Braves maintain lead to defeat Aces

Logan Elm held off a run by host Amanda-Clearcreek in the second half on Saturday on its way to a 40-30 Mid-State League Buckeye Division win.

Nemiah Waugh paced the Braves with 14 points, Drew Tomlinson tallied 10, and Alden Williams and Brody Sabine contributed five apiece.

Tomlinson led the way in the first quarter for the Braves with four points and a 10-8 advantage after the opening period of play.

“Drew Tomlinson had a nice evening at both ends of the floor,” Logan Elm coach Doug Stiverson said. “He did a nice job defending Tucker Shamblin, especially in the first half, and making everything tough on him.

“Then, Drew knocked down a couple of threes and scored 10 points for us, which was also nice to see.”

The Braves made their move in the second quarter, shooting 6 of 8 (75 percent) and having five players contribute to a 14-point period. Waugh scored a pair of baskets, and Alden Williams and Tomlinson combined to connect on a pair of triples.

“We had different guys step up at different times,” Stiverson said. “Alden and Drew stepped up there with a couple of big threes, Nemiah got to the basket, and I felt we did a nice job of working for good shots that we knocked down.”

The Braves (4-6, 3-4) held the Aces (2-12, 0-7) to just three points in the quarter, all scored by Shamblin, to take a 24-11 lead into halftime.

Logan Elm came out cold to open the second half and scored just three points in the third quarter on a trifecta courtesy of Tomlinson.

The Aces cut the Braves’ lead down to three points in the fourth quarter before Waugh knocked down a shot to make it a two-possession game.

“We did a nice job of handling the basketball in the first half (four turnovers), but we got a little sloppy with the basketball there in the second half (12 turnovers) and that hurt us,” Stiverson said. “It’s hard to hold a solid player down for a whole game and Shamblin also got going some for Amanda there in the second half and helped them get back into the game.”

Waugh scored eight points in the fourth, including making 4 of 5 (80 percent) free throws, to help put the win away for the Braves.

“Defenses are obviously paying a lot of attention to Nemiah and he’s had to adjust to that,” Stiverson said. “Nemiah did a nice job of showing his toughness and scoring some big points late when we really needed them.”

Shamblin scored 14 of his game-high 23 points in the second half, including nine in the fourth quarter to pace the Aces.

It was the first win for the Braves since they defeated rival Circleville 50-47 on Dec. 9.

Senior wing Braylen Baker was lost in that win for the season with an ACL injury and senior guard Tanner Holbert has not played so far this season due to a football injury. The tandem combined for 31.9 points per game last season.

Logan Elm has been working to reinvent itself and have put together solid spurts of play, including leading defending league champion Bloom-Carroll at halftime on Dec. 22 before falling in the second half.

Stiverson is hoping the Braves can build off this win, starting on Tuesday when they travel to North Adams for a non-league tilt and then return home for games on Friday against league leading Teays Valley and Saturday versus Athens.

“Coming into the new year, our guys have been working extremely hard in practice and we are getting a little healthier with Gage Arnett back and Brody Sabine working his way back this week,” Stiverson said. “We played eight guys quite a bit tonight.

“We are still learning our roles and working on some things, so hopefully we can build off this win and keep going.”

The Aces continue league play on Friday when they host Liberty Union.

Logan Elm 40,
Amanda-Clearcreek 30
LOGAN ELM — Gavin Griffey 1-0-2, Drew Tomlinson 4-0-10, Gage Arnett 1-0-2, Nemiah Waugh 5-4-14, Carson Summers 1-0-2, Alden Williams 2-0-5, Brody Sabine 2-1-5. Three-point goals — Tomlinson (2) and Williams. Total — 16 5-7 40.
AMANDA-CLEARCREEK — Tucker Shamblin 7-7-23, Levi Owens 1-0-2, Maddox Cupp 0-3-3, Jace Morrison 1-0-2. Three-point goals — Shamblin (2). Total — 9 10-14 30.

Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Logan Elm 10 14 3 13 40
Amanda 8 3 7 12 30

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