A Senior Night success story

ZANESVILLE - Senior Night for Jared Ball was a big deal for Zanesville's basketball team on Friday night.

The only senior on team full of underclassmen plays an unheralded role for the Blue Devils, serving mostly as a high energy defensive stopper.

Anthony Williams and Aronde Myers weren't about to let him down.

Williams scored a career-high 34 points on 13-of-14 shooting with seven 3-pointers and Myers added 20 counters, as the Blue Devils pulled away in the second half for a 76-63 win in an East Central Ohio League affair at Winland Memorial Gymnasium.

Williams and Myers combined for 21-of-26 field goal shooting as Zanesville shot 66 percent from the floor and made nine of its 12 3s.

Williams, a junior, said it was a great feeling to get a win for a player he called "one of my really good friends."

"He's had a lot of pressure to try to lead us in the right direction," Williams said. "Him being the only senior, it has to be really hard for him. I think he's leading us in the right direction. We're just a little bit young and trying to get the feel for everything."

Williams' only miss of the night was a 3-pointer in the first quarter. He finished 7-of-8 on 3s, which included six straight among his 11 consecutive makes after the first quarter.

He hit four 3s in the second quarter, usually the result of ball reversals against the Tigers' array of trapping zone defenses. His final first-half long ball came at the buzzer, sending the Blue Devils ahead 35-22.

"When they collapsed to the middle, I was wide open and they would just find me," Williams said.

Myers and freshman Cobe Curry also had a 3 in the second quarter, when the Blue Devils were 6-of-6 from the field — all on 3s.

"We got some great looks because they were rotating and trapping," Zanesville coach Scott Aronthalt said. "But at the same time our guys did a nice job with the ball, for the most part, and we got it where we needed to. And we made shots."

The second half featured 17 more points from Williams and dazzling play from junior KeShawn Underwood, who put on a clinic as a one-man press breaker.

With Marietta forced to push the tempo down 42-28, the 6-3 Underwood had three assists and a three-point play in the final 2:58 of the third quarter — all against the press. He had another assist in transition in that span, part of a seven-assist, 10-rebound effort that saw him not have a turnover and shoot only four times.

That, too, helped free up players like Williams and Myers for easy baskets.

"Like I told him in the locker room, (Williams) was good because our guys were good at moving the ball, too," Aronhalt said. "But he's getting better. He's putting it on the floor a little better and getting off the floor better, so he's more of a threat to people. You can't just run at him and run him off the line."

Myers had 11 of his points in the first half and seven more in the third quarter, helping Zanesville take a 57-38 lead into the fourth. The Tigers never got closer than 11 the rest of the game.

Tucker Hill had 22 points and Trent Dawson 15 for the Tigers, who were only 7-of-25 on 3s.

Marietta took the reserve game, 60-52. Cameren Cox had 15 points to lead four Blue Imps in double figures.

sblackburn@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com

740-450-6723

Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR

Stat book

Marietta 13-9-16-25 — 63

Zanesville 14-21-22-19 — 76

Zanesville: 13 1-1 34, Myers 8 3-3 20, Co. Foreman 4 2-2 10, Underwood 1 3-5 5, Ball 0 4-4 4, Curry 1 0-0 3, Cl. Foreman 0 0-0 0, Young 0 0-0 0, Lett 0 0-0 0, Cox 0 0-0 0, TOTALS 27-41 13-16 76. Three-point goals: 9-12 (Williams 7, Myers, Curry). Rebounds 25 (Underwood 10), Assists 16 (Underwood 7, Ball 5), Steals 4. Turnovers 19.

Marietta: Hill 7 5-7 22, Dawson 6 1-2 15, Altenberger 3 4-5 11, Herb 3 0-0 7, Moore 3 0-2 6, Danford 1 0-0 2, Miller 0 0-0 0, TOTALS 23-49 10-16 63. Three-point goals: 7-25 (Hill 3, Dawson 2, Altenberger, Herb). Rebounds 19 (Moore 5), Assists 7 (Herb 3). Steals 6 (Hill 3). Turnovers 14.

Officials: Lindsay, Franks and Yoder.

Reserves: Marietta 60-52.