Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
KINNIKINNICK — After a tight first half, Zane Trace flew out of the locker room with 3-pointers on their first three possessions of the second half.
It set the tone in what was, eventually, a 53-43 win over Adena in Scioto Valley Conference play on Friday night.
CREDIT: Hailey Fox/SOSA
The quick start to begin the second half was nearly a polar opposite of how the Pioneers (8-8, 8-2 SVC) began the game. Adena jumped out to a 6-0 lead behind a pair of baskets from Bryson Smith while the Warriors swarmed the Pioneers on the defensive end, forcing multiple turnovers and keeping ZT out of the paint.
The Pioneers didn’t even grace the scoreboard until the 4:44 mark in the first quarter when Landon Robinson sank a midrange jumper.
Ezra Rippeth followed up a miss on the Pioneers’ next possession before Adena’s Easton Henness answered with a midrange jumper of his own. ZT then closed the quarter on a 5-1 run, as Gunnar McCullough scored in the paint and Robinson knocked down a triple from the top of the key.
Despite Adena (11-7, 6-4 SVC) holding an 11-9 lead after the first eight minutes, the Pioneers looked much more comfortable on both ends of the floor in the second.
A transition jumper from Landen Jarrell tied the game with 6:01 to play in the half, before Adena’s Lucas King took the lead back with a corner 3 with 4:50 left.
The Warriors, however, wouldn’t score again until nearly eight game minutes later in the third quarter.
Zane Trace closed the half on a 6-0 run to take a 17-14 lead into the break, thanks to four points from McCullough and a basket from Noah Houston.
And, out of halftime, momentum really began to shift.
The Pioneers stormed out with a barrage of 3-pointers as Robinson (7:26), Rippeth (6:49) and Brock Jarrell (6:24) all tickled the twine from the outside, forcing an Adena timeout with 6:21 to play in the third with ZT leading 26-14.
The remainder of the quarter played out with McCullough and Henness matching buckets, before a runout layup from Henness closed the quarter to cut the Pioneers’ lead to 36-26.
McCullough went 4-of-5 shooting in the third for eight points, while Henness knocked down all four of his shots for nine in the stanza.
Brock Jarrell opened the fourth with a triple, before Adena’s Joedy Ater answered with an elbow jumper. It would be Ater’s only basket of the evening as the senior would foul out shortly after and finish the game with just two points — well below his season average of 14.6 points per night.
Over the final 5:15 of the contest, the Pioneers went 14-for-18 from the free throw line to close out the win. With the victory, Zane Trace stays even with Westfall, only a half game behind Unioto in the SVC title race.
McCullough led the Pioneers with 14 points and also pulled down six rebounds while Robinson had an absurd all-around game, scoring 13 points, pulling down 16 rebounds, handing out four assists and adding three blocks and three steals on the defensive end. Landen Jarrell also helped out, scoring 11 points and passing out a game-high six assists.
Adena was led by King, who finished with 14 points and six rebounds. Henness added 11 points.
Both teams are back in action this coming Tuesday.
The Warriors will attempt to get back on the winning track with a trip to Paint Valley while Zane Trace hosts Southeastern.
BOX SCORE
Adena: 11-3-12-17 — 43
Zane Trace: 9-8-19-17 — 53
Adena: 17-47 FG, 6-13 FT, 3-14 3pt. Scoring: King 14, Henness 11, Lee 9, Smith 7, Ater 2.
Zane Trace: 17-39 FG, 14-18 FT, 5-13 3pt. Scoring: McCullough 14, Robinson 13, L. Jarrell 11, B. Jarrell 7, Rippeth 6, Houston 2.
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