After trailing 45-22 midway through the third quarter, the Miami Trace Panthers scored 35 fourth-quarter points Saturday afternoon, but it wasn't enough as the Unioto Shermans prevailed 73-66 for the Division 2 Boys Sectional Championship.
The Panthers dug themselves a first-half hole by only shooting 6/21 from the field for 27%, while the Shermans were 13/26 for 50% as Unioto took a 32-20 advantage at halftime.
The Panthers came out hot in the third quarter and started off on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 11 points before the Shermans scored their first points of the quarter. Unioto then went on a run of their own and at one point were up by 23 points and took an 18 point lead into the fourth and final period.
The Panthers came out fired up in the fourth quarter and Miami Trace senior Dakota Bolton scored seven huge points to set the tone for the Panthers as they ended up outscoring the Shermans 35-24 in the final period. Twenty of the Shermans fourth-quarter points came from the free throw line. They were 20/30 from the line in the quarter and 27/43 for the game, as the Panthers started to foul to try and stop the clock and get the ball back. It nearly worked as the Panthers were able to cut the lead three points on two occasions with less than a minute to play. The Panthers weren't able to get any closer as time ran out and they fell 73-66.
The Shermans were led in scoring by senior Logan Swackhammer's 20 points, the majority of his points came from the free throw line. Gabe Fisher added 17 to go along with 9 rebounds while Brandon Kennedy had 14 and Petyon Hill finished with 13. They shot 20/39 for 51%- including 6/14 from behind the arc and were 27/43 from the free throw line, 20 of those free throws came in the fourth quarter. Unioto committed 15 turnovers.
Cameron Carter led the way for Miami Trace as the Senior had a game-high 27 points. Darby Tyree added 13 points and 10 rebounds, Dakota Bolton and Austin Brown each had 10. The Panthers finished the afternoon shooting 21/54 for 39%- including 9/21 outside the arc and 15/21 from the line and committed 15 turnovers.
(20-2) Unioto Shermans now move on to face Warren in the Division w District Semi's at the Convo in Athens on March 2nd at 8:15pm. Miami Trace's season ends at (13-11)
To hear WKKJ's play-by-play call on the game, go to our podcast link below...