No. 2 Unioto 48, No. 7 Logan Elm 22
ATHENS — A rough shooting night and a strong second half for Unioto meant Logan Elm’s season came to end Sunday night in a 46-22 loss in a Southeast District semifinal.
The Braves were 8-47 from the field Sunday, including 1-11 in the third as the Shermans went from a 15-11 halftime lead to a 32-14 edge heading into the final period.
“We knew that Unioto was an excellent defensive team, and they pressure the ball all over. And then they have 6-8 in the paint if you are able to get by,” LE coach Nate Dropsey said. “We came out tonight, we wanted to attack the paint, be able to kick for the next guy to drive, or then shoot the open three, like we’ve done fairly well over this last stretch.
“And tonight, we did not shoot it very well. We had some open looks. And then Unioto forced us into some tough ones.”
Unioto’s 6-8 senior center Dawson Mitchell grabbed 11 rebounds Sunday and created a lot of havoc for the Braves down low.
“He rebounded really well on the defensive side tonight. We weren’t able to get to the boards,” Dropsey said. “And we knew we had to keep a couple back, because they play with a lot of pace, and we didn’t want to give up runouts, especially to (Jaxon) Zickafoose, when he likes to leak out the floor. We had very few second chances, and when you’re not shooting it well, that that just adds fuel to it.”
After falling behind 10-3 in the first quarter, the Braves were able to tighten the game in the second and went in at the half down only four (15-11).
“I thought that in the second quarter, we played a little bit more physically, especially on the ball and made them feel us a little bit. Obviously, when you get down here, it’s going to be a physical game,” Dropsey said. “I felt like in the second quarter, we were able to take them out of what they wanted to do. We came out in third quarter. They hit a couple quick shots and, then we’re trying to do some things that maybe we’re not as comfortable with.”
Zickafoose led Unioto (19-3) with 13 points and Blake Fitch had 11.
Doren Patton was LE’s top scorer with eight.
Patton is one of six seniors the Braves will graduate from this year’s squad.
“Our six seniors, Brady (Neff), Lucas (Bialy), Doren, Zane (Seimer), Hank (Palmer) and KB (Kelton Bennington) — you can’t ask for a better group to have as part of your team,” Dropsey said. “They each bring different things to the team — offensively and defensively. But the best thing that they bring is, is showing what we try to instill in our teams, and that’s being a family, being unselfish, being tough.
“Things didn’t always go their way. But man, they came to practice every single day with a smile on their face, ready to work. And that whole group competes extremely hard. They’re just a fun, great group to be to be around, and I’m going to miss those guys tremendously.”
The Braves wrap up the season with a 13-11 record.
No. 2 Unioto 48, No. 7 Logan Elm 22
Logan Elm — Zane Seimer 1-0-3, Kelton Bennington 1-0-3, Doren Patton 3-2-8, Brady Neff 1-0-2, Owen Russell 1-0-2, Ethon Manson 1-2-4. Three-point goals — Seimer, Bennington. Totals — 8-4-22.
Unioto — Brayden Harsha 2-1-5, Isaac Coy 2-0-4, Blake Fitch 5-1-11, Jack Welch 2-1-7, Jaxon Zickafoose 5-1-13, Dawson Mitchell 4-0-8. Three-point goals — Welch, Zickafoose. Totals — 22-2-48.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Logan Elm 3 8 3 8 22
Unioto 10 5 17 16 48