Unioto 47 final
... Basketball Thirty at the Convo ... District level hoops ... one and done ... no style points required ... the name of the game turns to "survive and advance" ... Unioto vs Vinton County , D2 , taking the lid off of the 3 Weeks of the Convo ... 2 very good basketball teams with even better coaches orchestrating courtside ... the Sherman's "heart" returned to the court - Cole Cottrill ... while Sean Caudill "gutted out" an improbable "I'll give it a go" performance for the Vikings ...
... an interesting game ... having watched both teams multiple times throughout the regular season and each in sectional play , I had a good idea as to what I would see from my Cheap Seat location - Unioto with it's decided size advantage on the inside (Hosley/Wheeler/Hill) would be where UHS would focus it's offensive attention especially with VC being handicapped with 2/3 of its' bigs sidelined or at least at a disadvantage with only Wood healthy in the paint ... by getting inside with the BIGS Unioto could open up the outside arsenal that it has as well - Logan Swackhammer/Brandon Kennedy/Gabe Fisher/Cole Cottrill ... Vinton County would need to have its' perimeter game - Derrick Jones/Jordan Albright/Tristan Bartoe/Naylen Yates would have to have big games from the perimeter while Bartoe being able to get inside for points would be a bonus vs the size of UHS ...
... The first 2 quarters followed the "cheap seat" game plan as the Shermans were able to get inside for baskets at the rim BUT not without struggling to get the ball down low ... VC defensively turned the Shermans over 10 times in the first 2 periods ... UHS on 3 straight TOs on their first 3 possessions never got a shot off ... Unioto was able to get enough looks to take quarter break leads of UHS 8 VC 6 after 1 ... UHS 28 VC 18 at intermission ... when you look at the halftime napkin stats , if it weren't for the UHS turnovers Vinton Co. would have been looking at a 20 point deficit at half ... an even closer look had the ONLY Viking with a field goal in the first 16 minutes of play was Naylen Yates ( 12 points, 3 treys, 1/2 from FT line and a 2 pointer for good measure) ... the rest of the VC team went 6/8 from the FT line in the first half - that was it ... Unioto DID what it was intending to do - methodically trying to get inside to use it's BIGS (11 pts from Hill (6)/Wheeler (3), Hosley (2) ) ... when the ball could get inside meant it could be kicked back outside Swackhammer/Edler/Kennedy each knocked down a 3 ball ... the pregame Cheap Seat script was playing out Unioto was controlling the game, throw in the 10 first half TOs it appeared that UHS was able to overcome NOT getting 10 more "shots on goal" ...
... If you follow Vinton Co. basketball you were able to recognize THE missing piece from the VC stat sheet that has always been there all season ... missing was Tristan Bartoe ... UHS kept TB out of the paint in the first half ... if he got by his defender there was a BIG to force Bartoe to give up the ball - very few shot attempts for TB in the first 16 minutes ... with any good program , run by any good coach ,"adjustments" are made during the half and just as importantly "during" the game - in order for VC to have any chance to move on the Vikings "go to guy" HAD to DO what he does better than anyone else in SEOhio - get into the paint - good things happen when TB gets into the paint 1) he gets to the rim - scores 2) he gets fouled & to the line 3) teammates get open looks for a dish from TB ...
... the opening of the 3rd quarter saw UHS behind Gabe Fisher's early 6 points take a 32-18 lead ... but the TO bug stayed with the Shermans as they committed 4 more in the 3rd ... the TOs allowed VC to begin taking control as the TO's stopped any UHS flow, kept UHS from extending the lead ... more importantly it allowed VC & Mr. Bartoe begin to "force" themselves on the game - TB 7 points in the 3rd - just as critical he got VC into the one & one by the end of the 3rd - now VC by putting the ball in Bartoe's hands ... every trip he made into the paint would either give VC a chance for 2 points or would put a Viking on the line with the clock stopped ...in the 3rd VC outscored UHS 15-10 ... Vinton Co. was 4/5 from the line ... Unioto's BIGs had but 2 points in the quarter ... Unioto 38 Vinton Co. 33 end of three ...
... Confidence /Momentum is such a BIG thing in sports - both were now firmly ingrained on the VC side of the court ... Tristan Bartoe had found himself/he was doing what he does best for his team - getting into the paint/dishing/ shooting & making FT's ... for VC their leader was in control and driving the TEAM bus ... add to the mix Chase Wood - go back in time to the Logan Sectional Chase Wood had but 4 fgs in that game but ALL were BIG time fgs of the putback variety OR the game winner , big boards, a big block , MVP effort - fast forward to the district semi final vs Unioto Wood was a major reason that the Unioto big 3 were held to Hosley 6/Wheeler 7/Hill 6 for the game - unbelievable effort by Chase Wood & Sean Caudill who gutted out a great defensive game and hit 2 BIG TIME FTs in the 4th period ... Wood offensively had 2 fgs BOTH in the paint, both contested by multiple big bodies ... Vinton County tied the game at 41-41 with 5:42 to play ... UHS would have the lead but one more time 43-41 with 5:12 to play ... Bartoe & Co. would force 3 more UHS turnovers in the 4th ... Vinton went 10/12 from the FT line in the final period ... Vinton County upended the #1 seed to move on to a meeting with Fairfield Union in the District Finale' ... Vinton County 50 Unioto 47 a final ...
... Pfloyd's Official "unofficial" Napkin Stats - Unioto
Scoring ... Gabe Fisher 11, Isaac Wheeler 7, Peyton Hill 6, Erique Hosley 6, Clay Edler 5, Logan Swackhammer 5, Brandon Kennedy 3, Cole Cottrill 2, Casey White 2 ...
3 Pointers ... 3/11 ... Logan Swackhammer 1, Clay Edler 1, Brandon Kennedy 1
FT's ... 6/13
TO's ... 17
... great season finished out by the Unioto ball club of Coach Hoops & staff ... UHS deserved the #1 ranking all season ... in a game vs arguably the NEXT most complete TEAM in SEOhio - Vinton County - 17 Turnovers IS the statistic that stands out ... a potential of 17 shots on goal denied vs a well coached/talented team as VC does make a difference ... thank you to Coach Hoops & staff for allowing pfloyd to share your season ...
... Pfloyd's Official "unofficial" Napkin Stats - Vinton County
Scoring ... Naylen Yates 16, Tristan Bartoe 13, Derrick Jones 9, Chase Wood 7, Sean Caudill 2, Jordan Albright 2, Tyler Barnett 1
3 pointers ... 4/17 ... Naylen Yates 3, Tristan Bartoe 1
FT's ... 20/27
TOs ... 7
... VC had to have a TEAM effort to beat Unioto - TEAM showed up ... falling behind by 12 in the 3rd quarter , adjusting the game plan, battling back, taking away not only the ball 17 times via TOS but taking away the 3 BIGS for UHS offensively with a TEAM effort on the boards - it's how champions are made ... outstanding game by players & coaches alike ... looking forward to the Vinton County vs Fairfield Union game for the D2 District crown ...
