by JOHN HOWLEY / sportingpumpkin.com
AMANDA — Amanda-Clearcreek closed to within a point, but Teays Valley came through in the final minutes to beat the host Aces 46-36 Friday night.
The Aces were down nine in the third quarter and battled back to close to 30-29 with 5:08 left in the game. On the Vikings’ ensuing possession, Jackson Smith sunk a three, was fouled and hit the free throw to make it a five-point game again.
After AC’s Cade Young scored to make it 34-31, the Vikings had the next seven points in outscoring the Aces 12-5 down the stretch.
“That play was kind of a dagger,” AC coach Jamie Justus said. “Once we cut it, then we come down and they get an open look at a three and we foul them. He goes and hits a four-point play so it goes from a one-point game to a five-point game in less than 30 seconds.
“That was a big momentum shift in their favor.”
Teays Valley is a team that prefers to play an uptempo game but has been trying to adjust to the slower pace opponents are forcing.
“We like to get up and down the floor as much as possible, but here lately we’ve been working on possessions because teams are starting to slow us down and we have to grind our possessions,” TV coach Brian Barnett said.
He said the effort to play in a slower tempo wasn’t going well early in the game.
“We were making one pass and shooting a shot, or forcing something up. The whole game turned with about a minute and a half to go in the second quarter when we held the ball all the way down to the last shot,” Barnett said. “I thought that’s when our guys grew up and we got to where we need to be.”
That final shot came with four seconds on the clock and was part of a 10-point night for Ryan Allton. Barnett said the junior has been stepping up his game for the Vikings after playing some JV ball earlier in the season.
Jackson Smith led the Vikings with 13, Sam Miller put in 11 and Peyton Weiler had seven.
After struggling a bit from the line earlier in the game (5-12 in the first three quarters), Teays Valley came through sinking 10 of 12 in the final three minutes.
For the Aces, Clayton Rhyne and Tayvon Miller were the top scorers with nine each and Young had seven.
“I thought we had a great defensive game to hold them in the 40s. If we can hold teams in the mid to low 40s, we’re giving ourselves a shot,” Justus said. “It was just careless turnovers down the stretch, missed free throws came back and got us there.
“We’re not playing bad basketball right now. We’ve been right there in most of our games, especially the last few that we’ve lost. We’ve just got to clean some things up and get headed in the right direction.”
Up next
The Aces (5-10, 1-8) are back in action at Hamilton Township Tuesday night while the Vikings (7-9, 6-3) will be hosting league-leading Bloom-Carroll.
“Playing over here – Jamie does a great job over here and it’s always tough over here — but for us to get back on the winning track after the skid we’ve been on it’s big going into Tuesday night,” Barnett said.
Teays Valley 46, Amanda-Clearcreek 36
Teays Valley — Kevin Scott 1-0-2, Ryan Allton 3-4-10, Reese Sauerbrun 0-1-1, Liam Sachs 1-0-2, Peyton Weiler 2-3-7, Jackson Smith 3-6-13, Sam Miller 4-3-11. Three-point goals — Smith. Total — 14-17-46.
Amanda-Clearcreek — Clayon Rhyne 3-2-9, Johnnie Weaver 1-0-2, Tucker Shamblin 0-1-1, Tayvon Miller 2-4-9, Nathan Hunter 2-0-5, Peyton Cassley 1-1-3, Cade Young 3-1-7. Three-point goals — Rhyne, Miller, Hunter. Total — 12-9-36.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Teays Valley 11 9 7 19 46
Amanda-Clearcreek 8 6 10 12 36