Nelsonville-York Vs. Federal Hocking 2/27@ Athens

[Lancer_Fan]

Congrats Buckeyes!

[Dundas]

Buckeyes won by around 13...Had decent lead pretty much the entire game...Thomspon (i think) for Fed Hock only had a handful of points (6 or 7 maybe) to go along with a technical. The Buckeyes came ready to play..good luck at the Convo!!

[brokenwind]

The shots just didn’t fall for the Lancers today.

A lot of credit has to go the Nelsonville coaching staff. After losing to FH by 10 at their place, they devised an excellent game plan to neutralize Tyler Thompson and Fed Hock had no answer. The young Kline is going to be special.

[buddyholly]

Congrats to the Buckeyes. You came ready to play. I hope you have a victorious game at the Convo. Make the TVC proud!!! Good Luck the rest of the tournament!!!!!!!!

[Steely Dan]

OK, guess it is time to end Simon and Garfunkles "Sounds of Silence" over this contest.

First, it was great to see alot of folks that I've not seen in awhile, and super to get to talk to all of you before the game.

Second, I had the privilege to watch the game today with Orange and Brown, and it was truly a privilege. What an enthusiastic and diehard supporter of your Buckeyes, and he does it with such class. Will be an honor to sit with him at more athletic contests in the future. O&B - Absolute pleasure today, despite the outcome of the game.

Congratulations to Coach Kline and the NY team on coming in with a sound game plan and fully prepared to attack the Lancers after their first matchup.

It was quite apparent after the first few minutes, that was not the case for the Lancers. No answers from a strategy perspective, no adjustments, and a very frustrating day for the boys from Sturt out there.

Questions need to be answered in the off season concerning the future of the program and its guidance. The board and administration need to decide which way to go.

Congrats to all of the seniors on your final game. Some of you will be moving on to baseball (lets make it rock, boys), some will be running track, and some of you have concluded your athletic careers at Fed Hock. Look back on the bright times and take away the valuable life lessons that participating in athletics has presented you.

Wish all you boys the best. Best regards - SD

[Orange and Brown]

Way to go BUCKEYES!!!!!!!!!! Thats how you do it!!!!!! WOW!!!!!!!!

I am so proud of how those young men played today. I went and sat with Steely Dan today so I was on the FH side right behind our bench and our boys kept there heads in the game and were fired up the entire game. The future of Nelsonville-York basketball is looking great. Steely it was great talking to you today, thanks for putting up with this Buckeye fan!



I will say this....... If Federal Hocking would have kept putting the ball inside they would have been in it at the end maybe even came away with the win.

[Gib25]

The box and one on Tyler was well devised and and executed. N-Y has been waiting to play this type of game all year. Mychal Mitchell was outstanding today. He controlled the game with his drives, outside shot and sharp passes. Good luck at the Convo from an old coach!

[NYBuckeye96]

Great job Buckeyes!!!!!!!! Your 60-46 win over Fed Hock has given you a Sectional Championship and your first trip to the Convo since 1998!

http://athensmessenger.com/sports/local/article_4bf60f40-240a-11df-8ff3-001cc4c03286.html

Buckeyes heading back to the Convo

By JASON ARKLEY Messenger staff writer

Playing on an injured knee all season, Nelsonville-York senior Conner Bunting has had his issues at times with running, jumping, rebounding and blocking shots.

Climbing a ladder, however, came fast and easy.

Bunting was the first one up the ladder to cut off his piece of net Saturday afternoon inside Athens’ McAfee Gymnasium after his Buckeyes handled Federal Hocking 60-46 in a Division III Sectional Championship game.

“There’s no way you could keep me from playing. I’ve been playing with most of these guys since like the first grade,” said Bunting, an all-league player a year ago. “We’ve come and done what we’ve needed to do.”

What the Buckeyes did Saturday was something they had not accomplished since…well, since Bunting first started playing with his teammates. The sectional crown was the first for Nelsonville-York (11-11) since 1998.

N-Y head coach Jay Kline, a former Buckeye standout as a player, remembers that last sectional title — he was coaching then. He also recognizes the hurdle of recent history that the current crop of Buckeyes have had to overcome. Nelsonville-York was dogged by a handful of close losses this season.

“It’s a great accomplishment for us. It’s a great win for these kids in particular,” Kline said. “They believed all week, following what you would consider a tough regular season in some ways where we didn’t get over the hump in a few games.”

With the win, the Buckeyes will move on to Division III District Tournament play next week at Ohio University’s Convocation Center. N-Y will take on the winner of the Ironton-Dawson Bryant sectional final on Monday, March 8 at 8 pm.

The loss ended the Lancers’ season. Federal Hocking, the No. 3 seed in the tournament, finished 10-11 overall.

The Lancers had beat Nelsonville-York — a No. 6 seed — by a 60-50 count in the regular season. But in the rematch it was all Buckeyes.

Senior guard Mychal Mitchell turned in a special performance for the Buckeyes, as he finished with 22 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocked shots — all game highs. He also did it in limited minutes; Mitchell fouled out late in the fourth quarter and missed most of the second quarter with two personal fouls.

“Mychal Mitchell put on a championship performance,” Kline said. “He’s fearless when he goes to the basket. He’s going to make things happen.”

Tyler Goodin added 15 points for the Buckeyes, while Kyle Moore and Daniel Kline each chipped in eight points.

Brendan Torrence and Ryan Rex each scored 12 points apiece to lead the Lancers — who struggled throughout with Nelsonville-York’s defensive game plan.

The Buckeyes played a box-and-one nearly exclusively, and used both Daniel Kline and Goodin as full-time shadows on hawk-eyed Lancer shooter Tyler Thompson. Thompson finished with just seven points, and was just 3-of-13 from the field.

Thompson had just two points and five shots through the first five quarters. By the time he had made his third shot, the Buckeyes held their largest lead — 56-39 — with two minutes to go.

“We kept trying to attack inside. We got some inside looks but we couldn’t finish,” said Federal Hocking coach Chris Murray.

“I felt like we were shooting too much from the outside and we tried to get them out of that. But at times we had open looks, and they weren’t falling tonight,” he added.
The Lancers hoisted 25 3-pointers, but made just four of them. The Buckeyes, meanwhile, shot a solid 46 percent from the field, and had just seven turnovers through the first three quarters.

“They came out and executed the game plan perfectly,” coach Kline said.

The Buckeyes led 27-23 at intermission, but didn’t have momentum. Dewayne Clark, instead, grabbed that for the Lancers as he banked in a 3-pointer from the right wing inside the final second of the half.

Nelsonville-York, however, controlled the play for nearly the entire first half. The Buckeyes opened the game on a 7-0 spurt, with points coming from four different players, and never trailed.

Federal Hocking was just 3-of-11 from the field in the first quarter, and trailed 13-7 after the first eight minutes. The Lancers closed to within 18-16 on Chris Saylor’s bucket inside at the 6:07 mark, but the lead quickly ballooned back up to 25-16 as Goodin drilled back-to-back 3-pointers.

Nelsonville-York finished the third with a 39-29 lead after Kline’s cutting bucket, then used a 9-2 spurt in the middle of the fourth to blow the game open. The final run was capped by four points from Goodin, including two free throws in response to a frustration technical foul called on Thompson.

It was a long day all-around for the Lancers, who played without big man Evan McCune — who sat out with an injured ankle.

Still Murray, the 24-year old first-year Federal Hocking head coach, said he enjoyed his rookie season and is looking forward to more in Stewart.

“It’s a learning experience. I had a good time,” he said. “The kids are great, the community is great. I’m sure I messed up every now and then, and I’m ok with that. I’m a rookie.

“We’re going to have a great summer workout. We’re going to get back in the gym and work hard. We’re going to improved.”

The Buckeyes already know they’ve improved. They’ll get another game and another week — at the minimum — to enjoy it.

“We’re playing team ball and passing it around, everyone is scoring, we’re having fun with it,” Bunting said.

Jarkley@athensmessenger.com

Nelsonville-York 60, Federal Hocking 46

Nels.-York 13 14 12 21 — 60
Fed. Hocking 7 16 6 17 — 46

NELSONVILLE-YORK 60 (11-11)
Mychal Mitchell 9 1-1 22, Nathan Dean 0 0-0 0, Casey Cox 0 0-0 0, Joe Frazier 0 0-0 0, Daniel Kline 4 0-1 8, Tyler Goodin 5 3-3 15, Dillon Stalling 0 0-0 0, Jared Dexter 0 1-2 1, Garrison Breeze 0 0-0 0, Kyle Moore 4 0-0 8, Conner Bunting 2 2-4 6, Alex Swingle 0 0-0 0; TOTALS 24 7-11 60; 3-point goals — Five (Mychal Mitchell 3, Tyler Goodin 2)

FEDERAL HOCKING 46 (10-11)
Shawn Parson 0 0-0 0, Brendan Torrence 5 0-2 12, Ryan Rex 5 2-2 12, Jon Skidmore 0 0-0 0, Aaron McPherson 0 0-0 0, Wesley Dixon 0 0-0 0, Tyler Thompson 3 0-1 7, Dewayne Clark 1 0-0 3, Lance Sharp 2 2-3 6, Austin Russell 0 0-0 0, Chris Saylor 3 0-0 6; TOTALS 19 4-8 46; 3-point goals — Four (Brendan Torrence 2, Tyler Thompson 1, Dewayne Clark 1).

TEAM STATISTICS/INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Field goals — Nels.-York 24-52 (.462), 3-point 5-14 (.357); Fed. Hocking 19-60 (.317), 3-point 4-25 (.160); Free throws — Nels.-York 7-11 (.636), Fed. Hocking 4-8 (.500); Rebounds — Nels.-York 36 (Mychal Mitchell 7), Fed. Hocking 36 (Tyler Thompson and Dewayne Clark 5 each); Assists — Nels.-York 15 (Mychal Mitchell 5), Fed. Hocking 9 (Tyler Thompson 5); Steals — Nels.-York 5 (Mychal Mitchell 3), Fed. Hocking 4 (Brendan Torrence 3); Blocks — Nels-York 6 (Mychal Mitchell 3), Fed. Hocking 2; Turnovers — Nels.-York 17, Fed. Hocking 17; Team fouls — Nels.-York 14, Fed. Hocking 13.

[gymrat88]

Definetly was an excellent gameplan by the Nelsonville-York coaching staff. Not only was it an excellent gameplan, but the players were able to execute it. everyone the whole season knew that the key to beating Federal Hocking was to try to shut down Tyler Thompson, but for the first time this season- someone was actually able to do it. Congrats to the Buckeyes. The Lancers will miss the play of their six seniors, but they still have a decent sophomore and freshman class coming up.

[Foxworthy]

Congratulations to the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes on a very well executed game plan. Coach Kline had the Bucks ready to play and they carried through with poise. Good luck in the next round.

The Lancers loss of Evan McCune who had 10 points on Tuesday evening in Belpre certainly took away an element of the Lancers inside game yesterday. The tournaments historically have more aggressive and physical play which hurt the Lancers going against a taller and bigger NY team. Evan could have brought that presence of Sr. leadership and strength.

From looking at the stat sheet and witnessing the first meeting of these 2 teams the Lancers shot a very poor percentage on Saturday when compared with their win at NY a few weeks ago where they couldn’t miss. Give one to the NY defense. This has been an interesting Lancer team to watch as they could play as well as anyone in the Ohio Valley at times this year and then just not be able to put it together in others.

After beating Belpre twice, taking the Eastern Eagles to an overtime in Stewart, handling DII teams Marietta and Morgan on their home court, these Lancers could also come up very short in other games, so goes the tail of the “two” teams.

Best of wishes to the 6 Seniors who weathered 4 coaches in 4 years, the transfer of 2 impact players who would have played in the paint(one these a DI prospect playing the point at Parkersburg South at 6’5”); and pre-season, career ending injury to point guard Chad Campbell. He would have made Tyler Thompson’s job a little easier if Tyler could have been the off-guard.

We wish these Srs. well as they are a talented group, on the court, on the field and best of all in the classroom! Thanks for hanging tough through 4 years of adversity to represent your school!!

Good luck to the up and coming large sophomore and freshman classes! These boys have a lot of grit and I believe if we can have some consistent coaching in the district these guys can shine over the next couple of years. This is a large group of motivated young men and if they can’t get it done the finger points only one direction and that is at the coaches on the bench for not having them ALL ready to play!

Chris Saylor, hang in there young man! You improved so much and for a young sophomore you had a wonderful season. With good guard play and up and coming men in the paint including, Russell, Hatfield, Carney, Saylor and Dixon along with the lone returning starter, Jr. Ryan Rex, the Lancers will be left in good hands!!

Go Lancers! Lancer Pride!

[Catch One]

Congrads to Nelsonville you deserved that game.

To the Senior's of the FH Lancers, Thanks for all the memories in Basketball.
Its been fun for a long time, but it went to fast.
Good lock to Evan and Aaron, I know you two will do well.
The other four I'll see you in Baseball.
Everyone of you are young outstanding Men.

THANKS

Dewayne Clark, Evan McCune, Aaron McPherson, Lance Sharp,
Tyler Thompson, Brendon Torrance

Chase Fieler was offered by Florida Gulf Coast last night after they beat
the No. 1 team in the state.