(Pictured above: Adena's Caleb Fogelsong and Jacob Shipley on defense)
The Adena Warriors shot a blistering 66% from the field despite a tenacious defensive effort by the Shermans, holding on for a 55-53 victory at Unioto to stay in a first place tie with Zane Trace for the SVC lead.
Zane Trace also won a hard-fought 48-46 decision at Piketon, setting up the battle of SVC unbeaten teams to complete round one at Adena, on January 4th.
Adena took-off to a 10-4 start, only to see the Tanks cut the margin to 10-9 after one quarter. The Warriors broke away from an 18-17 lead to grab a 23-17 advantage, but Unioto cut it to 25-21 at halftime. Unioto's last lead of the game was 39-36 late in the third quarter as Adena finished the period on a 7-0 run for a 43-39 lead. The Warriors grabbed their biggest lead of the game at 49-41, midway through the fourth quarter, but the Shermans made one last charge to cut the deficit to 53-51, then the 55-53 final. Unioto had the ball, down by two with 4 seconds remaining, but the Warriors tight defense prevented Isaac Little from getting off a good shot at the horn as it fell well short of the basket.
The Warriors were 23/35- including 4/7 from the arc for 66%, while Unioto was 12/29 for 45%- including 7/15 from the arc. Both teams were red-hot in the third quarter, with Adena shooting 89% and Unioto 86%. Despite this kind of shooting, both teams were playing tough defense throughout the game, requiring both teams to use patience on offense to get a good percentage shot.
If there was a weak performance for the two teams, it was at the charity stripe where Adena was 5/11 and Unioto 9/14. The Warriors had only 5 turnovers and Unioto 7. Rebounds were scarce due to the fewer attempted shots. Unioto won the battle of the boards 14-13.
(Pictured above: Unioto's Isaac Little trying to beat Adena's Nate Throckmorton on the break)
Logan Bennett was one of three Warriors in double figures, leading the game with 20 points and blocked three shots. Jarrett Garrison added 12 and Zach Fout 11, while Jacob Shipley added scoring off the bench with 8.
Unioto was led by Cade McKee with 20 points and Isaac Little 13. Gabe McBee scored 8 points led all players with 9 rebounds.
Adena improves to (6-0/7-1) while Unioto drops to (3-3/4-4).
After playing McClain over the holiday break, Adena resumes SVC play to conclude the first round on January 4th, when they host co-leader Zane Trace with the broadcast on 94 Country WKKJ.
BOX SCORES:
ADENA 55
Logan Bennett 20, Jarrett Garrison 12, Zach Fout 11, Jacob Shipley 8, Nate Throckmotron & Preston Sykes each 2
UNIOTO 53
Cade McKee 20, Isaac Little 13, Gabe McBee 8, Jeremy Lambert 6, Cameron Debord & Chance Smith each 3
Relive the game with WKKJ's Mike Smith and Tom Beard on play-by-play in our podcast link below....