Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WILLIAMSPORT — As Westfall fought to maintain its chances at a Scioto Valley Conference championship, a freshman made the team’s biggest plays to keep them alive.
With his team trailing 48-44 with 35 seconds to play, Bryan Craig stole consecutive inbounds passes and converted both into layups, tying the game to force overtime.
In the extra four-minute time frame, the Mustangs controlled the game before having to make one final defensive stop. They did just that and knocked off Zane Trace by a 56-54 final.
Westfall (10-5, 6-2 SVC) took an early advantage with Craig attacking hard on the left side before Zane Trace’s Brock Jarrell canned a pair of triples to give the Pioneers (6-8, 6-2 SVC) their first lead of the night. After a midrange jumper from Landen Jarrell, the Pioneers capped off the first quarter with a 3 from Landon Robinson, closing the quarter with a 12-7 lead.
The Mustangs stormed back in front with a smothering brand of defense and scoring from a pair of seniors. Jeremiah Layton scored a pair of interior baskets while Brody Clark exploded for eight second quarter points. The Pioneers kept tight with a pair of treys, one each from Brock Jarrell and Noah Houston, before Landen Jarrell scored through contact to cut Westfall’s lead to 23-22 at halftime.
Throughout the second half, Westfall kept a lead, but not greater than four points as both teams answered the other’s best shot to keep pace.
The Mustangs controlled the paint while the Pioneers had a speed advantage on the outside, knocking down a trio of 3’s, one from each Jarrell and another from Robinson.
It wasn’t until late in the fourth where Westfall finally began to put some distance between itself and the Pioneers. After a timeout was called with four minutes to play, and Westfall holding a 38-37 lead, Craig scored six consecutive points in under a minute to give the Mustangs their biggest lead of the night at 44-37 with only 3:05 to play.
Zane Trace then made a key adjustment, leading to three straight scores as sophomore Gunnar McCullough rolled to the basket on three consecutive possessions, making it a one-point game.
The Pioneers forced a turnover, leading to Landen Jarrell’s driving layup, giving ZT its first lead of the second half with just 1:05 remaining. Jarrell was fouled on the play and he calmly finished the freebie to make it a 46-44 lead.
Then, after a blocked shot from Robinson, the junior connected with McCullough for another score to make it an 11-0 run for the red, white and blue at one of the most critical points in the game.
After the Mustangs lost possession of the ball under their own basket with 35 ticks left, Craig intercepted the inbounds pass before finishing at the rim to make it a two-point game. Following an inadvertent whistle, Craig stole the next pass as well, once again finishing at the hoop to stun the Pioneers and tie the game with 29 seconds remaining.
Zane Trace ran the clock down to get a final shot, which was off the mark, leading to a frenzied finish where the Mustangs were given a timeout despite not currently controlling possession. Eventually, the Pioneers were given possession with 3.6 seconds to play, but that shot was also off the mark, leading to overtime.
In overtime, Layton scored the first three points for the Mustangs — the last two coming from a beautiful feed from Henry Barnes. Landen Jarrell cut the lead back down to one with a layup, but Westfall’s Brydan Gall scored a massive three-point play with 1:23 to play to give the Mustangs a 54-50 lead.
The Pioneers battled until the end, getting a basket from McCullough, before Craig split a pair of free throws for Westfall. Houston scored a putback for the Pioneers, but Clark was fouled with 4.5 seconds to play in a one-point game.
The senior split the pair, before Gall made one last outstanding defensive stand as he swarmed the ball handler, forcing time to run out on the Pioneers’ chances before they were able to get a finish shot off.
CREDIT: Erica Fike/SOSA
The win allows the Mustangs to stay within a game of the top of the SVC standings with six games left on the road to the league title.
Craig led all scorers with 20 points on the night, Clark added 14 points, and Layton scored 13. Gall pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and had four steals, while Barnes passed out a game-high six assists.
McCullough led the Pioneers with 15 points and six rebounds, Landen Jarrell added 14 points and Brock Jarrell netted 12 points. Robinson led the defense with a game-high five steals.
Both teams return to SVC play on Saturday with the Pioneers hosting Piketon and the Mustangs heading to Bainbridge to battle Paint Valley.
BOX SCORE
Zane Trace: 12-10-10-16 (6) — 54
Westfall: 7-16-11-14 (8) — 56
Zane Trace: 22-47 FG, 2-5 FT, 8-19 3pt. Scoring: McCullough 15, L. Jarrell 14, B. Jarrell 12, Houston 7, Robinson 6.
Westfall: 23-45 FG, 9-19 FT, 1-7 3pt. Scoring: Craig 20, Clark 14, Layton 13, Gall 7, Barnes 2.
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