Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CHILLICOTHE — In a matchup of unbeaten Scioto Valley Conference opponents on Tuesday, Unioto (3-1, 3-0 SVC) got out to a perfect start before coasting to a lopsided win over Southeastern.
The Panthers attempted to get back in the game, but the Shermans’ hot outside shooting — they hit 13 3-point field goals — allowed the Tanks to polish off a decisive 69-36 win.
It was a dream start as Caden Cutright canned a triple from the left wing on the Shermans’ opening possession. Following a defensive stop, KB Perkins scored a put back layup before a Jaxon Zickafoose corner 3-pointer made it an 8-0 game and forced a Southeastern timeout only 67 seconds into the action.
CREDIT: Cindy Hoops/SOSA
Out of that break, much of the same took place as Blake Fitch connected with Zickafoose inside for a layup. Then, after another stop, Blake Hoops went coast-to-coast to score a circus layup and forced another SE timeout with a 12-0 score at the 6:03 mark in the opening quarter.
The Panthers (4-1, 2-1 SVC) came out of the huddle with more energy, but even that nearly ended in disaster. The following possession featured four shots in the paint for the Panthers, as they crashed the glass. But they couldn’t get a shot to fall.
However, Brevin Strausbaugh eventually drew a foul to close out his awesome effort on the possession, leading to the first two points of the night for Southeastern.
On the other end, a flurry of points from Fitch only increased the Sherman lead as the junior point guard tallied seven of the final nine points of the quarter, helping the Tanks to a 21-4 lead going into the second.
Southeastern shot just 2-of-16 from the field in the opening eight minutes, but showed signs of life in the second quarter. The team’s zone defense began to slow the Tanks offensively and the duo of Strausbaugh and Carter Fisher were able to get to the stripe to help the Panthers chip away at the lead.
Late in the second, Unioto’s lead had been cut to 28-14 before a pair of shots all but took the wind out of the Panthers’ sails.
The Shermans were able to find Hoops for a triple from the wing and, after a stop, ran a set to get Hoops another look in the corner, which the senior buried to give the Tanks a 34-14 halftime advantage.
Unioto added to the lead throughout the third, thanks to some sharpshooting off the bench. Jack Welch and Isaac Coy accounted for the final 11 points of the third to push the lead to 57-23, with Coy draining a midrange jumper to close the quarter.
Unioto’s Cayden Patterson and David Long went a combined 3-for-3 from deep in the final quarter, while Dawson Mitchell blocked a pair of shots to procure production from all of the team’s 10 members.
Southeastern was led in scoring and rebounding by Strausbaugh, as the junior had 12 markers and pulled down nine rebounds. Things don’t get any easier for the Panthers as they host unbeaten Zane Trace on Friday.
Unioto had a balanced attack, led by Hoops’ 13 points, while Fitch added 10 points and passed out nine assists. Perkins had a game-high 12 rebounds to go with his nine points. The Tanks will be on the road on Friday, taking on Westfall.
BOX SCORE
Southeastern: 4-10-9-13 — 36
Unioto: 21-13-23-12 — 69
Southeastern: 12-53 FG, 10-12 FT, 2-19 3pt., 28 rebounds (Strausbaugh 9), 10 turnovers, 7 assists (Williams 3). Scoring: Strausbaugh 12, Fisher 6, Cheadle 5, Williams 5, King 4, Burns 2, Gowan 2.
Unioto: 25-57 FG, 6-8 FT, 13-31 3pt., 41 rebounds (Perkins 12), 8 turnovers, 21 assists (Fitch 9). Scoring: Hoops 13, Fitch 10, Cutright 9, Perkins 9, Zickafoose 8, Patterson 6, Welch 6, Coy 5, Long 3.
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