Mowery dominant in Pioneers' win over Warriors

• Zane Trace's Pierce Mowery dropped a career-high 45 points in a 77-64 win over Adena Friday night.
• The senior moved into fourth place on the SVC's all-time scoring list with 1,600 points.
• Pioneers' head coach Allen Koker also earned his 100th career win Friday night as ZT finishes 15-7.

FRANKFORT - There is absolutely nothing Zane Trace's Pierce Mowery cannot do on the basketball court.

The Pioneers' senior dazzled yet again Friday night in a 77-64 win at Adena in the Scioto Valley Conference regular season finale; all but solidifying his 2015-16 SVC Player of the Year bid.

If there was any question as to who deserved that award, Mowery's 45 points, eight rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks quickly answered it.

"Early, I wasn't hitting so I knew I needed to drive to the bucket," Mowery said postgame. "In the second half, I hit my first 3 and (Adena) started coming out on me so I knew I could get the ball to my teammates. Isaac (Beam) had a bunch of lay-ups in the end, Darby (Pillow) had a bunch of rebounds and it was just a good team effort in the second half. We came together and just got the job done."

Mowery's 45 points — a career high and two points away from the school record of 47 — allowed him to leap Mick Shoemaker (Paint Valley, 72-75) and Drexel Williams (Piketon, 55-58) on the SVC's all-time scoring list, placing him at No. 4 with a career total of exactly 1,600 points — 46 behind Zane Trace's all-time scoring leader Jeff Reisinger.

The performance also notched career win number 100 for Pioneers' head coach Allen Koker.

"It's nice to do that with this group of kids," Koker said. "They just work so hard. We talked at halftime and at the end about how we have talent but we also have a lot of heart and hustle. Heart and hustle will lead you more than talent ever will. I think we got every single loose ball in the second half and gave up one offensive rebound. We made a heck of a run, went full-court, man defense and then Pierce did what he did."

In the beginning, the Warriors (14-7, 10-4 SVC) were the aggressors, jumping out to a 7-0 lead behind Isaac Thomas, Cody Cottrill, and Jonathan Thomas — Adena High School's all-time leading scorer and the seventh-highest scorer in SVC history.

Mowery scored the Pioneers' (15-7, 9-5 SVC) first bucket at the 5:17 mark in the first quarter but quickly witnessed things go downhill for his team as Adena held a 20-4 lead with less than three minutes to go. However, in that final three minutes, Mowery and teammate Darby Pillow combined to score lead a 10-4 run to cut the deficit to 24-14 heading into the second.

Zane Trace's Drew Rittenhouse scored his first points with 7:37 left in the first half, followed by teammate Joel Dunkle's lone bucket at 7:22 to make it 26-20. The two squads continued to trade baskets until halftime with the lead still in Adena's favor, 36-26.

At that point, Mowery had just 14 points.

"Pierce was down a little bit at halftime," Koker said. "I think he was a little bit frustrated. But what I like about him is that he continues to work hard and fight through that. That's why he's the great player he is."

Mowery immediately made his presence known in the third by hitting his first attempted deep ball and continuing to badger the Warriors' defense after that. After Rittenhouse made a 3 and Pillow picked the offender's pocket and scored, Mowery grabbed a rebound and got a putback to go at the end of the quarter, bringing the deficit to 49-46.

As hard as it is to believe, in the final eight minutes, Mowery was even better.

After scoring three the hard way to tie the game 49-49 at 7:53, he hit his second triple of the night — the 236th of his career, tied for 19th best in OHSAA history — at 7:01 to give Zane Trace its first lead of the night at 52-49. When Adena regained the lead at 55-54, Mowery led the Pioneers on a 10-0 run to put the contest out of reach.

After Mowery's 45, Rittenhouse added 10 points while Pillow finished with nine. Alex Wolff also contributed with six points, four boards, and three assists.

Jonathan Thomas led the Warriors with 16 points while Collin Cory added 14 and five rebounds. Jeff Postage tallied 12 points as Isaac Thomas scored eight and brought down a game-high 13 rebounds.

Both teams eye first-round postseason match-ups as the Pioneers take on SVC foe Southeastern in a Division III sectional semifinal Monday night at Waverly High School. Adena will play the same night on the same level at the same venue, facing SVC foe Piketon.

"I hope we play with the same kind of intensity and enthusiasm (Monday) we played with tonight," Koker said. "We'll just see what happens. The tournament is a new season. We've got to get back work over the next few days. It'll be a tough match-up."

dwebb@chillicothegazette.com

Twitter: @dw1509

Stat Book

Zane Trace: 14-12-20-31 — 77

Adena: 24-12-13-15 — 64

Zane Trace: 29-59 FG, 15-20 FT, 4-18 3pt. (Mowery 2, D. Rittenhouse 2), 30 rebounds (Mowery 8), 11 turnovers, 18 Assists (Mowery 5). Scoring: Mowery 15 13-13 45, D. Rittenhouse 4 0-0 10, Pillow 4 1-1 9, Wolff 3 0-1 6, Beam 1 1-3 3, Dunkle 1 0-2 2, T. Rittenhouse 1 0-0 2.

Adena: 25-53 FG, 8-12 FT, 6-20 3pt. (J. Thomas 4), 31 rebounds (I. Thomas 13), 18 turnovers, 6 Assists (Preston 3). Scoring: J. Thomas 6 0-0 16, Cory 5 3-3 14, J. Postage 5 2-5 12, I. Thomas 4 0-0 8, Preston 2 2-2 6, T. Postage 2 0-0 4, Cottrill 1 0-0 3, C. Postage 0 1-2 1.