John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
ATHENS – For the second consecutive season, and fifth time since 2015, the Unioto Shermans are adding a district championship trophy to their case.
Using extended runs in the first, second and fourth quarters, the Shermans (20-3) ousted Washington in a Division IV regional semifinal on Thursday night by a 60-42 final, cementing a return trip to the Sweet 16.
The victory also marked the 400th of Unioto coach Matt Combs’ illustrious career — the last 42 of which have come at his alma mater.
“This team means everything to me,” Unioto senior Blake Fitch said. “I mean, senior year, that’s your last ride. We all love each other. We’re all brothers. Coach Combs always says, ‘We’re not playing for anyone in the stands. We’re not playing for a trophy or medal. We’re playing for each other.’ We go on the court and we do that every night. So, I couldn’t be more proud of my guys.”
Washington (13-10) actually jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead as Javin Baker sank consecutive tough-look jumpers to get the Blue Lions started.
Unioto’s Jack Welch and Washington’s Noah Haithcock traded scores before a Welch jumper and Fitch triple gave the Shermans their first lead of the night. On the next possession, though, Haithcock split a pair at the free throw line to knot the game at 7-7.
When Fitch connected with Dawson Mitchell inside for a lay-in with 2:43 to play in the opening quarter, it gave the Shermans a lead that they’d never give up again.
The Tanks rolled to a 9-0 run to end the frame as Brayden Harsha and Isaac Coy each dialed long distance, with Coy’s 3 beating the buzzer, making it a 16-7 lead after one.
“Coming in as a freshman, we know it’s hard. You know, he went through it,” Coy said of Harsha. “It’s tough. But we just tell him we’re by his side and he’s just locked down defensively. He could guard anybody. So that’s what we ask of him. And that’s big as a freshman. So he’s really stepping up in that way and running the floor really well right now. So I’m proud of that.”
Jaxon Zickafoose opened the second quarter with a fastbreak layup to make it an 18-7 game, but the Blue Lions answered with a run of their own.
An 8-0 run was highlighted with a smooth stepback 3 from Haithcock.
The Shermans were able to shake off the Blue Lions’ run with a driving pullup from Zickafoose and a pair of free throws from David Long to take a 26-17 advantage into the locker room.
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
“Jaxon is an absolute sparkplug,” Fitch said. “I mean, he has a motor that you can’t turn off and I’m just super proud of him. He’s even progressed offensively, especially this year. And I’m just super proud of him and what he brings to this team. David comes in off the bench. He’s another sparkplug. He knows his role, does his job, rebounds, defends, and makes plays.”
Washington started the second half with a pullup from Bryson Heath, but a silky reverse layup from Coy, and a swipe and score from Fitch, grabbed all of the momentum back for Unioto.
With a 32-21 lead, Mitchell made his presence known by blocking consecutive shots before Coy converted inside to force a Blue Lion timeout with 5:15 to play in the third. Mitchell’s steal on the ensuing possession led to a runout triple as Fitch kicked out to Welch for a corner 3 and the biggest lead of the night for the Shermans.
“I love it for him. He’s worked so hard and a lot of people probably thought he couldn’t do it on this stage with what he has been doing,” Fitch said of Mitchell. “But I mean, we’ve trusted in him. We’ve seen the work he’s put in and in the offseason, all summer. We’re super proud of him holding the paint down, blocking shots and just everything he does for his team.”
The Blue Lions continued to battle, getting triples from Baker, Heath and Jeston Everhart, but Unioto was able to counter with a pair of corner 3-pointers from Coy to maintain the advantage.
The lead would be cut to 52-42, 54-44 and 56-46, but an outstanding performance from the charity stripe down the stretch from Fitch and Harsha kept the Blue Lions at bay and sent the Shermans to the Sweet 16.
“I mean, it was amazing,” Coy said. “Playing on this floor, but what’s even more special is playing with these guys. I mean, we love each other. That’s what we play for.”
Washington was led by both Haithcock and Heath with 10 points each, with Haithcock grabbing a game-high nine rebounds and Heath passing out a team-high four assists. Sam Pfeifer added eight points to the Blue Lions’ totals, a team that closes its season as a district finalist for the first time since 2002.
Unioto was led in scoring by Coy with 15 points alongside eight rebounds. Fitch added 14 points, five assists and went a perfect 5-for-5 at the stripe. Welch contributed 11 points, and Harsha added eight tallies off of the bench. Mitchell also helped out with six points, eight rebounds and a pair of impactful blocks.
The Shermans will now return to the Convocation Center at 6 p.m., Wednesday to take on Circleville, a winner over Waverly on Thursday.
The Tigers defeated Unioto by a 66-59 final in double overtime on Feb. 8, setting up what promises to be a dandy of a matchup with a trip to the Elite 8 on the line.
“This whole tournament, we’ve been saying our practices have to be great,” Fitch said. “In the past couple of weeks, since the Miami Trace game, and even leading into that, we’ve had amazing practices. So we just know we have to bring it every day in practice and that correlates to what happens on the court.”
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