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CHILLICOTHE — To start what is unquestionably the biggest week of Jackson’s regular season schedule, the Ironmen knew it was vital to play confident, start fast and set the tone on Tuesday.
Jackson did all of that, and then some.
Going away from the outside shot and relentlessly attacking the bucket, the Ironmen shot just under 50 percent on the night, earning a resounding 60-46 road victory over Unioto.
“It’s tough to come here to Unioto and get a win. It rarely happens. They have such an incredible program that was led by Matt Hoops for nearly two decades, and now it’s under Matt Combs, and it’s no secret how good of a coach he is,” Jackson coach Max Morrow said. “This game had huge district implications for tournament seedings, and our guys executed on both sides of the ball. We are the sum of our parts, not just one part and when we’re playing together, we’re a pretty good team.”
CREDIT: Cindy Hoops/SOSA
It was a necessary win for the Ironmen. However, it was also a special win for Garrett Legg.
The lone senior on Jackson’s team played his first three seasons at Piketon. There, he had never beaten Unioto.
And although his eight points and six rebounds may not have been game-highs, he earned every bit of his production while getting that monkey off his back.
“This win was solely for Garrett. He told me before the game that he never beat Unioto in his three years at Piketon, and our guys took that to heart,” Morrow said. “He’s been such a welcomed addition to the team, and he’s really made a huge difference for us having that senior leadership, alongside that knowledge of the game to fit right in with this group.”
Both teams traded four buckets each to open the game, playing to an 8-8 tie. But Jackson soon began to create separation.
Back-to-back steals and scores from Bodhi Wolford and Ryan Seimetz capped a 6-1 run to give the Ironmen a 14-9 lead.
Jackson (12-3) realized it had a bit of an advantage with its speed and physicality, and continued to use that to force six first quarter turnovers, taking a 20-12 lead into the second quarter.
Between Wolford, Seimetz, Charlie Woodard and Stephen Jenkins, the Ironmen were getting to the rim with relative ease as the advantage soon reached double digits at 28-17.
However, Unioto (15-3) had an answer.
Trailing 32-19, Blake Hoops splashed back-to-back 3’s that swayed momentum and brought the deficit to 32-25 at halftime.
But although the Shermans ended the first half on a 6-0 run, it was Jackson’s turn to return serve. Wolford and Woodard opened the frame on their own 6-0 run, and that started the beginning of the end for the Shermans.
“We knew at some point, Unioto was going to make a little run and get back in the game. Blake Hoops hitting three 3’s in the first half, and two to end the second quarter definitely has you on your toes a little bit since it was just a seven-point game,” Morrow said. “We’ve had leads at halftime and everybody has made a comeback on us, so no lead is ever big enough for us. Our guys really handled the pressure and Bodhi made a tough bucket with a counter move which really put things in motion for us.”
The Ironmen completely abandoned the outside shot, using their speed and power to get inside for high percentage shots, while the defense kept active hands to turn turnovers into transition baskets.
What was a 38-25 lead exploded into a 52-32 edge after winning the third quarter by a 20-7 margin. The Ironmen put things into cruise control the rest of the way.
“Our offense is all about attacking, but our skillset is also built for that. We like to take the outside shots, but our guys aren’t settling for that,” Morrow said. “I think a couple years ago when they were freshmen and understanding how varsity is, they would have settled for those shots. But now our guys have a ton of confidence in their ability to get to the rim and convert those chances at the bucket.”
Woodard finished with a game-high 18 points to lead Jackson, followed by 13 points from Wolford and 12 points from Seimetz. For Unioto, Hoops had 16 points and Blake Fitch followed with 14.
Jackson returns to action on Friday at home against Hillsboro in FAC play, before a quick turnaround Saturday at Miami Trace. Unioto travels to play at Zane Trace in SVC action on Friday.
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