Warren 52 final
IF you are a fan of boys high school hoops , tonight’s matchup between Warren & Vinton County in the Logan D2 Sectional had ALL of the potential to be a barnburner/slugfest/white knuckler/slobber knocker – any one of the cliché’s you want to dust off and throw on a computer screen – it was going to be a good one … TVC vs SEOAL … 2 great coaches in Coach Combs (VC) and Coach Maddox (WHS) … both champions of their respective leagues … two of the best high school basketball programs in the SouthEast District … a gym packed with passionate fans on both sides of the court … it was more than appropriate that the outcome was not decided until the final 2.6 seconds – from my perch in the Cheap Seats it added up to a darn near “perfect” game for any fan of the game …
On paper, I had VC the favorite in this one – imo the inside BIGS for VC would be a major factor in this - physically stronger than Warren in the paint … I felt that VC had MORE perimeter scorers than Warren (Bartoe/Jones/Albright/Yates) … and VC had Mr. Tristan Bartoe – a kid that handles the ball as well as anyone, can get into the paint/to the rim better than anyone in SEOhio … in my little mind, Warren would have to score from the perimeter – Dennis, Hall, Gandee had to have a big “perimeter” night – if they did it would negate the interior game of the VC BIGS by committee – Wood/McIntre/Caudill … IF Coach Combs’ troops were hitting on all cylinders Warren would be in trouble … at the game I found out that Caudill is out for the season/McIntre was in street clothes … “write it down – game on ! with 2 of the 3 BIGS out for VC this was going to be a tight one” – darned if I wasn’t right on the money – closer than close … a great game was seen by everyone in attendance … congratulations to both teams/coaches/fans for both sides – high school hoops/one & done season – Perfect …
… Quarter number one had the Vikings throwing the first punches Derrick Jones/ Jordan Albright and Tristan Bartoe staked VC to the early 10-2 lead at the 3:56 mark of the 1st … Bartoe showed his entire repertoire hitting his patented floater in the paint for 2 pts. followed by a triple and bookended with a drive to the rim (7 pts in the quarter) … Warren won the last 3:56 seconds of the 1st outscoring VC 7-2 to finish the quarter Vinton County 12 Warren 9 after one …
… Quarter 2 saw Vikings Albright & Bartoe BOTH pickup their 2nd foul … both spent minutes on the bench … while the Viking duo shared time on the bench Warren fought back into the game led by Bryce Gandee’s 7 point 2nd period (10 in the half) … 4 points by Warren 6-6 junior Chase Weihl and a triple from Kyler Dennis in the Warrior final possession of the half … VC shared the wealth in the period - Jones with 3/ Bartoe added 4 pts. and off the bench Naylon Yates hit 5 points in the 2nd … a key napkin stat in the quarter was VC went 2/2 from the FT line while Warren was 1 for 4 from the line … Vinton County 26 Warren 24 at intermission …
Quarter #3 … saw Vinton Co. jump out to its’ biggest lead at 33-26 with 3:54 to play in the quarter – Naylen Yates continued to be the man as the 6th man hit 7 points in the quarter … Warren however reeled the Vikings back in behind Luke Drayer (6 pts) & Chase Weihl (4 pts) with a chip in trey by Kyler Dennis 3 pts … the key FT napkin stat – Warren 0 for 4 in the 3rd … Warren 37 Vinton County 36 end of 3 …
… the final period was what keeps us Cheap Seat guys coming back in the post season … both teams knowing that there are only 8 minutes left to decide “Who will be the last team standing after 8 more minutes?” … Warren had senior Luke Drayer (8 pts in the quarter) trying to carry the team to one more win & a “next” game … VC’s Derrick Jones drilled 2 big time 3 balls (8 pts in the quarter) … VC’s BIG MAN in the middle came up BIG in the final period … he was the dominating presence in the paint I thought he would be (8 points for the game) but EVERY ONE of the 8 points were BIG BIG buckets – on put backs at crucial times for VC … the final period was played tight at both ends … at the 2 minute mark the scoreboard showed VC 48 Warren 48 … at 1:38 Kyler Dennis hit a triple to give Warren a 3 point 51-48 advantage … :53 to play the game was tied 52-52 … Warren ball … easy to say AFTER the game but the Warriors instead of going for the final shot elected to go for the lead with :34 left … a drive by Luke Drayer who had been money getting to the rim all night had his shot roll off the back of the rim … VC with the board and the ball … Bartoe across the midcourt stripe time out Vinton with 17 ticks on the clock … advantage Vinton – the arguably BEST “one on one” pg in SEOhio on the court … I jotted down on my napkin stat sheet “Bartoe to the rim … make or to the FT line” … I was half right – Bartoe did take the ball to the rim (check) … this is why I’m in the cheap seats and not courtside – Bartoe took it into the paint – drawing 2 defenders/ instead of going up for the shot Bartoe fed the waiting BIG MAN Chase Wood for an easy 2 points … Vinton up 2 points … with 2.6 seconds to play Warren put up a prayer from mid court … Vinton County 54 Warren 52 a final …
… Pfloyd’s Official “unofficial” Napkin Stats – Warren …
Scoring …Luke Drayer 18, Chase Weihl 11, Bryce Gandee 10, Kyler Dennis 9 , Seth Hall 3, Josh Huffman 1 …
3 Pointers … 5/15 … Kyler Dennis 3, Bryce Gandee 2
FT’s … 3/11
TO’s … 10
… Warren hit the outside shots they needed to hit 5/15 from downtown … Coach Maddox’s boys did a great job holding their own in the paint giving up only 8 points to Wood – perfect … the Warrior D kept Bartoe controlled/ foul trouble/ out of the paint all night (Hall stole the ball twice from Bartoe) … Chase Wood hit 4 “BIG SHOTS” for the game – put backs at key points in the game to keep VC from falling behind WHS by more than 1 possession PLUS the game winner on the assist from Bartoe to end the game … all night Warren had hands on the ball defensively – any ball going inside was scratched/clawed at by multiple sets of hands forcing multiple TOs by VC … the killer tonight for Warren FT's ... 3/11
… Pfloyd’s Official “unofficial” Napkin Stats – Vinton County …
Scoring … Tristan Bartoe 15, Naylen Yates 14, Derrick Jones 13, Chase Wood 8, Jordan Albright 4
3 Pointers … 7/12 … Derrick Jones 3, Naylen Yates 2, Jordan Albright 1, Tristan Bartoe 1
FTs … 9/12
TOs … 17
… Congratulations to the Vikings … well played game at both ends of the court … another Key Napkin stat besides Warren going 3/11 from the FT line … was Vinton’s bench vs Warren’s bench :
VC’s bench Naylen Yates/Caleb Montgomery 14 points
vs
Warren’s bench of Josh Huffman 1 point …
Best of luck to Vinton County as they will take on the winner of Unioto/Chillicothe at Basketball Thirty at the Convo next Friday night (2/26) at 6:15pm …
