Brock Netter, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE — Miami Trace hadn’t taken the floor in 18 days.
The snow, alongside a last-minute cancellation, had prevented the Panthers from knocking the rust off for over two and a half weeks.
But the long layoff didn’t affect them on Tuesday. Not one bit.
In a dominant 55-40 win over Chillicothe, Miami Trace (15-2, 9-0 FAC) clinched the program’s third consecutive FAC championship.
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
“Every year, everybody doubts us. No one thought we’d win it in my sophomore year. Some thought we’d be bad last year and we lost two key pieces this season, but we’re still here,” Miami Trace’s Adam Guthrie said. “It all comes down to the coaches and program expectations. We all bought in and this is what happens when you commit.”
Guthrie’s presence in the middle these last three seasons has been a huge key to the Panthers’ dominance. And this year, Guthrie, alongside Gage Bowers, give the Panthers one of the best one-two punches in Southeast Ohio.
The best, if you ask them.
“Nobody has two better players on the same team like us. No team can double both of us, so our pick-and-roll game is unstoppable,” Guthrie said. “It’s always going to be open, and it makes it really hard to stop us, whether the ball is in my hands or Gage’s hands.”
On Tuesday, the duo combined for 35 points — 21 from Bowers, 14 from Guthrie — alongside 10 rebounds and six assists.
PHOTOS: Images from Miami Trace’s win over Chillicothe
Guthrie was hot out of the gates, showing that 18 days off means nothing when you’re 6-foot-8 and built like a future Division I offensive lineman. He paced the Panthers early, showing a soft touch at the rim to score eight of their opening 13 points — powering a 13-7 lead after the first eight minutes.
His pace slowed in the second, and that’s where Bowers began to take over. Following buckets from Guthrie and Ty Huffman, Bowers knocked down a pair of free throws to make the score 19-9.
From that point, he went on to score the next six Panther points to close the half as they maintained a double-digit lead at 25-15.
“Before the break, we were playing what felt like our best brand of basketball so it hit us pretty hard to not be on the court for so long,” Guthrie said. “Our defense really carried us tonight. Holding them to 15 points in the first half was huge while we got our legs back underneath us.”
“Adam set a lot of screens and Chillicothe tried to go over the top, so I’d go the other way and the gap was wide open,” Bowers said. “It allowed me to get into the paint, and if it wasn’t there, then I could kick it to Adam and reset.”
It was lather, rinse and repeat throughout the second half.
Baron Phipps canned the team’s first 3 midway through the third, extending the lead to 31-17 and the gap remained that wide heading to the fourth at 39-27.
The Cavaliers (13-5, 5-4 FAC) made a small rally as Karter Williams knocked down back-to-back 3’s before Cooper Stoneking hit three free throws as part of a 9-4 spree to bring the deficit to 45-38.
However, in the end, the hole was too deep to climb out of as the Panthers closed the game on a 10-2 run to nail down a third-straight league championship.
“Everyone on the team knows their role and that’s definitely played a big role in us keeping the conference title,” Bowers said. “No team in school history has won three straight conference titles, so that’s pretty special to accomplish. But the job isn’t finished yet. We want the Gold Ball.”
Following Bowers and Guthrie’s totals, Phipps and Huffman each had eight points. For Chillicothe, Caydon Cox led the way with 15 points.
Miami Trace wrapped up its Gold Ball with a win over Washington on Friday while the Cavaliers fell to Jackson. The Panthers are back in action on Saturday, traveling to Western Brown, while Chillicothe hosts Hilliard Davidson the same night.
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