Caleb Wallis 4, Caden Donaldon 3, Griffin Brown 1, Boston Kuhn 1
FTs ……. 13/15
TOs …… 14
PnP …… 21 fgs/ 42 points in the paint
PnT ….. 8 fgs/16 points in transition
Pbk ….. 5 fgs/ 10 points on putback buckets

… last night was my 4th look at Jackson … last week vs Alexander MIGHT have been a better overall game at both ends of the floor but last night wasn’t bad ! Caleb Wallis showed his importance , the importance an outstanding PG can make in a team , to make a TEAM … CW made a double take spin move at full speed, into the paint, to the rim and finish that made me smile, chuckle, shake my head AND say to anyone who was listening “THAT just isn’t fair” LOL … my point in the semi rundown was to emphasize HOW good CW is ! – he CAN/DOES score EVERY WAY possible .. but his biggest value is that HE is a true PG … HE KNOWS where his teammates ARE, HE LOOKS FOR/FINDS his teammates in the spots on the floor where they can score – at the rim, beyond the 3 point line – doesn’t matter, he LOOKS FOR & FINDS THEM ALL … CW didn’t score 82 points ! the Jackson TEAM scored 82 points which means the Ironmen TEAM has a lot of excellent role players – Brown/Kuhn/Bragg/Hammond/Donaldson/Winter/Spires – who ALL contribute in every way on the napkin stat sheet … who ALL make what Caleb Wallis does as a PG work – if they don’t finish or couldn’t finish JHS isn’t the TEAM that it is … heck I haven’t even touched on the Apple’town D – I’ll save it for another game as pfloyd WILL be in the cheap seats to watch Jackson again …

… Great watching the games in VC last night with Warren’s Coach Maddox and Coach Mitchem … always good to touch bases with Coach Morrow & his staff as well … Coach Morrow’s father, Dan Morrow made his way to the cheap seats to say hello last night … Mr. Donaldson ! always a pleasure to see you when I come to see the Ironmen – your son is one of the reasons the Ironmen are what they are – excellent … 16-2 … I92 as always was in the house ! good to run into you on the way out my friend … lastly – for those of us who were there for all 3 games last night, Coach Terry Hale the general courtside for VC’s freshman squad did a great thing to open the evening … the 2 teams agreed to allow VC to get the tip, VC held the ball for 8 seconds, then called a 24 sec timeout in respect for the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant … upon taking out the ball after the 24 sec TO moment of silence … VC took it out, and gave the ball over to the Jackson team who worked with VC to make this showing of respect happen. Nice job Coach Hale … although I expect nothing less from the coaching staff at VC – a class act all …

Vinton County

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Jackson

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Details

Date Time League Season
January 28, 2020 7:30 pm SEO 2019-20

Wheelersburg over Oak Hill

Results

TeamTOutcome
Wheelersburg56Win
Oak Hill49Loss

WHEELERSBURG —When Wheelersburg needed them the most on Tuesday night, Matthew Miller and Eli Swords sure made for a pretty good third-quarter tag team.

That’s because the junior Miller and sophomore Swords spearheaded the host Pirates’ pull-away from the Oak Hill Oaks in the third quarter, as the pair combined for all 16 of the Pirates’ points in the third period.

Then, in the fourth frame, it was junior J.J. Truitt’s turn to take a run at the Oaks, as he tallied 10 points in the stanza — and helped secure the Pirates’ important 56-49 Southern Ohio Conference Division II triumph.

That’s correct.

It was one of Wheelersburg’s biggest victories of the year.

In addition to capturing their fifth consecutive win over Oak Hill and legendary head coach Norm Persin, the Pirates — the defending division champions — pushed the Oaks from atop the SOC II standings, as Wheelersburg and Waverly now share the league lead at 10-1.

Wheelersburg, which raised its record to 14-2, also completed the season sweep of now 15-3 Oak Hill —having won the first meeting between the two 50-47 at Oak Hill back on Dec. 17.

The Oaks also entered the return bout as the fourth-ranked team in the fourth weekly Associated Press Ohio High School boys basketball Division III poll.

But while Tuesday’s triumph, in front of a boisterous crowd at Wheelersburg High School, was pivotal for the Pirates —head coach Steven Ater admitted that it’s only the latest step.

“This was a big game for us, not only for the league but also (Division III tournament) sectional seeding. Now we have two wins over them (Oaks), which I think is going to help separate some things. But, we have to make sure we don’t overlook anybody down the line, because every game is the most important game when you’re talking about trying to win a league title,” he said.

Indeed, there is a lot of basketball left to decide the SOC II championship —as the race, despite being the end of January —is still way too close to call.

Oak Hill hosts Waverly on Friday night, while Wheelersburg still must travel to Minford next Tuesday night and to Waverly next Friday night.

The Tigers, hosting Minford on Tuesday, avoided falling out of that first-place tie with Wheelersburg —as Waverly prevailed 68-63 in overtime.

For the Pirates, the second meeting with the Oaks was much different than the early Christmas miracle they pulled off in Oak Hill.

In that affair, Wheelersburg was reeling at the end of the third quarter — trailing by nine points prior to staging an epic comeback and escaping “The Nuthouse” with a massive victory.

In the third quarter on Tuesday, and after holding a 21-13 halftime advantage, the Pirates withstood nine unanswered Oaks’ points for Oak Hill’s only lead —by ending the final five minutes and 10 seconds on a 16-8 run, which included 10 unanswered points of their own for their largest advantage at 37-24.

The Oaks’ lead, in fact, lasted a mere 10 seconds.

The difference-making duo was Miller and Swords, who had combined in the first half for a mere Miller second-quarter field goal.

But the tandem tallied all 16 of the Pirates’ points in the third, as Miller made three baskets and 3-of-3 free throws — while Swords sank three field goals, including a three-pointer to make it 33-24.

Swords scored at the five-minute mark to give the hosts back the lead at 22-21, as Miller muscled seven straight points on two free throws — followed by a field goal and finally a three-point play to make it a six-point edge (30-24).

After Swords splashed his three-point goal, Miller and Swords scored another deuce apiece —for a 37-24 advantage at about the 1:10 point.

Each missed only a shot apiece in the quarter, as Miller attacked the rim —and the Oaks simply couldn’t and didn’t stop him.

Miller managed a dozen points on four field goals and 4-of-7 foul shots, while Swords scored 10 on two deuces and two treys.

Miller also dished out four assists.

“I thought Matthew Miller was really good as far as driving the basketball tonight. He got in straight lines, and went downhill. He did a great job either creating and finishing himself,” said Ater. “He got to the free-throw line a bunch too.”

Persin, whose Oaks teams are highly-regarded for being a lockdown defensive juggernaut, pinpointed the lack of stops against the Pirates’ dribble-drives.

In all three of Oak Hill’s losses, it has allowed at least 50 points —as Wooster Triway totaled 58 on the Oaks in their non-league game in Canton (Jan. 19).

“We took the lead and then we couldn’t get a stop. We got up one and then before you know it, we’re down eight again. They just kept pushing the ball,” said Persin. “We told our kids they were going to push it in transition. Miller kept pushing the ball, kept pushing, kept pushing and if he didn’t find a teammate with the pass, he finished himself. It’s one of those things.”

The Oaks, which trailed anywhere from one to eight points throughout the entire first half while shooting just 5-of-18 with eight of their 12 turnovers, actually ended the tide-turning third only down seven (37-30) — thanks to three-pointers by Drew Hanning and Landon Hines in the final 35 seconds.

But Truitt took over in the fourth, scoring 10 points including eight on four made field goals —as the Pirates played with the lead and maintained it from six to 12 points, despite converting only 4-of-13 free throws in the frame.

Truitt paced the Pirates with 15 points, as his only other markers were a two and a three in the first quarter.

Ater said the Pirates “played through” Truitt all game, as they shot 50-percent (19-of-38) from inside the arc and 46-percent (22-of-48) overall.

“We kept isolating J.J. and kept getting him the ball, and he finds Eli (Swords) in the corner for a three when they tried to double-team him or he drives and finds other guys and makes plays for other people. We put the ball in his hands and went through him, even though he may not be our primary scorer,” said the coach. “That’s the type of player he is. He sets up other guys. Then in the fourth quarter, we trusted him to make plays. He was driving and taking contact and just going all night long. He is bruised and scratched and beat up right now, but you could see it in his eyes that he wants to go make plays.”

Carter McCorkle made it four Pirates in double-figure scoring, as he bagged five field goals and two made free throws towards 12 points —while also grabbing 10 rebounds and battling Oak Hill’s standout six-foot four-inch senior center Chase Hammond underneath.

McCorkle carried Wheelersburg offensively in the early stages of the first meeting, and scored nine first-half points on Tuesday night.

Like the initial matchup, McCorkle picked up a first-period personal foul —and so Ater opted to alter him defending Hammond in favor of Gage Adkins and Kenny Sanderlin.

That allowed McCorkle to avoid further foul trouble, and able to guard Hammond harder for the second half.

Hammond —after pouring in 22 points in the first meeting but only scoring four in the final two quarters —had 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting on Tuesday, and also grabbed 11 rebounds.

“Hammond is the one everybody is going to gameplan for and try and take away, and we are no different,” said Ater. “Gage (Adkins) and Kenny (Sanderlin) really played some big minutes for us defensively and on the glass and giving us some points when we needed them. Those two guarded him (Hammond) for the rest of the half and did such a fantastic job of limiting his scoring, and that allows Carter to stay out of foul trouble and fresh for the second half.”

While the Pirates held Hammond down, Hanning went off for a game-high 26 — on nine field goals including four three-pointers.

Hanning had only four points at halftime, but erupted in the second 16 minutes for 22, including four twos and three threes.

He also made 5-of-7 foul shots, including two to trim the deficit to 49-43 with 2:22 remaining — and two more to make it 54-49 with only 12 tics to go.

But the Oaks got no closer, as Truitt and Miller split a pair of double-bonus free throws in the final 10 seconds.

Persin said Hanning and Hammond — outside of Hines hitting two treys towards eight points — had little-to-no help.

The Oaks only shot 6-of-20 from three-point range, as Keaton Potter and Erik Kallner collected field goals for their only other points.

Trailing by as large as 13 late in the third, Oak Hill had just 13 shot attempts in the fourth — and committed its other four turnovers.

“We didn’t get enough help for Chase and Drew. The other kids had to step up and they didn’t,” said Persin. “We kept battling back and they were missing free throws, but we couldn’t get a bucket on the other end. It’s the way it is, and it’s just hard winning on the road, especially against when we’re playing a quality team.”

The Oaks, of course, aim to get right back in the SOC II championship chase —and can do so by defeating Waverly, which did they so on the road on Dec. 20.

“We have to take care of business at home and try to win on Friday and we’ll see what happens down the road,” said Persin. “There’s a lot of things that can happen, but we have to come back.”

The Pirates, meanwhile, move on to host Northwest on Friday night — before those critical road shows next week.

However, they had to have the sweep against the Oaks —and Ater praised them for “playing well and together”.

“Really proud of these guys and the way they played tonight,” he said. “This was the big game in front of us, and I thought we were locked in and focused.”

* * *

Oak Hill 4 9 17 19 — 49

Wheelersburg 10 11 16 19—56

OAK HILL 49 (15-3, 10-2 SOC II)

Keaton Potter 1 0-0 2, Erik Kallner 1 0-0 2, Drew Hanning 8 6-9 26, Luke Stewart 0 0-0 0, Noah Donley 0 0-0 0, Landon Hines 3 0-0 8, Chase Hammond 5 1-14 11, Braylon Howell 0 0-0 0; TOTALS 18 7-13 49; Three-point goals: 6 (Drew Hanning 4, Landon Hines 2)

WHEELERSBURG 56 (14-2, 10-1 SOC II)

Aaron Jolly 0 0-0 0, Matthew Miller 4 4-7 12, Eli Swords 4 0-0 10, Carter McCorkle 5 2-6 12, J.J. Truitt 5 2-5 15, Gage Adkins 0 0-0 0, Kenny Sanderlin 3 1-2 7; TOTALS 22 9-20 56; Three-point goals: 3 (Eli Swords 2, J.J. Truitt 1)

Wheelersburg

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
10Aaron Jolly00000
11Josh Clark00000
12Mathew Miller120000
13Eli Swords100000
14Aaron Masters00000
15Jonah Lawson00000
21Carter McCorkle120000
22JJ Truitt150000
23Gage Adkins00000
24Mason Montgomery00000
25Brayden Wilson00000
33Corey Maxie00000
35Kenny Sanderlin70000
 Total560000

Oak Hill

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
Braylin Howell00000
3Keaton Potter20000
5Erik Kallner20000
10Drew Hanning260000
11Landon Hines80000
15Luke Stewart00000
21Noah Donley00000
24Chase Hammond110000
32Jordan Morgan00000
44Cricket Stilner00000
 Total490000

Court

Wheelersburg

Details

Date Time League Season
January 28, 2020 7:30 pm SEO 2019-20

Glenwood Survives Bobcats

Results

TeamTOutcome
Green63Loss
Glenwood66Win

Inching closer: Tigers hold off hard-charging Bobcats

By Paul Boggs

Photos by Paul Boggs, Kent Sanborn and Bailey Payton

FRANKLIN FURNACE —Perhaps Jerome McKinley, by making the most of his five steals on Friday night, made one of his head coach’s decisions easier.

“I sometimes wonder who I should nominate for Defensive Player of the Year off our team. You can go with Jerome (McKinley) on the ball, or Chase (Clark) in the paint, or you can go with (Kyle) Sexton,” said New Boston coach Adam Cox. “A lot of teams don’t have that luxury of me putting in 6-foot-6 (Chase Clark), 6-foot-5 (Kyle Sexton), 6-1 (Jerome McKinley), 6-1 (Tanner Voiers) and some length and rebounding pressure and putting Jerome on the ball. It allows us to put a defensive lineup in the game. Every time we did, we got a stop.”

#
24
Name
Jerome McKinley
Class
2022
Height
5-11
Current Team
Glenwood
Leagues
SEO, SOC1
Seasons
2018-19, 2019-20

By getting defensive, especially late and spearheaded by the sophomore McKinley, the visiting Tigers took one of their biggest steps towards clinching their first Southern Ohio Conference Division I boys basketball championship in 22 years.

McKinley made five steals, turned four of them into subsequent points, and collected the most crucial takeaway with 20 seconds remaining — as visiting New Boston captured a critical 66-63 victory against the Green Bobcats in front of a full house at Green High School.

#
32
Name
Chase Clark
Class
2021
Height
6-06
Current Team
Glenwood
Past Teams
Valley
Leagues
SEO, SOC1, SOC2
Seasons
2018-19, 2019-20

With the win, the Tigers — the second-ranked team in the third weekly Associated Press Ohio High School boys basketball Division IV poll — raised their stellar record to 15-1, and remained perfect atop the SOC I standings at 10-0.

Thanks to the hard-fought triumph over the game and determined Bobcats, the Tigers can clinch that coveted SOC I championship — a share on Tuesday night at East and the outright on Friday night at Ironton St. Joseph.

#
4
Name
Kyle Sexton
Class
2020
Height
6-05
Current Team
Glenwood
Leagues
All Time Stat Leaders, SEO, SOC1
Seasons
2018-19, 2019-20

It will be the Tigers’ first SOC I title since the 1997-98 campaign, which —of course —is a long time coming to the basketball-crazy New Boston community.

As the Tigers celebrated with their fans following Friday night’s win, loud chants of “S-O-C” could be heard all over the Green gymnasium.

“You grow up living in New Boston and going to Glenwood and dreaming about going to the Convo (Ohio University Convocation Center for the district and regional boys basketball tournament), but you really, really dream about winning the SOC. That Gold Ball (trophy awarded the SOC I winner) is a really nice shiny trophy,” said Cox. “Our kids are really working hard towards accomplishing that goal. Hopefully, we can clinch on Tuesday.”

But first things first, the Tigers had to complete the season sweep of the Bobcats, which made New Boston work for its win in the foul-fest of a contest in the two teams’ initial meeting on Dec. 20.

#
3
Name
Tanner Voiers
Class
2021
Height
6-01
Current Team
Glenwood
Past Teams
South Webster
Leagues
SEO, SOC1, SOC2
Seasons
2018-19, 2019-20

There were 54 fouls and 48 foul shots combined in that matchup, as Friday featured fewer fouls —and only 22 total free throws.

Instead, it came down to New Boston making not one, not two, not three, not four, but count ‘em five massive defensive stops in the final two minutes and 47 seconds —as Green, despite trailing by three points at either 59-56 or 61-58 — had five opportunities to tie with a three-point goal.

The first three were missed shots, with McKinley actually grabbing two rebounds — before a traveling violation on Green’s Gage Sampson with 31-and-a-half seconds showing.

Finally, following a New Boston turnover and Green getting the basketball underneath its own basket, the Bobcats’ inbounds pass was intercepted by McKinley — and it set up Kyle Sexton sinking five clutch one-and-one free throws in the final 19 seconds.

#
3
Name
Ethan Huffman
Class
2021
Height
5-10
Current Team
Green
Leagues
SEO, SOC1
Seasons
2018-19, 2019-20

The Bobcats’ buckets in the final 3:23 were three by Ethan Huffman, a Levi Sampson score with six seconds left to make it 64-60, and finally Levi Singleton sinking a three-pointer from the corner pocket for the 66-63 final.

Which, with that shot, makes McKinley’s major defensive plays —and the Bobcats’ 18 turnovers and missed opportunities at the end —loom even larger.

Green’s final turnover, trailing 63-58, was an over-and-back call with just 13 seconds remaining.

Head Coach Dirk Hollar

Current Team
Green
“We had five or six possessions there late we didn’t convert,” said Green coach Dirk Hollar. “(Ethan) Huffman had a runner that went in and out, then he shot a layup that I thought went in and looped back around and came out. So we got good looks on back-to-back layups. The out of bounds play we ran, we had backside wide open but we forced it (pass), so there was another turnover. The over-and-back, we weren’t thinking and lost track of what was going on. We beat ourselves, and that’s continued to happen all year. We continue to play hard and fight, but we have to finish those games. It was there, but we missed two layups in a row, and turned the ball over.”

McKinley’s awareness and interception of the inbounds pass was arguably the most important, because the Bobcats only trailed 61-58 — with only 20 seconds AND the ball underneath.

McKinley was fouled after making the steal, and despite missing a one-and-one free-throw attempt, the ball was in New Boston’s frontcourt —setting Sexton up to get fouled and mesh his five free throws.

But McKinley made four other steals which led directy to immense points as well.

In the first quarter, he had two thefts —the first of which he turned into a layup with the second resulting in a Tanner Voiers rebound putback which made it 13-8.

In the third frame, in the first 80 seconds no less, McKinley made back-to-back steals —and went in for layups to make it 37-30.

The Tigers’ largest lead was actually eight points twice (41-33 and 44-36), thanks to five points including a three-pointer from Voiers, but it was McKinley making those two early plays that allowed New Boston breathing room — as the second-half advantage ranged from two to eight points over the opening 12-and-a-half minutes.

Voiers poured in a game-high 24 points on 11 total field goals — and Sexton secured a triple-double with 16 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists — but McKinley’s 11 markers on five field goals and a first-quarter foul shot can’t be understated.

Cox said he called out McKinley, albeit privately, and was delighted to see him respond.

Head Coach Adam Cox

Current Team
Glenwood
“I won’t say exactly what I told Jerome at halftime, but basically I told him he had shown up before the last three games not ready to go at the shoot-arounds or walk-thrus, and I was tired of watching it. He was a freshman on the Elite Eight (Division IV regional runner-up) team last year, and if he wasn’t going to wake up and play, then he needed to come off the bench and realize that there are other kids that want to. The third quarter, he stole the ball twice on the opening possessions,” said the coach.

There were actually eight lead changes in the first 15 minutes and 10 seconds, as New Boston built a 16-10 first-quarter bulge on Voiers’ first three-ball, but the Bobcats doubled up the Tigers 10-5 in the final three minutes of the first.

Green — which also held one-point leads of 4-3, 6-5 and 8-7 — gained its last lead at 22-21 on a Gage Sampson rebound stickback just 13 seconds into the second stanza.

The Tigers — taking the lead for good at the 6:50 mark of the period — led anywhere from one to five points throughout the second quarter, before Huffman drove and scored for the 33-30 halftime score.

McKinley made the two steals and layups, Voiers rained in a three at the 4:25 point to make it 44-36, and the lead ranged from four to eight points until the 5:41 mark of the final canto.

“It seemed like every time we missed a shot or did something goofy or turned it over, they went down and scored,” said Hollar. “That was a big difference in the game.”

The Bobcats’ fourth-quarter three-point deficits were 53-50, 55-52, 57-54, 59-56 and 61-58 —with Green getting the deficit down to one twice at 57-56 and 59-58.

Huffman hit a left-handed layup with a crossover move with 1:50 remaining, but back came Voiers only 22 seconds later for the final three-point advantage (61-58).

The score then remained 61-58 for the next minute and 11 seconds, as the Tigers turned back the Bobcats on five consecutive possessions.

Like the previous meeting, Green never got the lead back, but if it did…

“If we could get over that hump, we should be able to win. But it seemed like every time we made a play to get over that hump, we couldn’t finish,” said Hollar. “Those five possessions that we didn’t convert and we missed a box out on the other end, that was pretty much it. We stress taking care of the ball and boxing out, but we pick the worst times in the world to turn the ball over and that’s what happened.”

Lost in all of the anxious final three minutes was the scoring and statistics, as New Boston had 32 rebounds including 25 defensive — and the Tigers turned it over only eight times.

There were two 1,000-point scorers in the game —the junior Sexton and the senior Sampson, as Sexton scored five field goals —including his three-pointer just 40 seconds in to get New Boston on the board.

Sampson, even as the Tigers face-guarded him, scored 14 of his team-high 22 points on seven first-half deuces — as he hit Green’s other trifecta — outside of Singleton’s five.

Singleton splashed two treys in the opening quarter and two more in the third, as his final for his 15th point beat the game-ending buzzer.

Huffman had a dozen markers for the Bobcats on four field goals and 4-of-4 free throws, while Levi Sampson added eight on three baskets and 2-of-2 fourth-quarter freebies.

The Bobcats — which are off for a week before traveling to Western — fell to an even 9-9, and to 5-6 in the SOC I.

However, they battled the Tigers tooth-and-nail twice this season, especially on Friday night.

“Our kids always play hard, they’ve played hard since the first day of practice. That’s what they do and will continue to do because they are a great group of kids,” said Hollar. “We just have to take care of the ball better.”

Cox, quite frankly, was happy to leave foggy Franklin Furnace with a victory —which inched the Tigers to within the doorstep of winning the SOC I championship.

“Hats off to Green. They should be very proud. A three-point win on the road at Green, I will take it every year,” he said. “They were ready to play and this is a tough atmosphere, and (Gage) Sampson is an amazing senior, but we held on and that’s what matters.”

* * *

New Boston 21 12 20 13— 66

Green 20 10 17 16— 63

NEW BOSTON 66 (15-1, 10-0 SOC I)

Malachi Potts 0 0-0 0, Grady Jackson 1 0-0 2, Tanner Voiers 11 0-0 24, Kyle Sexton 4 1 5-8 16, Devon Jones 2 1-1 5, Kage Truitt 0 0-0 0, Marcus Saunders 1 2-2 4, Jerome McKinley 5 1-3 11, Chase Clark 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 27 9-14 66; Three-point goals: 3 (Tanner Voiers 2, Kyle Sexton 1)

GREEN 63 (9-9, 5-6 SOC I)

Trevor Darnell 1 0-0 2, Gage Sampson 10 1-2 22, Ethan Huffman 4 4-4 12, Alec Smith 2 0-0 4, Levi Singleton 5 0-0 15, Levi Sampson 3 2-2 8, Caden Brammer 0 0-0 0; TOTALS 25 7-8 63 ; Three-point goals: 6 (Levi Singleton 5, Gage Sampson 1)

Green

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
1Trevor Darnell23010
2Gage Sampson229220
3Ethan Huffman125100
10Alec Smith43500
11Levi Singleton152210
23Levi Sampson810000
50Caden Brammer00000
 Total63321040

Glenwood

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
0Malachi Potts00000
2Grady Jackson20000
3Tanner Voiers240000
4Kyle Sexton160000
5Devon Jones50000
20Kage Truitt00000
23Marcus Saunders40000
24Jerome McKinley110000
32Chase Clark40000
 Total660000

Court

Green

Details

Date Time League Season
January 24, 2020 7:30 pm SEO 2019-20

 

 

Notre Dame 37 Clay 35 in Defensive Battle

Results

TeamTOutcome
Clay35Loss
Notre Dame37Win

Titans pull off stunner of Panthers

By Paul Boggs

 

ROSEMOUNT — Call it indeed divine intervention, but the Notre Dame Titans will remember this one —while Friday night’s outcome will be one for the Clay Panthers to most certainly forget.

That’s because the visiting Titans, which had lost by 31 points against Clay in early-season Southern Ohio Conference Division I competition, turned the tables completely on the Panthers in their return meeting — and did so in absolutely and inexplicably stunning fashion.

After trailing by as much as seven points midway through the third quarter, Notre Dame rallied, withstood an epic fourth-quarter stall-ball tactic, and miraculously flipped Clay’s penultimate possession into two Caleb Nichols free throws for a jaw-dropping 37-35 victory.

Following the most inopportune turnover by the Panthers, Nichols notched his only points on Friday night —two foul shots with only nine seconds showing on the clock.

Gage Moore, the Panthers’ leading scorer but trying to atone for losing the ball on their previous possession, missed a three-pointer near the buzzer, as Jermaine Powell —who made the massive steal and whose missed layup set up Nichols’ free throws — grabbed the final rebound for the Titans.

This one, quite frankly, you had to see to believe —but underdog Notre Dame did what any other club would do in that situation.

That being trying to take advantage of the opposition’s mistakes.

With the wild upset win, the Titans gained a gigantic measure of revenge against the Panthers, which handled them 59-28 in their mid-December matchup.

Notre Dame also bounced back from a disappointing 63-39 home setback against Western on Tuesday night.

The Titans are now 5-8, and 2-6 in the SOC I.

In his postgame media interview, Notre Dame coach Matt Mader described the finish as simply “crazy”.

However, it was hustle plays by his Titans that put them over the top.

“That was a great defensive play by J.P. (Jermaine Powell) to extend out on their point guard. It could have been over-and-back or other things called there, but J.P. stayed with it, the ball got loose, he made the steal and took it to the rack. Then we had two guys following up right behind him with Caleb (Nichols) getting fouled,” said Mader. “Give J.P. credit for making the play, then give Jarren (Edgington) and Caleb credit for running the floor. When Clay beat us by 31 at our place, we got out-hustled and out-played in every facet of the game. To see these guys come back tonight with the tenacity and energy and togetherness…”

Here’s how the final 94 seconds played out.

With Clay clinging to a 35-33 advantage, the Panthers’ Reece Whitley drove the lane but missed, and the Titans corralled the rebound.

On Notre Dame’s possession, Jarren Edgington —who paced the Panthers with 14 points on seven field goals — got a big rebound putback for the 35-35 tie 29 seconds later.

Clay then appeared to hold the ball for the final —and potentially game-winning — shot, as Moore maintained his dribble despite being guarded closely by Powell and out as far as half-court.

But somehow — all of the sudden — Powell picked up a loose ball and raced in for a layup, which he missed but both Edgington and Nichols were right there trailing behind.

Edgington didn’t get the follow-up stickback, but Nichols got his board —and was fouled in the act of shooting with exactly 8.8 seconds remaining.

He calmly sank both foul shots, giving the Titans an unbelievable 37-35 lead.

Clay coach Garrick “Tiny” Anderson opted not to call a timeout to set something up for his Panthers, and instead Moore moved quickly upcourt for the game-winning three-pointer —but he missed and Powell pulled down the rebound as the Titans celebrated wildly when the buzzer sounded.

“The discussion there was whether we wanted to call a timeout trying to set our defense up. In doing that, Coach Anderson has two (timeouts) of his own. We both elected not to call anything. We trusted our defense and did a nice job of getting back and getting set up to force a tough three,” said Mader.

Anderson expressed disappointment in that his Panthers simply didn’t close either the third or fourth quarters out.

“We knew this game would be a dogfight, but it’s a matter of knowing the situation of the game and closing out the game. We are up two (35-33) with a minute and 34 seconds left, and we try to force a shot. At the end of the third quarter, we have the ball with seven or eight seconds left and we don’t get a shot off,” he said. “Those are just closing quarters out and finishing the game. At the end, Notre Dame came out and picked up the pressure, and our kid just mishandled the ball. We tell our kids that every possession matters. This is a prime example of it.”

There were very few possessions in the frantic fourth quarter on Friday night, thanks to a five-minute lull.

Or, rather that should read “stall”.

Whitley opened the fourth by canning a three from the wing, making it 33-29, but Edgington answered immediately on the other end.

Then, for the next nearly five minutes, the Panthers —with the Titans standing back and content in a zone defense — passed the ball around out top or Moore simply stood out front and dribbled.

Clay was trying to get the Titans to come out and defend it man-to-man, but Mader explained that he was trying to primarily and temporarily rest his players — as Notre Dame only played six men with one not playing beyond the first quarter.

Hence, for the final three periods, Edgington, Nichols, Dylan Seison, Dominic Sparks and especially Powell were on the floor without a break.

“That was something we did the other night to mainly get J.P. some rest. He was just out of breath because he was doing it on both ends. Our guys have logged a ton of minutes all season and we don’t go very deep. When you do that, you play a lot of minutes,” said Mader. We were mainly trying to get our guys a breather on the floor to finish the game out.”

With Clay holding the 35-33 lead during that, Anderson said there was no hurry on his Panthers’ part.

“We were committed to it (stall offense), because we knew our best bet was for them (Titans) to come out and try to guard us,” he said. “That’s what they did, but we did score on it.”

Indeed they did, as Whitley was fouled when he drove the lane with two minutes and three seconds left.

He made both free throws, but again the Titans quickly answered with a Powell basket only 13 seconds later for the 35-33 deficit.

That set up the final minute and 34 tics, in which Anderson emphasized that his squad simply didn’t close the deal.

Or, the third frame.

Notre Dame —following a hotly-contested first half of six lead changes and six ties with no lead larger than five by either team — led 23-22, but the Panthers, on two baskets apiece by Moore and Shaden Malone, pushed out to their biggest lead at 30-23 with 4:48 remaining.

But Seison — who canned the Titans’ only three-pointer which forged an 18-18 tie — secured two foul shots, Edgington added a basket, and Sparks scored on a lob to get Notre Dame back within one at 30-29 three minutes later.

With 2.5 seconds showing in the third, the Panthers set up for the last shot, but never got a shot off.

“We’ve struggled with that all year. We’re up six, seven or eight points, then the next thing you know, we’re only up one,” said Anderson. “It’s just not finishing.”

For those into counting, Notre Dame outscored Clay 14-5 over the final 12 minutes and 48 seconds.

“The kids stayed with the gameplan, we executed and didn’t panic,” said Mader. “We have a young team, but these guys know that if there is time on the clock, there’s a chance to win.”

The Titans turned the basketball over only seven times too, which didn’t allow Clay’s trapping press defense to be as effective as it would like.

Instead, Notre Dame got shots.

“That was huge for us,” said Mader. “If we can continue to do that and take care of the basketball and get shots versus turnovers, we’re going to be in more games.”

“In order for us to get into our press, we have to score. We didn’t do a good job of that. Then we get into our traps on our diamond press, and they just split it,” said Anderson. “We did not do a good job of forcing the tempo tonight.”

Clay also missed four free throws on only six attempts, as Moore made two second-quarter threes while Evan Woods did the same in the opening half.

Whitley’s triple in the fourth gave the Panthers five, as Moore led with 10 points while Whitley — with two first-quarter two-pointers —netted nine.

Woods and Malone manged six points apiece, as Malone also scored in the opening period.

Jaden Jessee and Dakota Dodds both tallied a second-stanza basket, as all of the team statistics were as close as the final score would indicate.

It’s just that, for Clay anyway, it’s one that indeed got away.

The Panthers fell to 5-10, and to 4-5 in the SOC I, with the loss.

“It’s frustrating, but we knew this game would be a dogfight,” said Anderson. “We just didn’t close the game out.”

In addition to Edgington’s 14 points, Powell posted 10 on four field goals — with three in the first quarter — and 2-of-5 free throws.

Sparks scored six points, including back-to-back baskets as part of eight unanswered points in the opening period that gave the Titans their largest lead at 12-7.

However, call it divine intervention perhaps —or just plain solid clutch character coming through in the end —for the victorious Titans.

“Just a ton of credit goes to our young kids. We have a lot of character in that locker-room. Those guys fought hard and we’re very proud of them,” said Mader. “A great win like this we hope will be a momentum-builder and confidence-booster for the second half of the season against a tough schedule.”

* * *

Notre Dame 12 11 6 8 — 37

Clay 9 13 8 5 — 35

NOTRE DAME 37 (5-8, 2-6 SOC I)

Jermaine Powell 4 2-5 10, Caleb Nichols 0 2-2 2, Dominic Sparks 3 0-0 6, Chris Schmidt 0 0-0 0, Dylan Seison 1 2-2 5, Jarren Edgington 7 0-0 14; TOTALS 15 6-9 37; Three-point goals: 1 (Dylan Seison 1)

CLAY 35 (5-10, 4-5 SOC I)

Clay Cottle 0 0-0 0, Shaden Malone 3 0-2 6, Evan Woods 2 0-2 6, Reece Whitley 3 2-2 9, Gage Moore 4 0-0 10, Jaden Jessee 1 0-0 2, Dakota Dodds 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 14 2-6 35; Three-point goals: 5 (Evan Woods and Gage Moore 2 apiece, Reece Whitley 1)

Clay

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
1Clay Cottle00000
2Shaden Malone60000
3Evan Woods60000
5Reece Whitley90000
24Gage Moore100000
30Jaden Jessee20000
35Dakota Dodds20000
 Total350000

Notre Dame

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
2Jermaine Powell100000
3Caleb Nichols20000
11Dominic Sparks60000
22Christopher Schmidt00000
23Dylan Seison50000
45Jarren Edgington140000
 Total370000

Court

Clay

Details

Date Time League Season
January 17, 2020 7:30 pm SEO 2019-20

Zane Trace 51 Unioto 37 a final

Results

TeamTOutcome
Zane Trace51Win
Unioto37Loss

. someone said tonight that the U was playing with house money – the Shermans had already beat ZT at UHS earlier in the season – a win would put the U in the drivers seat to win the SVC , a loss would move the Pioneers into a 2 way tie with Unioto going into the final 4 weeks of the regular season… full house, standing room only tonight … the doors opened an hour BEFORE the freshman contest … when I walked in at 4:15 or so a large portion of the visitor’s bleachers were filled … pfloyd went to the cheap seats – his natural habitat …

… one of the loudest games , if not THE loudest crowd noise I have witnessed this season ! great atmosphere for high school hoops – wow … the game really did not disappoint through 3 quarters of action … one of the best defensive battles I have seen this season by both teams … Unioto 10-7 after one , Unioto 22-20 at intermission … a deep triple at the buzzer put Zane Trace on top 33-31 heading into the final quarter … up to this point the game was no more than a 2 possession game through 3 … the BIGS for ZT were held to just 8 points combined thru 3 … Cam Evans/Colby Swain hit for 13 & 9 respectively thru 3 for ZT … the ZT defense held Unioto to 2 fgs/9 points in the 3rd – Defense … if the 9 points weren’t enough the Pioneers topped the 3rd quarter D by shutting down UHS to only 6 fourth quarter points … 16 points in the 2nd half of play … while the ZT defense put the clamps on the U’s offense Zane Trace put up 13 & 18 for a 31 – 15 2nd half of action scoring margin … leading all scorers was Cam Evans with 26 points/13 in the 4th alone … 7/8 from the FT line in the 4th – 14/16 for the game when on the line for Evans … the difference in the game in the 4th was Nick Nesser in the paint/ on the boards … Nesser battled down low on ZT misses in the 4th – the big man for Trace had the first 3 buckets of the 4th period for the Pioneers all on putback/ offensive boards … the U had no answer for ZT’s bigs in the paint … Zane Trace 51 Unioto 37 a final …

… Pfloyd’s official UN-official Napkin Stats – Unioto

Scoring …..Isaac Little with 9, Cam Debord 7, Josh Lambert 7, Reece Wheeler 5, Nate Keiser 4, Carter Markko 3, Gunnar Greenwalt 2
3 Pointers … 1/10 … Cameron Debord 1
FTs … 12/18
TOs … 7
PnP … 9 fgs/18 points in the paint
PnT … 1 fg/2 points in transition
Pbk … 0 fgs/0 points off of putbacks

… the Unioto Shermans at 11-3 , 8-1 in SVC action have busted the preseason predictors who had Zane Trace running away from the league followed by Adena … the U was a middle of the pack player … I’ve seen the Shermans twice now – size, quickness, Defense, scorers of the ball from the perimeter, outstanding PG and coaching that brings it all together … EVEN with the loss @ ZT the U is a top 8 in SEO hoops … last night Isaac Little played on an ankle that had him missing 3 games/not practicing for over a week … played on a game time decision – gutsy performance by IL … for 3 quarters D was the answer for Unioto … in that 4th period ZT got too many chances at point blank range in the paint – 3 straight putback buckets by the bigs for ZT (getting 3-4 chances on the offensive boards on those 3 trips) ended the U’s chance of taking 2 from the Pioneers …

… Pfloyd’s official UN-official Napkin Stats – Zane Trace

Scoring … Cam Evans 26, Nick Nesser 11, Colby Swain 9, Luke Johnson 3, Triton Davidson 2
3 Pointers … 1/10 … Luke Johnson 1 (giving ZT the lead at the end of the 3rd quarter that they never relinquished )
FTs … 16/22 … 15/17 in the 4th/ Evans 14/16 on his own ball for the game/ Evans 7/8 in the 4th
TOs … 10
PnP … 14 fgs/28 points in the paint
PnT … 1 fg/2 points in transition
Pbk … 6 fgs/ 12 points on putback buckets – the game changer in the 4th …

… ZT is as good as Cam Evans takes them … last night Evans with 26 points doubled his output from the first meeting with Unioto in a losing effort … CE is most comfortable in the paint, back to the basket where he can back an opponent in then hit a little fadaway, or he takes the ball baseline for a 6-8 foot pullup jumper – he’s good ! limiting his touches, forcing Evans to give up the ball is the goal AND the challenge vs ZT … Coach Kellough & Co. won game #2 of the 2 best in the SVC earning a split and and tie at the top …

Zane Trace

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
0Colby Swain90000
5Nick Nesser110000
10Cam Evans260000
31Luke Johnson30000
44Triton Davidson20000
 Total510000

Unioto

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
2Cameron Debord73100
3Gunnar Greenwalt20000
4Nate Keiser41010
11Isaac Little91210
12Josh Lambert74100
32Cater Markko34110
33Reece Wheeler55002
 Total3718532

Court

Zane Trace

Details

Date Time League Season
January 18, 2020 7:30 pm SEO 2019-20