Pfloyd's Elite 8 of Southern/SouthEast Ohio -Wk 6 1/2

[r1master]

Massie truly has one of the most physically impressive teams from starters to bench players that I have seen in years..they have six or seven guys that are just flat out out muscular, fast, athletic, and all decent height. But the thing that makes them extremely special is simply their big boy inside Trent Smart...he so strong and athletic he controls the space inside and commands so much attention of the defense, creating open looks for their shooters. They are tough, we play them 3 times this year, almost had them their 2nd game of the year...they are so deep with same style of players that I don't think the rigorous schedule will hurt them that much.

[pfloyd]

r1master - thanks for the correction, when I typed it last night I actually KNEW that it looked backwards from reading it on the AP wire - and I wonder how my records are screwed up every week!?! it's me !!! ... I corrected the score - thanks again ...

[pfloyd]

... Saturday Night 1/19 partial menu of games ...

Gallia @ River Valley
Portsmouth East @ St. Joseph
Portsmouth Clay @ Rock Hill
Oak Hill @ Alexander
Symmes Valley vs Coal Grove
Piketon vs Paint Valley
Ironton vs Centennial
Williamsburg @ North Adams
Adena @ Southeastern
Westfall @ Huntington
Zane Trace @ Unioto
Logan Elm @ Beechcroft
Athens @ Meigs
Liberty Union @ Nelsonville York
Trimble @ Wellston

1/20

New Lexington vs Fort Frye (at West Muskingum Rte 40 Classic)

[pfloyd]

Pfloyd's Elite 8 of Southern/Southeast Ohio-Wk 6 1/2

1. Ironton (9-2)

2. Warren (11-1)

3. Athens (10-2)

4. Eastern Brown (13-2)

5. Vinton County (10-2)

6. Piketon (10-3)

7. Washington CH (10-3) / Minford (10-2)

8. Miami Trace (9-4) / Oak Hill (10-2)


... TreeHugger Wannabes ...

Lucasville Valley (11-3)
Portsmouth Notre Dame (11-2)
Logan Elm (9-4)
Fairland (10-4)
Eastern Pike (10-2)
Federal Hocking (10-3)
Zane Trace (8-3)
Peebles (9-4)
Chesapeake (9-4)
Coal Grove (11-3)
South Webster (8-5)
Unioto (7-5)
Nelsonville York (9-4)
Hillsboro (6-5)
Portsmouth East (8-3)
North Adams (7-5)
Sheridan (7-4)
Fairfield Leesburg (6-6)
Southeastern (7-5)
Wheelersburg (6-6)
Portsmouth West (6-6)
Portsmouth (6-8)
Whiteoak (7-6)
Symmes Valley (7-4)
Circleville (6-7)
Greenfield McClain (5-8)
Wellston (7-6)
Waverly (5-9)
Westfall (3-8)
Marietta (5-7)
Huntington (6-7)
Paint Valley (5-8)
Belpre (6-7)
Meigs (5-5)
Logan (3-7)
Chillicothe (3-11)
Gallia Academy (6-7)
Trimble (7-6)
Southern (7-6)
South Point (6-7)
Miller (5-8)
New Lexington (5-8)
Alexander (3-9)
Fairfield Union (4-7)
Crooksville (6-6)
St Joseph (6-7)
Portsmouth Clay (4-7)
South Gallia (5-9)
Waterford (3-6)
Manchester (4-9)
Lynchburg Clay (3-8)


... Teams on the End Table ...

Rock Hill (3-10)
West Union (2-11)
Western Pike (2-11)
River Valley (2-11)
Adena (1-10)
Reedsville Eastern (3-10)
Norhwest (1-10)
Green (1-10)
New Boston (1-10)
Jackson (0-13)

[pfloyd]

Athens 52
Vinton County 44 final

... I couldn't stay away from THE game in the TVC tonight - Athens vs Vinton County ... 2 of the the heavy weights in the Tri Valley Conference PLAYED like 2 teams feeling each other out for future reference ... neither AHS or VC lit up the scoreboard BUT one point WAS made tonight "size DOES matter" - Athens overall size/length at virtually all positions was the difference tonight ... the Athens size/length advantage is one that won't go away before the rematch in McArthur, if anything the size difference could get wider as Ryan Leuhrman (6-3) remained sidelined by injury for tonights contest ...

... the first quarter opened on a positive for Coach Combs' Vikings as senior Jordan Kidd hit for VC's first 8 points with a midrange jumper followed by back to back three's ... Vinton Co. 8 Athens 2 early BUT 3 minutes does not a game make - Athens was patient, Athens hit on a couple treys of their own (Saltzman/Summers) more importantly Athens showed it's size advantage on the boards getting 2 put back buckets in the quarter ... Athens never trailed once it took the lead ... for Vinton County Jordan Kidd after hitting VC's first 8 points was held to 1 fg the rest of the game ... Athens 13 Vinton County 10 after one quarter ... quarter two was a battle of attrition as Athens hit for 9 points - getting 3 fgs in the paint while holding VC to 2 fgs/5 points ... Athens 22 Vinton County 15 at intermission ... the Vikings claimed their only victory of the evening as they outscored the Bulldogs 15-13 in the third ... sparked by senior Tyler Walton's 2 reverse layups and the midrange shooting of LB Remy VC pulled within 4 points (22-26) forcing an AHS timeout with 4:25 left in the quarter ... Athens regrouped, coming out of the timeout riding their size advantage in the form of Jared Elmore - Elmore scored on 3 straight possessions on the blocks (7 points in the quarter) ... Athens 35 Vinton County 30 end of the three ... Any thoughts of VC making a comeback were squelched early as Athens with the opening possession in the quarter put the ball in Joey Burrows hands for a smooth 2 from the foul line, followed by an Ibi Watson three pointer- game , set and match as Athens hit on 6/9 FTs down the stretch ... Athens 52 Vinton County 44 final ...


... Pfloyd Napkin Stats - Vinton County ...

Scoring : Jordan Kidd 11, Tyler Walton 9, LB Remy 8, Bryce Owings 6, Matt Smallwood 5, Alex Owings 3, Per Smith 2

3 Pointers: 6/21 ... Kidd 3, Alex Owings 1, Smallwood 1, Walton 1

FT's : 0/0 ...

TO's : 12

... as posted - size was the difference in this one ... Vinton County NOT getting to the line showed their inability to get into the paint, when they did shots were altered and/or blocked ... Athens did an excellent job of keeping VC off the FT line as AHS committed but 5 fouls for the game ...


... Pfloyd Napkin Stats - Athens ...

Scoring : Joey Burrow 13, Ibi Watson 13, Zacchia Saltzman 9, Jared Elmore 9, Sawyer Summers 7, Adam Leuhrman 1

3 Pointers : 4/20 ... Ibi Watson 2, Summers 1, Saltzman 1

FT's : 8/12 ... 6/9 in the 4th quarter ...

TO's : 10

... Size matters/length matters ... I scribbled on my napkin in the 2nd quarter when VC was held to 2 fgs by the Athens defense "one and done" - VC was getting one look/one shot ... as I pointed out Athens has the potential to get "longer" as Ryan Leuhrman is hoped to be ready for the rematch in McArthur ... just a thought - VC hosts Logan Tuesday night - wonder if we will see some different lineups for VC as Coach Combs looks to work in some size of his own in this non-league game while prepping for the Bulldog rematch down the road ??? ...

... on a side note - it was good to get a chance to talk a little hoops with Coach Skinner during the JV game! thanks Coach for taking to time to chat with this old grizzled hoop fan ...

[LetsGoPSU]

Just from reading your re cap I take note of how huge the timing was in the time out in the 3rd quarter, gave his team the chance to re group, re focus on what was working for them and got them over the hump for the remaining 12 minutes a great piece of coaching congrats to the team from Athens

[93Bulldog]

Why I love Coach Howie Caldwell:

His team has won 5 straight and is 8-1 in their last 9 games, but here is one of his quotes after last night game.

"They're starting to make a believer out of me as far as how they play defense." Caldwell admitted. "We're becoming a better club. By next month, we MIGHT be alright."

[mray23]

pfloyd, here's an update of SCOL records Washington CH 11-3, Miami Trace 10-4, McClain 5-10, and Hillsboro 5-7

Upcoming schedule:
Saturday
Clinton-Massie @ Hillsboro

Tuesday 1/22
Washington CH @ Miami Trace
McClain @ Hillsboro

Friday 1/25
Miami Trace @ London
Clinton-Massie @ McClain
Washington CH @ Hillsboro

Saturday 1/26
Hillsboro @ Leesburg Fairfield

[pfloyd]

Coach Caldwell is a true coach, teacher of the game, he makes sure his troops have the right perspective as to where they are right now - "NEVER BE SATISFIED" if you become satisfied with where you are as a team you have just hung an "L" on your handy dandy pocket schedule ... 93dog as I've said many times Howie is a great teacher of the game of hoops ...

[pfloyd]

mray23 - awesome!!! thank you for the info from the Northwest Territories ...

[danicalifornia]

Zane Trace @ Unioto tonight should be awesome. Huge rivalry game that always brings out the best in both teams, crowds, and cheerleaders. Frenchtown will be rocking tonight and the JV Sherman Tanks will get a chance to show what they are made of as it should be a big crowd early. They are 12-1 and haven't been close in any game with their full lineup.

But onto the main event, Unioto has much more depth, but ZT's starting 5 is outstanding and can all hurt you in different ways. Unioto played much better on both ends last night and hopefully can carry it over tonight. It's going to be a fun night in Frenchtown.

Paint Valley @ Piketon- Piketon has played awesome the last 8 days and should carry that over tonight against a much improved Bearcat ball club.

Adena @ Southeastern- SE needs to bounce back after a rough week against a team who has beat them the last 3 years.

Westfall @ Huntington- should be another great game between these two. Westfall has a big size advantage, but Huntington has a much better backcourt. Look for a fun one in the township tonight.

[pfloyd]

... I agree daniC on ZT's starting 5 being outstanding - the flaw that was "exposed" if that is the right word during the Piketon loss I saw was ZT's "inexperience" on the perimeter, Piketon's experience at the guard position, the pressure they brought vs ZT's guards brought out their lack of patience under pressure/TO's (at least on the night I was able to "eye test" the ZT boyz vs Piketon @ ZT) ... I will hopefully be able to see the Shermans when they visit Logan 2/2 at Jim's Gym here in the Land of Purple ...

[93Bulldog]

It will be very intresting to watch the race for the DIII No. 1 seed at Athens ... its basically between Zane Trace, Federal Hocking and Nelsonville-York ... an SVC team, a TVC-Ohio team and a TVC-Hocking team ... the strength of schedule will favor Fed Hock to earn more victories - but will the other 9 teams in the sectional hold that against them when they gather in Jackson?

Sure is a fun time of year ...

[Lightle04]

I'm looking do Valley to replace either Minford or Oak Hill. And the Eastern Eagles to move even closer to the coveted top 8 status after handing Notre Dame there first home loss in 2 years last night . And moveing to 11-2.

[danicalifornia]

... I agree daniC on ZT's starting 5 being outstanding - the flaw that was "exposed" if that is the right word during the Piketon loss I saw was ZT's "inexperience" on the perimeter, Piketon's experience at the guard position, the pressure they brought vs ZT's guards brought out their lack of patience under pressure/TO's (at least on the night I was able to "eye test" the ZT boyz vs Piketon @ ZT) ... I will hopefully be able to see the Shermans when they visit Logan 2/2 at Jim's Gym here in the Land of Purple ...

I'm hoping to be able to make that game as well. Last year's was an instant classic which features the Chieftains hitting 3s on 8 straight possessions to storm back from a 20 point deficit but Unioto get a bucket in the last 3 seconds to win. I hope this years will be another barnburner.

[pfloyd]

... lightle04 ... a HUGE "W" on the ND home court last night for Eastern!!! ... I posted on another thread that we are seeing the fruits of the Eastern 43-79 LOSS to Africentric to close out the Eagles season last year - Coach Fitch "coached" the entire 32 minutes in that one, the Eastern TEAM "played" for 32 minutes in that loss, they experienced pressure, they experienced quicks they will never see in Southern Ohio, they LEARNED/ they became a better TEAM with that LOSS ... imo it is showing right now THIS season for the Eagles ... congratulations on as I posted a "HUGE" road "W" last night ...

[mikepike]

Piketon over Paint Valley 80-42. Zach Farmer with 27, Craigen Moore with 21 lead the way. Farmer was honored before the game for his baseball exploits.

[pfloyd]

... thanks for the Piketon score mikepike ... when I have talked to folks at hoops games for Piketon they always bring up Zach Farmers baseball future - most will agree that playing in the majors is in his future - a special athlete he is ...

[93Bulldog]

Lakewood - 57
Marietta - 38

Thought maybe I would help you get a Saturday night 'mystery' score out of the way early ...

[pfloyd]

... thanks 93dog ... Marietta is one of those mystery teams in the Logan Sectional as they play very few teams now in Southern/Southeast Ohio other than Warren/Belpre ... the scores I've seen show a team that has a difficult time scoring the rock on a consistent basis, they have good size but unless that equates to an inside scoring game it doesn't mean much ... will just have to see what Coach Secrest brings into the sectional this year when they show up LOL ...