Derrick Webb, Managing Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
JACKSON — If you roll back the calendar to just before the new year, Miami Trace was, in a sense, reeling.
After beginning their season with six straight wins, the Panthers got knocked off course and suffered back-to-back losses to Washington and Circleville.
But looking back now, the two-game skid may have just been the best thing to happen.
They learned lessons, corrected mistakes and realized that, if they didn’t play to their potential on a nightly basis, the losses would continue to pile up.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
The brief detour led them back to a path leading to their ultimate destination and, after a dominant 70-48 win at Jackson on Friday, it seems they’ve shifted back into cruise control.
The wire-to-wire victory over the Ironmen marks their sixth consecutive win and gives them a stranglehold on the FAC title race.
“It worried us because Jackson is a tough matchup,” Miami Trace coach Ben Ackley said. “They really don’t have a true big and are a lot like Court House. So Adam [Guthrie] ends up chasing a lot. So we’ve worked a lot on zone defense and we haven’t played that against Jackson for three years because they shoot it so well. I always worry that our energy won’t be too great when we come out and play zone. Tonight, it couldn’t have been any farther from the truth. Our energy was unbelievable.”
Early and often, senior Adam Guthrie and sophomore Gage Bowers bullied Jackson’s defense.
While Bowers drove to the rim and found open teammates, Guthrie used his 6-foot-7, 285-pound to fight off defenders and play exceptionally well near the rim.
And, as if they needed help, the duo got plenty of it from junior do-it-all guard Julian Baker.
“I thought our two leaders, Gage and Adam, were exceptional and I thought that Julian [Baker] was really good. Their energy is infectious,” Ackley said. “Julian does such a good job of rebounding the ball and doing all the little things, I just thought that he played really well. He’s just a bear. He’d be the best player on a lot of other teams. He usually guards the other team’s best player and that’s worth 15 to 20 points right there. He’s just a competitor.”
Baron Phipps got the night’s scoring started, putting Miami Trace (13-2, 7-0 FAC) ahead 2-0 just 19 seconds into the action. Guthrie hit his first shot with 6:09 left in the first quarter. After Jackson’s Ryan Seimetz got the Ironmen on the board, MT’s Luke Armstrong made it 7-2 with a 3-ball.
“Luke Armstrong has been phenomenal for us,” Ackley said. “He’s our second-leading rebounder. Him and Julian are right up there. But he’s been sick all week and I thought he hit two huge 3’s at key times, to begin the first half and early in the third quarter.”
Armstrong’s 3 sparked an 8-0 run to push the Panthers’ lead to 12-2, and it’d only grow from there.
Bowers made it 17-6 with a bucket at the 1:21 mark and Guthrie scored again with 58 seconds to play. When Baker hit back-to-back shots to the end of the quarter, it capped a quarter-ending 10-0 run that put the Panthers ahead 23-6.
Jackson’s Bodhi Wolford got a mid-range jumper to fall early in the second before scoring again with 5:25 left for a 25-10 count. The Panthers then went ahead 32-12 but the Ironmen (11-3, 4-3 SVC) pieced together a 9-0 run — two free throws from Ryan Seimetz, five points from Charlie Woodard, and another score from Wolford — to cut the deficit to 32-21.
That didn’t phase the Panthers, though.
After Guthrie ended the first half with two free throws for a 34-21 count, Miami Trace kept its foot firmly on the pedal throughout the third and fourth quarters.
After taking a 44-26 lead with just over five minutes left in the third, it was easy sailing from then on, eventually leading to an impressive 22-point win over a talented opponent.
“When we got the lead, we had three possessions at the end of the second quarter that weren’t great,” Ackley said. “They cut into our lead with a 9-0 run and you know they’re not going away. We have nothing but the ultimate respect for those seniors. They’re just winners and they win in everything they do. They scare me to death and I hope we never play them again. But we kept the pedal down [at that moment], kept executing and that was exciting to see. It was exciting to see our kids going for the kill and not just playing the scoreboard.”
Statistically, Guthrie ended the night with 22 points, eight rebounds and three assists while Bowers added 17 points and six helpers. Baker also chipped in with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Baron Phipps helped out with six points and four assists.
For Jackson, Wolford led the way with 12 points while Carroll finished with 11 of his own. Charlie Woodard finished with eight points and CJ Crabtree added five points and six rebounds.
In total, the Panthers out-rebound the Ironmen by a 29-13 margin and shot 29-of-48 from the floor — 25-of-38 from inside the 3-point arc.
“Hopefully, we’re starting to peak at the right time,” Ackley said. “I think our chemistry is better than it’s been all season long. I’m just extremely proud of our entire team tonight. I thought everyone brought it.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
While the Ironmen are back in action on Tuesday at Vinton County, Miami Trace will host Chillicothe in a big-time league matchup this coming Friday.
A win would secure the outright FAC title. But when you throw in a snowstorm and the possibility of no practice to the mix, beating the Cavaliers will definitely be easier said than done.
“We talked to our kids about getting up everyday and doing something because if we don’t have school, we don’t have practice,” Ackley said. “So it’s worrisome, especially with how we’re playing right now. But Chillicothe is going to be in the same spot as us. We’ll come out next Friday and we’ll give it all we’ve got. Chillicothe is really good and they can beat anybody on any given night. They have our full attention, for sure.”
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