Brock Netter, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
PIKETON — After being arguably the biggest team, size wise, in the SVC last season, Zane Trace is going through an identity change.
It’s taken a couple of weeks for the Pioneers to figure out how they’re going to attack opponents, but they’re slowly finding a rhythm.
That rhythm took a big step towards harmony on Friday.
Zane Trace (2-2, 2-0 SVC) shared the ball masterfully, dishing out 15 assists on the evening, going into Piketon and taking home a 47-33 win over the Redstreaks in league action.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
“Everything for us begins in practice, and it took us time to figure out what works,” Zane Trace’s Landon Robinson said. “Our practices were sort of lackadaisical in the beginning of the year, but we’ve switched a few things up since then. It’s allowed the starters to get in a rhythm early come game time and get a win for the second straight game.”
The Pioneers understand they’re a bit more of a guard-oriented team this year, which plays right into the strength of Landen Jarrell. He’s been through the battles, and it’s now his time to be the leader.
Dynamic with the ball in his hands, decisive with his shot choice and able to set up his teammates for buckets, he was the catalyst for the Pioneers’ offense as he finished with 19 points and five assists.
“We have to take every game seriously and approach it with the mindset that it’s the biggest one we have of the year,” Jarrell said. “All of our focus has to be on the game in front of us and we’ll do whatever it takes to win. I happened to be open tonight and [Zane Trace] Coach [Gary Kellough] is always telling us to shoot the ball if we’re open, so I took my chances.”
The Redstreaks (1-4, 0-2 SVC) couldn’t have asked for a better start as Brent McGuire, Bo Henry and Garrett Legg helped them out to a 7-0 start.
However, Zane Trace answered back as Brock Jarrell, Landon Robinson and Landen Jarrell finished the frame on a 9-0 run to put ZT ahead 9-7.
“We knew that we had to bring a spark from the outside to get us going,” Brock Jarrell said. “Things started out slow for us, but once we hit a couple shots, everything else began to open up on the floor and we kept going.”
PHOTOS: Images from Zane Trace’s win over Piketon
Brock Jarrell continued his roll, opening the second with a triple to make it 12-7, but both teams were about to hit an offensive wall.
The one thing helping Zane Trace was its defense, which forced 11 first half turnovers.
“Really our defense goes back to last season. Myself, Brock and Landen being the smaller guards on the floor and not really scoring, defense was what we prided ourselves on,” Robinson said. “That has carried over into this year. Coach is always preaching defense to us and when you play a team that isn’t used to the way we play defense, you see the end result.”
Declan Davis scored seven of the Redstreaks’ nine points in the frame, but a bucket from each Jarrell brother, alongside one from Carter Langley, kept the Pioneers ahead 20-16 at halftime.
Piketon struggled to get the ball inside and convert those chances at the rim. The Pioneers were getting into the passing lines and having active hands, oftentimes deflecting the ball into a turnover.
Zane Trace held a two-possession lead throughout the third until Landen Jarell connected from deep to put them ahead 30-23 heading into the fourth.
At that point, the Pioneers could feel Piketon was on the edge of the cliff, and Jarrell provided the final push as he dished out three assists — two to Gunnar McCullough and the other to Ezra Rippeth — for a 6-1 run that pushed the lead into double digits, sealing the deal on a Pioneer victory.
“Every game is only going to get tougher, and we know we’re not the bigger team like we have been the past couple years,” Robinson said. “We’ve built some momentum and we’ll continue working on the defensive side of the ball to make it easier for the offense to get going.”
Alongside Landen Jarrell, Brock Jarrell finished with 10 points for Zane Trace, while McGuire had 12 points to lead Piketon.
Zane Trace returns to action on Tuesday at Adena for SVC play, while Piketon travels to Bainbridge to face Paint Valley that same evening.
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