Chesapeake's Dannie Maynard (5) drives for a layup ahead of Wheelersburg's Jackson Schaumburger (22) Friday night during a high school basketball district final game Friday in Waverly, Ohio.
Chesapeake's Dannie Maynard (5) drives for a layup ahead of Wheelersburg's Jackson Schaumburger (22) Friday night during a high school basketball district final game Friday in Waverly, Ohio.
WAVERLY, Ohio Ƶ Wheelersburg was better in its half-court game than Chesapeake was in transition and that was the difference Friday night.
The eighth-seeded Pirates (15-11) used superior size and controlled the pace a bit better than did the fifth-seeded Panthers (15-9) in a 64-47 victory in the Division III, Region 11, Southeast District 1 championship game at the Waverly Downtown Arena.
Wheelersburg advances to the Region 11 semifinals at 8 p.m. Wednesday against either Sugarcreek Garaway or Tuscarawas Valley at the Ohio University Convocation Center in Athens.
The Pirates led 30-24 at halftime, then took control in the third quarter, starting with a 10-2 run. Eli Swords, who finished with 34 points, scored at 5:36 of the period to put Wheelersburg up 17. The Panthers cut the deficit to six points after a Ben Bragg bucket with 5:32 to play, but Josh Clark answered with a 3-pointer to begin a 6-0 run and put the lead back to double figures.
ƵEli played really well,Ƶ said Wheelersburg coach Steven Ater, a former Chesapeake standout. ƵThatƵs what you want your seniors to do for you this time of year. He has been so fun to coach. Everything weƵve asked him to do, heƵs willing to do it.Ƶ
The first half played out as many predicted. Wheelersburg was effective in the half-court game and survived ChesapeakeƵs transition game. The PiratesƵ length was a factor, as was Swords, who scored 15 points in the first two quarters. Wheelersburg made five 3-point shots in the first 16 minutes while the Panthers hung around thanks to 17 points from Levi Blankenship.
ƵWe had some turnovers in the first half and still were up by six,Ƶ Ater said. ƵYou take that. Ƶ fast as they are, as good as they are, theyƵre going to get some of those. It was up to us to keep calm. We collected ourselves and got back to what we wanted to do. When they made a run, we made one right back and thatƵs what it takes this time of year.Ƶ
Wheelersburg led by as many as nine before Chesapeake used a 7-0 run to pull with 26-24 with 1:21 left until halftime. Noah Wright, through, made a 3-pointer and Josh Clark a free throw to make it 30-26.
Cooper McKenzie scored 12 for the Pirates. Swords and Clark each grabbed nine rebounds.
Ben Bragg scored 21 points and Blankenship 19 as they completed their high school careers.
ƵLevi is such a great player for them,Ƶ Ater said of Blankenship. ƵHeƵs one of the all-time greats in that program. He had a big first half and we had to do some different things in the second half.Ƶ
The other district final featured No. 2 seed Fairland vs. sixth-seeded South Point in a late game.
WHEELERSBURG 14 16 19 15 Ƶ 64: Estep 1, Clark 5, Wright 3, E. Swords 34, Schwamburger 2, L. Swords 7, Johnson 12
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.
