John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
KINNIKINNICK — As senior Gunnar McCullough walked off the floor on Tuesday night, he appeared to be taking in all the sights and sounds of his home court.
And while his time playing on that particular piece of hardwood may be over, he’s far from finished.
After scoring 13 second half points, McCullough and his Pioneer teammates are heading back to the Convo floor with some unfinished business after a 47-37 win over Lynchburg-Clay in a Division V district quarterfinal.
“Last year, losing to Minford at The Convo, that was rough,” McCullough said. “I’m just happy that we are going back there to show ourselves and prove ourselves.”
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
The Pioneers (18-5) were playing rather pedestrian throughout the night’s opening 10 minutes due to the interior defense of Lynchburg’s Tanner Roberts. ZT trailed the Mustangs by a 12-8 count before Grady Stewart knocked down a deep 3-pointer to provide a spark.
After an interior score from LC’s Denver Clinton, the Pioneers rolled off a 12-0 run that was only halted by another Clinton basket to end the half.
That scoring run started with a midrange jumper from Brice Johnson before Stewart rolled off the next eight points of the game, punctuating his run with a steal and a layup.
“We were down for a bit, playing a little nervous. I know the whole team was,” Stewart said of the opening half. “We just stayed together and used our screens and came off. My shot was feeling pretty good.”
Lantz Stevens forced a Mustang timeout with 1:05 to play in the half with a baseline jumper before Clinton’s score cut the Pioneers’ lead to 23-16 at break, keeping the Mustangs within three possessions.
McCullough started the third with an inside basket before Lynchburg-Clay’s Elam Faust knocked down the first – and only triple — of the game for the Mustangs.
Clinton added a pair of free throws to make the score 25-21 with 6:16 to play in the third and, following a trading of scores, the Mustangs grabbed a little momentum on a three-point play from Quin Wells at the 4:02 mark, cutting the deficit to 30-26.
PHOTOS: Images from Zane Trace’s district quarterfinal win over Lynchburg-Clay
That would be as close as the Mustangs got as McCullough began to take over.
After getting blocked on multiple possessions in the first half, McCullough began to get the ball out in space to create easy offense in the second half.
That began on consecutive possessions where Brice Johnson gathered a long rebound and hit McCullough in stride for lay-ins on the other end.
“He is a key rebounder for our team,” McCullough said of Johnson. “Just being a dog down low like he is in football, just out-strengthening people, it has really helped us.”
A late score from Faust made it a 35-28 game after three quarters, but the Pioneers continued to keep the Mustangs from making it a one-possession game through the remainder of the contest.
Scores from Clinton and Harley Lewis kept the Mustangs around while the Pioneers struggled at the free throw line in the fourth, missing six of their first nine attempts at the stripe.
However, junior Roman Berry knocked down five of six attempts in the final 1:12 to put the game on ice and help stamp the Pioneers’ return ticket to Athens.
“In the first half, I kind of struggled to get a shot off to be honest,” McCullough said. “In the second half, they started to play on [Stewart] a little bit more and it made me a little more open to knock down some buckets and in transition.”
Lynchburg-Clay (11-12) was led by 1,000 point scoring senior Clinton with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks on the night in his final game. Roberts added 9 points and also blocked 6 attempts, while Wells also added 9 points.
Zane Trace was led by the senior duo of McCullough and Stewart with 15 points each, while Berry added 7 points for the Pioneers. Johnson grabbed a team-high 8 rebounds while also adding 6 points.
“Going back as seniors, it’s what I’ve wanted,” Stewart said of returning to the Convo. “Just working hard all season, it feels pretty good and I think we have a solid team.”
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