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ATHENS — It was pretty … until it wasn’t.
But it was enough for Wheelersburg to get the job done. That’s the only thing that matters at this point in season.
The Pirates (20-4) held off a furious fourth quarter South Point comeback attempt, facing late adversity. But they never trailed and managed to put away a narrow 58-55 victory over the Pointers in a Division III district semifinal, Sunday at Ohio University.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
“We played with a lead throughout the game, and I’m proud of how the boys battled through in the end when South Point made their run,” Wheelersburg coach Alex Prater said. “One thing we emphasized was playing the game to win and not to lose. Yes we’re frustrated about how we ended the game, but we fought through, advanced and have a chance to improve before Saturday.”
Wheelersburg started as well as it could have hoped to.
Devon Lattimore buried a pair of 3’s before Landon McGraw connected from deep, all off assists from Braylon Rucker, to give ‘Burg a 13-4 lead.
Caleb Lovely and Xathan Haney then attacked the basket, leading to scores on the other end to bring South Point back from an early deficit.
But the Pointers (14-11) still trailed 19-13 after the first and, in the second, the Pirates hit another gear.
“We talked a lot about being ‘servant leaders’, and serving each other on the court. It’s a mindset of serving your teammate and the willingness to push yourself further than you think you’re capable of going,” Prater said. “That has really shined through with this team this year and we’re committed to each other for the success of the team instead of the individual.”
Lattimore connected on a triple, McGraw scored inside and Rucker connected from distance to open the second on an 11-4 spree, pushing the lead to 30-17.
Wheelersburg continued to showcase effort by fighting for rebounds, being opportunistic, and creating turnovers, which limited South Point’s chances to score. It led to a 37-25 lead at halftime.
“There weren’t a ton of adjustments to make since we were playing so well and knocking down shots in the first half,” Prater said. “Sometimes we’re better off trailing at halftime since it allows us to make adjustments. It’s a cat and mouse game sometimes, but we’re also thinking about what adjustments are they making and how can we adjust to that.”
Out of the break, the offense was slow on both sides as the Pirates continued to maintain a double-digit lead. However, late in the frame, South Point caught momentum after two free throws from Josh Childers and the team’s first triple of the game from Carter Smith, cutting the deficit to 44-37.
That burst was short-lived as Wheelersburg’s Logan Adkins responded with a trey on the other end to beat the buzzer, extending the Pirates’ lead back into double digits at 47-37.
From that point, the Pointers were left searching for answers. Every time they had something working, the Pirates had an answer on the other end.
Lattimore banked in a triple and McGraw scored inside to extend the advantage to 52-41. Yet, South Point wasn’t going away and responded with a 9-0 run behind Smith, Childers, Haney and Ethan Layne, which cut the lead to just two at 52-50.
But Wheelersburg got a late bucket from Rucker that essentially put the game out of reach before nailing enough free throws down the stretch to cross the finish line.
“Logan’s shot to end the third was so huge. It was a needed shot since we knew South Point was bringing a fight to the fourth,” Prater said. “We wanted our kids to face adversity as much as possible, even in practice and that’s where it all starts. It wasn’t pretty by any stretch, we missed a lot of free throws and made some careless turnovers, but the kids trusted the process and responded well in those tight moments.”
Statistically, Lattimore led all scorers with 25 points alongside five rebounds while McGraw added 11 points and four boards. Rucker also helped out with eight points, four rebounds and four assists.
For South Point, Smith led the way with 19 points alongside three rebounds. Haney also chipped in with 11 points and 12 rebounds while Lovely finished with nine points and five boards.
While South Point’s season ends, Wheelersburg advances to a Division III district final at 4 p.m., Saturday at the Convocation Center, where the Pirates will face Northwest, who defeated Portsmouth to advance.
“Free throws are the biggest thing we’ll work on. That and rebounding,” Prater said. “We had stretches where we rebounded the ball really well and that helped us keep a sizeable lead throughout most of the game, but we gave up a lot of second chance shots in the fourth. We have to be better in those two areas come Saturday.”
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