(Photo above is courtesy of Dan Ramey of Litter Media)
For the first time since 2015, the Unioto Shermans boys basketball team has claimed a district title, reaching the Sweet 16 with a 53-48 win over a pesky Waverly Tigers club.
After falling behind 7-2, the Tanks took a 15-10 lead after the first period, then built their biggest lead at 17-10 early in the second quarter. By halftime, Waverly had evened the score at 22-22. The Tigers trailed 35-30 late in the third quarter, but scored the final six points of the stanza for a 36-35 advantage, when guard Cobe Marquez drove the lane for a layup to end the third quarter.
The Tigers built a 42-37 lead midway through the fourth quarter, only to see the Shermans go on a 5-0 run to tie the game at 42-42. The score see-sawed back and forth before Unioto grabbed a 47-44 advantage and never trailed again.
Big plays down the stretch lifted the Tanks to victory, including a three-point goal from Chance Smith to extend the lead to 50-46, and a big steal from sophomore Cade McKee in the closing minute to go along with the Shermans hitting 4 of the last 6 three-point attempts.
The game stats were razor close. Unioto shot 18/46 from the field for 39%- including 6/16 from outside the arc, while also going 11/15 at the foul line. The Tigers shot 17/44, also for 39%- including 4/13 from the arc while also going 10/16 at the foul line.
Waverly committed 12 turnovers to 11 for Unioto. The Tigers won the rebounding stat 30-23.
The Shermans were led by Logan Swackhammer's 15 points, Brandon Kennedy had 14, and Peyton Hill added 10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. Gabe Fisher added 9 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
Waverly was led by Clayton Howell with 13 points, Cobe Marquez scored 12 and Ethan Adrian had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Landon Hoover added 6, with East Wolfe and Cody Remmington each adding 3.
The Shermans improve to (22-2) and will face the New Philadelphia/John Glenn winner in the Regional Semis at 6:15pm March 15th at the OU-Convo.
Waverly's season closes at (18-7).
To relive the Shermans district championship win, listen to WKKJ's Mike Smith and Tom Beard's play-by-play call on our podcast link below...