John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WHEELERSBURG — After a scorching hot start, it took lockdown defense and some timely free throw shooting for Zane Trace to earn a nail-biting 47-44 win at Wheelersburg on Tuesday night.
CREDIT: Renee Nemeth/SOSA
The Pioneers (6-1) started the night by making their first six shot attempts, with baskets from Xzander Ream, Landon Robinson, Nalin Robinson and Kyle Stonerock, while Brock Jarrell handed out three assists in that time frame.
The Pirates (5-2) struggled out of the gates, but were able to turn multiple Zane Trace turnovers into easy points. Jackson Schwamburger and Caleb Arthur helped keep the Pirates within 16-13 after one quarter.
Early in the second, Nalin Robinson picked up his second foul, which forced him to the bench for the majority of the remainder of the half. That’s where Carter Langley entered and started to make an immediate difference for the Pioneers.
The athletic lefty scored a layup and also added a three-point play to help extend the Pioneers’ lead.
“Nalin getting into foul trouble early is never good,” Ream said. “[When that happens], you need someone to fill in those shoes. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill. Carter did a perfect job tonight in doing that.”
Also playing a key factor in extending the lead was an all-out effort from Stonerock on the offensive glass. On a single possession, Stonerock pulled down three offensive rebounds before finally finishing, which gave the Pioneers a 27-19 edge with two minutes left in the half.
“That’s just Kyle,” Ream said, with a smile. “You’ve got a 6-foot-4. 240-pounder who literally could just shoot the ball one-hundred times [near the basket] and get his own rebound every time. He could up his stats as much as he wants. He puts us in a good spot offensively. He’s the most dominant rebounder we have.”
For the Pirates, Schwamburger put together a display that showed off all of his offensive repertoire to keep them in the game. A drive across the lane for a short jumper, a driving layup, and a triple from the right wing brought the Pirates back within four in the final minute of the half.
The Pioneers responded to close the second quarter with a huge shot from sophomore Landen Jarrell. While Ream had the ball at the top of the key, the Pirates sent a double team at him. In response, Ream passed to Landon Robinson, who quickly hit Jarrell in the corner, where he calmly canned the 3 to give Zane Trace a 32-25 lead at the break.
PHOTOS: Images from Zane Trace’s win over Wheelersburg
Wheelersburg came out of the locker room with much more defensive intensity and fire, slowly making its way back into the game. An acrobatic put back off a missed 3 by Arthur brought the Pirate faithful to their feet and cut the Pioneers’ lead to three.
After an offensive rebound and kick out from Zavier Stanley, Arthur rattled in a 3 of his own from the wing to tie the game for the first time since the opening tip.
Zane Trace then took the lead back, temporarily, by splitting a pair of free throws. But the Pirates took their first lead of the contest after a driving left-handed layup from freshman Braylon Rucker.
With the Pioneers facing their first deficit of the game, ZT started to lock-in on the defensive end. After Ream put the Pioneers back in front at 41-40, Schwamburger responded immediately with his second trey of the game with 4:33 left to play. That triple would be the last made field goal of the night for the Pirates.
Both teams made life difficult for the opposing offense, but after an ill-advised shot from the Pirates led to a foul on the rebound attempt, Landen Jarrell stepped up and made his second major play of the night. With just over a minute to play, Jarrell sank both ends of a bonus chance, giving Zane Trace a 45-44 lead.
“He has so much confidence,” ZT’s Landon Robinson said of Jarrell. “That’s even when he goes through cold spots. He was money all night long. I had no doubt he was going to make those two free throws to put us up.”
On the defensive end, Landon Robinson then blocked a short jumper attempt, giving the Pioneers the ball with just 48 seconds left to play. The Pirates, however, were able to get the ball back after an aggressive trap forced it loose.
But ‘Burg was unable to convert on a floater with 10 seconds to play and Ream pulled down the rebound.
Ream, the leading scorer and free throw shooter in the SVC, calmly toed the line and sank both ends of the bonus.
“It was a rough start in the second [half],” Ream said. “[Zane Trace] Coach [Gary Kellough] took me out to calm me down and give the defense some options. [Wheelersburg] was sticking to me like glue. They did not want me to have any room. But on that foul, I wasn’t nervous. I knew I was going to hit [the free throws]. It was really just putting the ball through the hoop. I didn’t think about it too much.”
Wheelersburg had two more shots to tie the game, but were unable to get either to fall and the Pioneers escaped with a three-point victory.
Statistically, Ream led Zane Trace with 16 points, four rebounds and two steals while Nalin Robinson added eight points and five boards. Meanwhile, Landon Robinson enjoyed a solid night, tallying seven points, four rebounds and five assists. Stonerock tallied a game-high 12 rebounds and Langley also had seven points.
For Wheelersburg, Schwamburger led the way with 15 points and three steals while Arthur had 12 points and seven rebounds. Rucker also helped out with seven points.
The Pioneers are back in action on Thursday when they host Amanda-Clearcreek. Meanwhile, the Pirates attempt to get back to their winning ways on Friday at Portsmouth.
“We just need to control getting those fouls,” Landon Robinson said. “We just need to do that and continue having confidence in each other.”
BOX SCORE
Zane Trace: 16-16-5-10 — 47
Wheelersburg: 12-13-13-6 — 44
Zane Trace: 17-41 FG, 10-12 FT, 3-11 3pt., 27 rebounds (Stonerock 12), 13 turnovers, 9 assists (L. Robinson 5). Scoring: Ream 16, N. Robinson 8, Langley 7, L. Robinson 7, L. Jarrell 5, Stonerock 4.
Wheelersburg: 14-39 FG, 13-16 FT, 3-15 3pt., 19 rebounds (Arthur 7), 11 turnovers, 5 assists (Rucker 2). Scoring: Schwamburger 15, Arthur 12, Rucker 7, Johnson 4, Wright 2, Estep 2, Swords 2.
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