Brock Netter, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CIRCLEVILLE — Unioto had two choices entering Tuesday night.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
The Shermans could either show their level of character, or continue reeling after a gut-punching, buzzer-beating loss to Zane Trace just three days prior.
They chose the former, and the results paid off in full as they took home a tough-nosed 51-43 non-conference victory over Circleville.
“Coming off the weekend and with only one day of prep for a tough road game, it makes you worry a little about how the kids will rebound,” Unioto coach Matt Hoops said. “But I thought our maturity we showed in Monday’s practice carried over to tonight. There’s still some things we did that were out of character for us, but we managed to overcome our own mistakes to make positive plays down the stretch.”
Early on, the physicality and unselfishness of the Tigers gave them an advantage.
As Unioto (8-6, 4-4 SVC) figured out how Circleville was going to play, the Tigers had five different players score out of the gates to hold a 9-6 lead.
Each team scored six points to end the first quarter while Circleville held a 15-12 lead, thanks to a pair of buckets from Briley Cramer.
The Tigers continued to stay one step ahead of the Shermans for the time being. Anytime Unioto attempted to gain momentum, Circleville responded with a bucket to maintain a one-possession lead throughout the frame.
Unioto held its first lead of the game at 25-24 following two free throws from Zeke Schobelock, only for Cramer to answer with a triple to put Circleville ahead 27-25 at halftime.
“We got some good looks from the floor. They just didn’t go down,” Hoops said. “But also at the same point, if that was five weeks ago, I’m not sure we would have continued to fight. Our team makeup isn’t like that, but you never know how young kids with little varsity experience respond to things like that. They continued to bring it and give themselves a chance.”
The Shermans’ luck was about to start changing.
After seeing multiple shots flirt with the basket and bounce out, they finally got one to fall when Newton Hoops buried a 3 to cap a 7-2 run and put them ahead 32-29 — a lead that wouldn’t be relinquished.
Hoops connected from distance and Schobelock and Blake Fitch added two buckets each as Unioto outscored the Tigers 16-8 in the third, holding a 41-35 lead heading to the fourth.
“Newton’s shots were the only 3’s we hit on the night, but they were so huge,” Matt Hoops said. “He’s hit a lot of shots for us in the past couple of weeks. We brought him off the bench three games ago, and since then, he’s been making shots. For him to be able to accept that transition and still have that type of impact on the game is huge for us.”
Circleville tried to rally, but the Sherman defense took its level of aggression up a notch and gave the Tigers fits. Meanwhile, on the opposite side, K.B. Perkins found himself in the right spots at the right times.
Using his 6-foot-4 frame, he dove to the rim for rebounds and putbacks while offense was sparse in the final eight minutes. His six points in the frame was enough to help push the Shermans across the finish line with a victory in hand.
Perkins finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, followed by Fitch with 10 points. Newton Hoops ended the night with eight points.
For Circleville, Cramer led the way with 17 points and five rebounds.
Unioto returns to the hardwood on Friday for SVC action at Piketon, while Circleville rebounds on Saturday in MSL action at Logan Elm.
“Piketon is a much improved team, and [PIketon coach] Kyle [Miller] has done a great job with those guys and that program,” Matt Hoops said. “It’s going to take a tough two days of practice to get ready for them. It’s never an easy place to play at and it will take a complete effort to earn the win.”
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