Local teams impress as tournament is underway

Lady P’s slip past Cards late in tourney opener

For four quarters visiting Garaway, the No. 10 seed, and Sandy Valley, the No. 5 seed in the girls Div. III East tournament bracket, hammered away at each other in a game that from the start gave everyone the impression it was going to go down to the wire.

That was exactly what happened, and when the final horn sounded, the Lady Pirates had escaped with a 42-41 win that came down to one final charge to the hole.

The two Inter-Valley Conferences foes had faced each other twice this season before, with the Cardinals winning 46-24 in blowout fashion in December and the Lady Pirates claiming a tight 38-36 win in January.

However, this one was for all the marbles, and it proved to be the best of the three games.

After Sandy Valley carved out a 12-10 lead after one quarter, the Cardinals pushed out to a 27-19 lead at the half, thanks in large part to Abbey Parker’s play.

However, Garaway was able to trim the deficit to 35-32 heading into the final eight minutes of play, and it was game on.

Riley Putt and Meghan Schwartz led the Lady P’s to an even draw, and the two teams then went back and forth before Parker put Sandy Valley up 41-38. However, with 2:30 left to play, Putt stepped into a 3-pointer and drove it home to knot things at 41.

Garaway got a stop, but Marley Metzger’s shot was blocked at the 2:00 mark. Sandy Valley moved it around for a good look and got one with Zoe Ward’s 3-point attempt, but it rimmed out and Metzger grabbed the board. With 57 seconds left, Metzger got loose underneath and was fouled, connecting on the first of two free throws for a 42-41 Garaway lead.

Jordan Parker fired a jumper with 33 ticks left, but it was off the mark, and Garaway then played keep-away for 25 seconds until Putt was fouled with 7.2 seconds to play. Putt’s attempt on a one-and-one was off the mark, and Sandy Valley hauled in the rebound and quickly called timeout.

Having to go the length of the floor to win, the Cardinals inbounded the ball to Peyton Nicholson, who flew down the floor. Driving the left side of the lane, Nicholson rushed to get a shot and had the ball slip out of her hands and out of bounds as time expired, setting off a Lady Pirates’ celebration.

Putt had a monster game for Garaway, scoring 17 points, hitting four treys and adding five assists. Metzger added 10 points, Schwartz scored nine to go with four assists, and Kennadi Yoder added six points and a team-high six rebounds.

Abbey Parker led Sandy Valley with 16 points while Jordyn Parker added nine and Nicholson chipped in with seven.

Lady Hawks have no trouble disposing of Redskins

A No. 2 seed facing a No. 17 seed can often spell good times for the higher seed, and that proved to be the case Thursday, Feb. 17 when No. 2 Hiland smashed No. 17 Coshocton 61-22 in the girls Div. III East sectional tournament opener.

Hiland scored at will in the early going with Aila Miller and Jenna Troyer each scoring five and Joplin Yoder adding four to build an 18-6 lead.

Hiland continued its onslaught in the second quarter, outscoring Coshocton 24-6 in the period to build its lead to 42-12 at the half. In the period, Miller went off, scoring seven points, while Ashley Mullet scored six and Trisha Troyer added five.

With the game well in hand, Hiland began slowing the pace and moving the ball around more in the third quarter, but Yoder’s 3-pointer and four points apiece from Miller and Jenna Troyer helped the Lady Hawks grow their lead to 57-17 through three quarters.

Head coach Jason Mishler unloaded the bench and called off the dogs in the fourth, allowing Coshocton to make the score a little closer in the end.

Miller led all scorers in the contest with 16 points, Jenna Troyer added 12, Yoder added 11, Mullet scored eight and Trisha Troyer chipped in with six.

Knights have a ‘Fair’ day in taking down Beaver Local

West Holmes wasn’t pleased about its 11-seed ranking in the Div. II East brackets, so when it had to travel to Beaver Local to play, it was with a giant chip on its shoulder. As if that weren’t enough, Nate Fair had the game of games, helping the Knights earn a 79-67 victory.

The Knights got a terrific effort across the board in a balanced attack and shot lights out, but it was Fair’s impressive game that stood out. The sophomore had not logged a ton of minutes and came into the contest with a season high of four points, but by the half, he had racked up nine and went on to post a new career high at 14. He also was a rebounding machine and helped the Knights jump out to a 16-9 lead after one quarter with Brock Zimmerly scoring early.

At the half with Fair at the helm, West Holmes couldn’t miss and built a 40-27 lead. That lead would grow to 20 points on the shoulders of Blake Morrison, Channer Wells and Mason Wolfe, but throughout the game it was the presence of Zander Shultz that wouldn’t allow Beaver Local to get close.

Shultz would finish the game with a team-high 17 points, a season high for him, while Wells scored 11, Wolfe scored 12, Morrison and Zimmerly scored eight, and Corben Felton added four.

The game also saw Channer Wells go over the 1,000 career points mark.

Pirates stump Trojans in tourney opener

Not often does a boys basketball team hold its opponent to single digits, but that is exactly what the Garaway Pirates did in churning out a 60-7 victory over Newcomerstown on Feb. 22 in the Div. III East sectional opener.

The No. 1 seed Pirates had no trouble moving on, with a dozen teammates posting numbers in the scoring column. Garaway was led by Jackson Reifenschneider with nine while Logan Yoder added eight.

Hawks easily handle Beallsville in opener

Garaway wasn’t the only team producing some impressive defensive output. Hiland allowed scoring quarters of four, three, three and two points en route to a 61-12 trouncing of Beallsville in its Div. IV sectional opener.

The Hawks spread the scoring around, spurting out to a 16-4 lead through one period on Sammy Detweiler’s six points, while Phin Killy and Grant Miller each scored six and Detweiler added five to build a 44-7 lead at the half.

Hiland called off the dogs and used its passing game to milk the clock as plenty of players saw action throughout the second half.

Leading the way in scoring for the Hawks was Detweiler with 13. Killy and Kendrick Wilson each added eight, Dylan Weaver and Chris Shetler each added seven, and Grant Miller and Caden Miller pitched in with six apiece.

Wrestling Pirates place eighth in IVC meet

Kyle Miller was 3-0 with two pins and a 9-0 major decision in the finals to earn an individual championship at the Inter-Valley Conference wrestling meet on Friday, Feb. 18. Kyle defeated Isaac Meese of Indian Valley in the finals to claim the title at 113 pounds. Matthew Vogel finished third for Garaway at 106 pounds by defeating Brodi Hardesty of Ridgewood and Anthone Gerber of Malvern. Vogel’s lone loss on the evening was to IVC champ Brandon Boggs. Clayton Downs lost a tough 2-1 match in the opening round at 215 pounds but battled back and won two more matches to finish third.

The Pirates placed eighth overall as a team in the tournament, which was won by Indian Valley, with Sandy Valley taking runner-up and Malvern finishing third.