Tag: Valley

Valley over Beaver Eastern

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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

Minford nearly doubles up Valley 56-30

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Results

TeamTOutcome
Minford56Win
Valley30Loss

Falcons start fast, roll past Indians

By Paul Boggs

 

MINFORD — The Minford Falcons picked a good time to play a near-complete basketball game.

 

Against visiting Valley on Tuesday night, the Falcons both shot the ball well — and perhaps defended even better — as host Minford mustered an impressive, and important, 56-30 Southern Ohio Conference Division II triumph.

 

While the Indians are one of the Falcons’ chief rivals, Minford started fast for both halves —scoring the opening eight points in the first quarter, followed by scoring seven straight to tip off the third frame.

 

The Falcons only allowed the Indians 30 points and never trailed —as that 30th point came at the buzzer on a jump shot by George Arnett.

#
1
Name
George Arnett
Class
2023
Height
6-00
Current Team
Valley
Leagues
SEO, SOC2
Seasons
2019-20

Otherwise, Valley only trailed by five points twice — at 8-3 after Dylan Ellis made the Indians’ only three-point goal at the four-minute mark of the opening quarter and at 10-5 on one of four field goals by Kayden Mollette.

#
12
Name
Kayden Mollette
Class
2020
Height
5-08
Current Team
Valley
Leagues
SEO, SOC2
Seasons
2018-19, 2019-20

Over the final three periods, the Falcons led by at least six points, as the lead soon swelled to 11 points twice (20-9 and 20-11) in the second stanza —and to as large as 15 points four times in the third.

 

Finally, after extending the lead to 42-24 with Elijah Vogelsong-Lewis’ three-ball to beat the third-quarter buzzer, the Falcons forged on by outscoring the Indians 14-6 in the fourth quarter —and doubling their advantage to 56-28 with 16 seconds remaining.

#
3
Name
Elijah Vogelsong-Lewis
Class
2021
Height
5-10
Current Team
Minford
Leagues
SEO, SOC2
Seasons
2018-19, 2019-20

Minford doubled up the Indians 20-10 in the third, part of a 34-16 winning of the entire second half.

 

Valley’s only fourth-period points were a pair of Bryce Stuart free throws at the six-and-a-half minute mark, followed by a rebound putback by Ty Perkins and Arnett’s buzzer-beater to hit 30.

#
3
Name
Ty Perkins
Class
2023
Height
6-03
Current Team
Valley
Leagues
SEO, SOC2
Seasons
2019-20

Minford coach Josh Shoemaker was asked if Tuesday’s tilt was the best performance by his Falcons all season.

 

Aside from the 9-9 tie in the second canto, and only scoring 14 for the final 13 minutes and 15 seconds of the half, you could make the argument it was.

 

“Each quarter, we were consistent. We had seven threes tonight, and I thought we shot the ball well, but it all started on the defensive end. To hold a team to 30 points in a varsity boys basketball game is a good accomplishment,” said Shoemaker. “We guarded really well, they only had 10 points once in a quarter and we scored double digits in three quarters. In the first half, we got a little complacent after getting up 8-0, struggled to score the rest of the half. In the second half, we really put together a complete game on both ends and played good, consistent basketball. Valley is a local rival with identical records (6-4) coming in. For us to come out with a 56-30 win, hats off to our kids for playing extremely well tonight.”

 

Shoemaker said he believed his squad was “quicker, faster at all five spots” — and wanted to play an up-tempo pace.

 

“We tried to play fast tonight. We felt we were quicker and faster, so we really wanted to push out and have as many possessions as possible. I was happy with the way everybody guarded and rebounded the basketball and pushed in transition,” he said. “Just a total team win, and we got a lot of guys in the scoring column.”

 

Of the Falcons which played, precisely a dozen scored at least one field goal.

 

Indeed, Minford played well — as Valley coach Eric Horton had nothing but credit for the Falcons.

 

“Minford is a good shooting team and they made their shots right off the bat tonight. At any point in time you are playing them, they can score 10 points really fast. Unfortunately, they did that tonight to us right out of the gate and then again right at the beginning of the second half. Once we settled back into it both halves, I thought we guarded them pretty well,” he said. “But they are a good shooting team and once they get a couple of guys shooting that well, they can make a quick run. That’s what happened to us.”

The main Minford man on Tuesday was Vogelsong-Lewis, who accounted for four deuces and three treys towards his game-high 17 points.

 

In fact, Vogelsong-Lewis landed nothing but net on all seven of his shot attempts.

 

“He didn’t take a bad shot in those seven shots either. He let the game come to him, got everybody involved, and had big threes at the end of two quarters,” said Shoemaker.

 

His biggest basket beat the first-quarter buzzer, as he caught a cross-court zone pass and knocked it down from the wing, as he was actually knocked to the floor in the process.

 

“Vogelsong-Lewis hit three threes tonight, but I thought our defense was about as good as we could have it. Credit to him for making the shots,” said Horton. “When you play good defense and he still makes the basket, it’s deflating. I thought they did that to us too many times, and it’s hard to recover from.”

 

He actually opened the game with a triple just 30 seconds in, as Trenton Zimmerman — who added eight points — made one for a 6-0 advantage.

 

Skylar Knore netted the Falcons’ other two threes —the first of which was with four-and-a-half minutes left in the second quarter to make it 18-9, as the Indians never got closer the rest of the way.

#
5
Name
Skylar Knore
Class
2021
Height
5-10
Current Team
Minford
Leagues
SEO, SOC2
Seasons
2019-20

Nathan McCormick canned three buckets for six points, as Hunter Davis drained four third-quarter points on a field goal and two foul shots, and Adam Crank connected on a third-period three.

 

Minford maintained a 23-13 advantage in total field goals, as Ellis added seven points for Valley to follow Mollette’s team-high eight.

 

“We had opportunities to score, but we just didn’t finish possessions off tonight with a basket. I thought they were in the same spots we were, and they scored and we didn’t. That’s the difference in the game. Credit to Minford for making those shots,” said Horton.

 

The outcome certainly impacted the SOC II standings —especially since just a few miles to the south another crucial development was occurring in Wheelersburg.

 

Both Valley and Minford entered at 6-4, but the Indians are now 4-2 in the division, followed by the Falcons moving to 4-3.

 

Meanwhile, Waverly won at Wheelersburg 67-58 (see related story), as the Pirates are no longer undefeated —and both of those teams, along with Oak Hill, are now tied atop the league at 5-1.

 

While Minford is off for a week until it hosts winless Northwest next Tuesday, the Indians entertain both Oak Hill (on Friday night) and Waverly (on Tuesday, Jan. 14) for their next two affairs.

 

A Valley victory, or two, will cause some surefire SOC II shakeup, but maybe Minford —thanks to Tuesday night’s triumph — can get back in this championship chase as well.

 

The seven wins by the Falcons matches their entire total from a season ago.

 

“This was just a great team win for us. We’re at the halfway point, and I’m proud of where our kids are at at this point in the season,” said Shoemaker.

 

* * *

 

Valley 5 9 10 6 — 30

 

Minford 13 9 20 14— 56

 

VALLEY 30 (6-5, 4-2 SOC II)

 

George Arnett 1 0-0 2, Brecken Williams 0 0-0 0, Ty Perkins 1 0-0 2, Dylan Ellis 3 0-4 7, Colten Buckle 0 0-0 0, Carter Nickel 2 0-0 4, Kayden Mollette 4 0-0 8, Jared Gahm 0 0-0 0, Jacob Greathouse 0 0-0 0, Bryce Stuart 1 2-2 4, Nick Mowery 0 0-0 0, Mason Zaler 1 1-2 3; TOTALS 13 3-8 30; Three-point goals: 1 (Dylan Ellis 1)

 

MINFORD 56 (7-4, 4-3 SOC II)

 

Hunter Davis 1 2-2 4, Trenton Zimmerman 3 1-2 8, Elijah Vogelsong-Lewis 7 0-0 17, Skylar Knore 2 0-0 6, Nathan McCormick 3 0-0 6, Drew Skaggs 1 0-0 2, Matthew Risner 1 0-1 2, Levi Coriell 0 0-0 0, Adam Crank 1 0-0 3, Andy Crank 1 0-0 2, Jordan Strickland 1 0-0 2, Kaden Kelley 1 0-0 2, Devan Parker 0 0-0 0, Ethan Connally 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 23 3-5 56; Three-point goals: 7 (Elijah Vogelsong-Lewis 3, Skylar Knore 2, Trenton Zimmerman and Adam Crank 1 apiece)

Falcons 2019-20

DateHomeResultsAwayCourtArticle
2020-02-22 10:08:26February 22, 202059 - 49
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2020-02-19 10:07:22February 19, 202069 - 63
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2020-02-17 19:30:00February 17, 202041 - 42
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2020-02-14 19:30:00February 14, 202047 - 66
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2020-02-11 19:30:00February 11, 202050 - 61
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2020-02-04 19:30:00February 4, 202047 - 68
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2020-01-31 19:30:00January 31, 202061 - 38
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2020-01-28 19:30:00January 28, 202068 - 63
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2020-01-24 19:30:00January 24, 202043 - 46
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2020-01-21 19:30:00January 21, 202052 - 45
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2020-01-17 19:30:00January 17, 202055 - 69
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2020-01-14 19:30:00January 14, 202084 - 51
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2020-01-07 19:30:00January 7, 202056 - 30
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2020-01-04 17:30:00January 4, 202048 - 34
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2020-01-03 19:30:00January 3, 202059 - 50
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2019-12-30 19:30:00December 30, 201967 - 57
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2019-12-20 19:30:00December 20, 201945 - 55
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2019-12-17 19:30:00December 17, 201939 - 54
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2019-12-13 19:30:00December 13, 201964 - 70
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2019-12-12 19:30:00December 12, 201958 - 76
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2019-12-10 19:30:00December 10, 201949 - 55
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2019-12-06 19:30:00December 6, 201962 - 52
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2019-11-29 19:30:00November 29, 201940 - 51
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View all games

 

Indians 2019-20

DateHomeResultsAwayCourtArticle
2019-11-29 19:30:00November 29, 201938 - 52
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2019-11-30 19:30:00November 30, 201973 - 41
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2019-12-03 19:30:00December 3, 201945 - 84
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2019-12-06 19:30:00December 6, 201942 - 56
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2019-12-10 19:30:00December 10, 201935 - 63
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2019-12-13 19:30:00December 13, 201951 - 58
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2019-12-17 19:15:00December 17, 201945 - 56
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2019-12-20 19:30:00December 20, 201948 - 59
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2019-12-27 19:30:00December 27, 201957 - 60
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2020-01-03 19:15:00January 3, 202054 - 37
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2020-01-07 19:30:00January 7, 202056 - 30
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2020-01-10 19:30:00January 10, 202043 - 58
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2020-01-14 19:30:00January 14, 202063 - 61
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2020-01-17 19:30:00January 17, 202047 - 62
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2020-01-21 19:30:00January 21, 202072 - 46
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2020-01-24 19:30:00January 24, 202052 - 40
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2020-01-25 19:30:00January 25, 202041 - 60
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2020-01-31 19:30:00January 31, 202059 - 40
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2020-02-04 19:30:00February 4, 202057 - 53
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2020-02-11 19:30:00February 11, 202068 - 21
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2020-02-14 19:30:00February 14, 202059 - 68
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2020-02-17 19:30:00February 17, 202041 - 42
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2020-02-19 09:48:26February 19, 202066 - 53
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2020-02-26 09:49:31February 26, 202059 - 56
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Minford

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
0Hunter Davis40000
1Trenton Zimmerman80000
3Elijah Vogelsong-Lewis170000
5Skylar Knore60000
10Nathan McCormick60000
11Drew Skaggs20000
13Matthew Risner20000
14Levi Coriell00000
21Adam Crank30000
23Andy Crank20000
24Jonathon Strickland20000
30Kaden Kelley20000
32Devan Parker00000
44Ethan Connally20000
 Total560000

Valley

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
1George Arnett20000
2Brecken Williams00000
3Ty Perkins20000
4Dylan Ellis70000
10Carter Nickel40000
12Kayden Mollette80000
13Jared Gahm00000
21Jacob Greathouse00000
24Bryce Stuart40000
25Nick Mowery00000
32Mason Zaler30000
 Total300000

Court

Minford

Details

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

Burg pulls away from Indians in season opener

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Results

TeamTOutcome
Valley35Loss
Wheelersburg63Win

Pirates get going

‘Burg pulls away from Indians in season opener

By Paul Boggs

LUCASVILLE — In more ways than one on Tuesday night, the Wheelersburg Pirates — finally — got things going.

Indeed, the Pirates — at long last — played their boys basketball season opener after everyone else except Ironton, as has become customary given Wheelersburg’s recent run of success throughout the state football playoffs.

In visiting the youthful Valley Indians in their Southern Ohio Conference Division II opener as well, the defending division champion Pirates — eventually — started shaking off the doldrums from last having played an official Ohio High School Athletic Association contest clear back in mid-March of last year.

The new-look Pirates pulled away from the Indians over the middle two quarters — erupting for 18 unanswered points over almost exactly eight minutes and capturing a 63-35 victory on Valley’s reservation.

Wheelersburg went 26-1 a season ago, including a perfect 14-0 in steamrolling through the SOC II — and advanced all the way to the Division III regional championship tilt.
So with some new faces, and only three players returning with any amount of varsity experience in juniors J.J. Truitt (6-3), Carter McCorkle (6-4) and Matthew Miller (6-0), the Pirates pieced together a win — which they performed much better as the game went along.

 

#
21
Name
Carter McCorkle
Class
2021
Height
6-04
Current Team
Wheelersburg
Leagues
SEO, SOC2
Seasons
2018-19, 2019-20

 

Matthew Miller, Wheelersburg, Ohio
#
12
Name
Mathew Miller
Class
2021
Height
6-00
Current Team
Wheelersburg
Leagues
SEO, SOC2
Seasons
2018-19, 2019-20

 

The Pirates led the Indians 7-5 following the opening quarter, then doubled their point total in the second to lead 21-10 at halftime.

While the Indians scored as many third-period points (10) as they combined for in the first half, so too did Wheelersburg — which went off for 21 in the quarter and eventually ballooned its advantage to 33-10 at the 5:15 mark on a steal, layup and old-fashioned three-point play by Truitt.

“We challenged our older guys at halftime. The third quarter, you can’t ask for a better start,” said Wheelersburg coach Steven Ater.

“We jumped out in the first three or four minutes and pushed the lead from 11 (21-10) to 23 (33-10) in a flash. Then we were able to press a little bit, get some turnovers off that, and I thought we did a pretty good job. It took them out of what they wanted to do offensively, and just disrupted their flow and rhythm.”

At that point, the Indians’ three primary freshmen were on the floor, while Wheelersburg only extended the lead from there — tallying 21 more markers in the fourth quarter and leading by as much 30 (57-27) on Truitt’s final points.

That was his third three-pointer, as he finished with a game-high 18 on six total field goals and 3-of-5 free throws.

While Wheelersburg’s offensive execution and sharpness are arguably behind its defense right now — effort, attitude and defense do indeed travel.
Those aspects joined the Pirates on their short trip up State Route 823 to Lucasville on Tuesday.

Head Coach Steven Ater

Current Team
Wheelersburg
“I was really happy with what we did defensively. I thought we guarded really well and our quickness and our length bothered them. We sped them up into some easy looks, but they weren’t clean looks. To hold a team like that to 10 first-half points, give our guys a lot of credit,” said Ater. “Offensively, obviously, we were not very smooth, but we knew early that it’s just going to be that way with first-game jitters and anxiety and all that bottled up. We also have a lot of new guys out there on varsity for the first time. It’s guys that have been in the program for a couple of years, but it’s their first real meaningful playing time. They’ve sat behind some seniors that have been pretty successful the last couple of years.”

One of those seniors was Tanner Holden, the Southeast District Division III Player of the Year last season — who is now at Wright State University.

#
22
Name
JJ Truitt
Class
2021
Height
6-03
Current Team
Wheelersburg
Leagues
SEO, SOC2
Seasons
2018-19, 2019-20
But Truitt was also an all-district performer, and overcame foul trouble to get his 18 points, including his second three-pointer with 6:20 remaining — which put the Pirates up 47-23.

His initial triple gave the Orange and Black its first lead at 3-2 just two-and-a-half minutes in, as Wheelersburg would lead for the final 25 minutes.

The Indians’ only advantages were 2-0 on a Dylan Ellis jumper just a minute and eight seconds in, followed by Ellis landing a three-pointer just two minutes and 40 seconds later.
However, Valley struggled shooting from that point on, missing many short-range shots and making young-player mistakes that frustrated second-year head coach Eric Horton.

The Indians didn’t score for the final 4:12 of the opening quarter, then didn’t score for the final 2:12 of the second — or the opening five minutes and 45 seconds of the third.
“We couldn’t make anything,” said Horton. “With about two minutes left to go in the first half, we were down five (15-10), and I thought we had a couple of shots to close it out. But we got going too fast, which is a freshman mistake, and we should have been coming in at halftime a two-possession game. Instead, we were down 11. We had more than enough opportunities to make easy shots around the basket. They just didn’t go in. If you have that happen against a team like Wheelersburg, they are going to do what they did tonight.”

The Indians’ only points of the second stanza were a George Arnett bucket, a Devin Stiltner split of free throws three minutes later at the 4:07 mark, and finally a driving layup by Kayden Mollette that made it 15-10 at the 2:12 point.

The Pirates then scored the next 18, only stopped when Mollete — who along with Arnett paced Valley with eight points —made his second of a team-high four field goals.
Trailing Truitt was Wheelersburg’s six-foot one-inch freshman Kenny Sanderlin, making his high school debut on Tuesday.

It was actually Sanderlin — and McCorkle — sparking the Pirates’ offense, as Sanderlin scored all 13 of his points in the middle two quarters on five field goals and 3-of-4 foul shots.
McCorkle chipped in a dozen points on four field goals and 4-of-8 first-half free throws, as his deuce with a minute remaining in the first quarter put the Pirates in front for good.
With 1:55 remaining before halftime, he scored off a Truitt assist to make it 17-10, as Sanderlin scored twice inside the final minute and 10 seconds — before McCorkle opened the second half with back-to-back baskets in the first 58 seconds.

#
35
Name
Kenny Sanderlin
Class
2023
Height
6-01
Current Team
Wheelersburg
Leagues
SEO, SOC2
Seasons
2019-20
Sanderlin sank two freebies for a 28-10 advantage, then got a rebound putback at the five-and-a-half minute mark before Truitt’s three-point play.
“We started getting some stops and running and getting transition baskets. I thought Kenny Sanderlin was really good in that run in the second and third quarters. He got some inside baskets. He is a mismatch for a lot of people,” said Ater. “He is a big strong young man and we have a high ceiling for him. A lot of improvement still to go, but he came out and gave us a lift right there.”
Ellis added seven points for Valley, scoring another basket just 33 seconds into the final period to make it 44-22 in favor of Wheelersburg.

The Indians also converted only 5-of-14 free throws, as freshmen Carter Nickel on two second-half field goals and Ty Perkins on Valley other’s three-ball were among the other Indian leaders.
But Horton hailed his young charges for playing hard against a good Pirate club all the way to the very end.

“Once they were able to pull ahead, they were able to relax and play a lot better than us. We started to push when we got behind. If we would have made our very high-percentage shots, I think it’s a different ballgame coming into halftime and in the second half,” said the coach. “Our kids played hard, regardless of what the scoreboard says. We just did not finish our possessions. We just have to keep competing and eventually some of those shots that we missed tonight are going to fall. Once that starts to happen for us, I think we will be a very good basketball team.”

Valley, which fell to 1-4 and 1-1 in the league, returns to SOC II action on Friday night — when it travels to Northwest.

Wheelersburg will play again on Friday night as well, and hosts Portsmouth West with its home opener.
But finally, the Pirates have got — and likely will continue to get — things going.

“A lot of improvement ahead of us, especially offensively, but this game was a good starting point,” said Ater.* * *

Wheelersburg 7 14 21 21 — 63
Valley 5 5 10 15 — 35

WHEELERSBURG 63 (1-0, 1-0 SOC II)
Aaron Jolly 1 0-0 2, Matthew Miller 2 1-2 5, Eli Swords 0 0-0 0, Aaron Masters 1 0-0 3, Jonah Lawson 0 0-0 0, Carter McCorkle 4 4-8 12, J.J. Truitt 6 3-5 18, Gage Adkins 2 0-0 4, Mason Montgomery 2 0-0 4, Brayden Wilson 1 0-0 2, Corey Maxie 0 0-0 0, Kenny Sanderlin 5 3-4 13; TOTALS 24 11-19 63; Three-point goals: 4 (J.J. Truitt 3, Aaron Masters 1)

VALLEY 35 (1-4, 1-1 SOC II)
George Arnett 3 2-2 8, Breckon Williams 0 0-0 0, Ty Perkins 1 0-2 3, Dylan Ellis 3 0-0 7, Carter Nickel 2 0-0 4, Kayden Mollette 4 0-4 8, Jared Gahm 1 0-0 2, Devon Stiltner 0 2-4 2, Bryce Stuart 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 14 5-14 35; Three-point goals: 2 (Ty Perkins and Dylan Ellis 1)

2019-20 Burg

#PlayerClassHeightPTSREBASTSTLBLK
10Aaron Jolly, Wheelersburg, OhioAaron Jolly20215-0850000
11Josh Clark20225-1000000
12Matthew Miller, Wheelersburg, OhioMathew Miller20216-00380000
13Eli Swords20225-11290000
14Aaron Masters20225-1030000
15Jonah Lawson20216-0300000
21Carter McCorkle20216-04480000
22JJ Truitt20216-03570000
23Gage Adkins20216-0160000
24Mason Montgomery, Wheelersburg, OhioMason Montgomery20215-1040000
25Brayden Wilson - Wheelersburg, OhioBrayden Wilson20216-0220000
33Corey Maxie, Wheelersburg, OhioCorey Maxie20216-0600000
35Kenny Sanderlin20236-01360000

Indians 2019-20

#PlayerClassHeightPTSREBASTSTLBLK
1George Arnett20236-00350000
2Brecken Williams20216-0140000
3Ty Perkins20236-03190000
4Dylan Ellis20215-08330000
10Carter Nickel20236-00210000
12Kayden Mollette20205-08670000
13Jared Gahm20215-0970000
21Jacob Greathouse20216-0000000
23Devin Stiltner20205-1170000
24Bryce Stuart20226-00200000
25Nick Mowery20215-1000000
32Mason Zaler20206-05500000

 

Valley

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
1George Arnett80000
2Brecken Williams00000
3Ty Perkins30000
4Dylan Ellis70000
10Carter Nickel40000
12Kayden Mollette80000
13Jared Gahm20000
23Devin Stiltner20000
24Bryce Stuart10000
 Total350000

Wheelersburg

# Player PTS REB AST STL BLK
10Aaron Jolly20000
12Mathew Miller50000
13Eli Swords00000
14Aaron Masters30000
15Jonah Lawson00000
21Carter McCorkle120000
22JJ Truitt180000
23Gage Adkins40000
24Mason Montgomery40000
25Brayden Wilson20000
33Corey Maxie00000
35Kenny Sanderlin130000
 Total630000

Court

Valley

Details

Date Time League Season
December 10, 2019 7:30 pm SEO 2019-20