Unioto 56
Waverly 32 final
... going into this one Unioto 21-3 vs Waverly 10-15 the Tigers getting into the district 'ship on a last second shot in regulation vs the Jackson Ironmen ... a look at the lineups the Shermans of Coach Combs started 3 seniors/2 juniors - experience ... for the Tigers of Coach Bradley 4 sophomores & a freshman PG ... getting their feet wet at the varsity level, playing on the BIG stage at the Convo in a D4 District Finale - no pressure (sarcasm intended) ... Unioto 56 Waverly 32 a final ...
... on paper a mismatch of experience, however the youngin's for Waverly are a talented group : size in the Myers twins 6-5 Sawyer & 6-3 Gunnar ... 6-3 Landyn Russell ... 6-1 Teagan Hurt all controlled from the PG position by a talented 5-10 freshman Kage Alexander ... with youth on the floor, playing in THE big game you never know what you are going to get- a group that is so intimidated that they can't do anything or are they so young that they don't realize the magnitude of the game and play lights out - a W moving them on to a Regional appearance, 2 wins from the state Final Four ... watching the game from floor level I saw it as a very good , young team that got their feet wet , gained experience as to what it takes to win on the big stage - the youngin's did good! not intimidated at all ... they saw the discipline, defensive effort shown by a very good Unioto TEAM as to what it takes to win on the big stage ... in the 1st quarter, both teams were figuring out each other on the court while getting used to the look and feel of the Convo floor/shooting backdrop, the double 3 point line ... the crowd being up above vs fans at floor level ... it's different ... Unioto played under control, disciplined for 4 quarters ...Blake Hoops leading the way in the 1st getting a transition bucket, 2/2 from the line and a smooth "in all the way" trey from right of the key 7pts in the qtr for the 6-2 sr. ... Caden Cutright added a 3 pointer and 6-5 sr. Kb Perkins finished a drive at the rim for 2 ... Waverly struggled early giving up 4 turnovers but settle in when Kage Alexander got to the rim off the dribble for 2pts, 6-5 soph Sawyer Myers scored in the paint from 4 ft then knocked down a midrange jumper from the FT line ... Unioto 12 Waverly 6 after 1 ... discipline, play YOUR game, pressure on the ball defensively is a great mantra vs anyone but especially vs youngsters ... the U turned the Tigers over 4 more times in the 2nd/ 8 times in the half ...Kb Perkins taking a turnover to the rim for 2pts , the POY in the SVC, Blake Fitch got fouled make/make 2pts and drained the 3rd three of the game for the Shermans 5pts in the quarter for the U floor leader ... Jaxon Zickafoose hit a three from the wing 3pts ... Perkins a finish in the paint & 1 3pts ... Blake Hoops drove hard left & finished at the rim 2pts /9 in the half ... for the Tigers, Landyn Russell got on the napkin stat sheet with 4pts in the paint ... Alexander went down hill for a 2pt finish at the basket and Teagan Hurt got in the scoring column with a drive & finish 2pts ... Unioto 27 Waverly 14 after 2 ... this was imo opinion the best version of the U I had seen this season, a perfect playing demeanor for the post season - disciplined , under control ... taking what the defense gave them ... taking advantage of matchups on the floor ... a complete game without forcing anything at either end of the floor ... Waverly showed again that this is a special group of youngsters as they didn't throw in the towel - they battled uphill in the 3rd - Gunnar Myers got 6 pts in the paint ... Sawyer Myers a score on the blocks and another midrange jumper from the line 4pts ... Hurt & Russell got out in transition to finish off 2 Unioto miscues ... a 14 pt quarter for the Tigers ...the Tigers lost ground as the youngsters turned the ball over 4 times with 3 ending at the rim in points for the U ... the Shermans had all 5 starters chip in to extend the halftime lead ... Hoops a drive for 2pts & one to go with a drive/foul & make/make from the line 5pts in the qtr... Zickafoose hit a deep trey 3pts and finished a strip, steal & score 5pts ... Perkins/Fitch/Cutright all got to the rim in the period with finishes ... 16 pts ... gain of +2 ... Unioto 43 Waverly 28 after 3 ... consistency offensively, discipline in running the offensive sets, getting the shots they wanted where they wanted to take them - Unioto basketball, tournament/post season basketball ... Waverly was held to 4 pts in the final period of action as the Shermans closed the door forcing 6 Waverly turnovers ... no opportunities to score with the miscues ... the U taking advantage of everything with another 13 pt frame ... Cutright with his 2nd trey of the game and transition finish ... Hoops with his patented lefthand drive and finish ... Fitch/Jack Welch off the bench and Zickafoose all with a finishing 2 pt in the paint ... Unioto 56 Waverly 32 a final ...
Quarter Breaks:
Unioto......12...27...43...56
Waverly....06...14...28...32
Pfloyd's official "UN-official" Napkin Stats - Waverly
Scoring ... Sawyer Myers 10, Gunnar Myers 6, Landyn Russell 6, Kage Alexander 6, Teagan Hurt 4
3 Pointers ... 0/8 …
FTs ... 0/0
TOs ... 18
PnP ... 14 fgs/ 28 points in the paint
PnT ... 2 fgs/ 4 points in transition
Pbk ... 0 fgs/ 0 points on putback buckets
Pfloyd's official "UN-official" Napkin Stats - Unioto
Scoring ... Blake Hoops 16, Caden Cutright 10, Jack Zickafoose 10, Blake Fitch 9, Kb Perkins 9, Jack Welch 2
3 Pointers ... 6/21 ... Jack Zickafoose 2, Caden Cutright 2, Blake Hoops 1, Blake Fitch 1
FTs ... 8/8
TOs ... 10
PnP ... 15 fgs/ 30 points in the paint
PnT ... 7 fgs/14 points in transition
Pbk ... 0 fgs/ 0 points on putback buckets
Unioto 56 Waverly 32 ... D4 District final ...
Re: Unioto 56 Waverly 32 ... D4 District final ...
Great write up Pfloyd
FT's
U - 8-8
W - No Attempts (unheard of)
3 Pointers
U - 6
W - 0
Turnovers
U - 10
W - 18
FT's
U - 8-8
W - No Attempts (unheard of)
3 Pointers
U - 6
W - 0
Turnovers
U - 10
W - 18