10 to Comprehend: Magic Moments
At one point this week, our sports correspondent Brock Netter looked over at me and asked, "Are you not entertained?"
The answer was yes, and it has been yes all week long.
What a shape-shifting turn of entertaining events we've seen in the opening rounds of this year's postseason. There's truly nothing like tournament basketball.
Four head coaches — no exaggeration — have been quoted as saying, "This is the postseason. Anything can happen."
10 to Comprehend: Tourney Time, Part 2
This week's "10 to Comprehend" takes a look back at this week and gives a breakdown of what actually did happen in sectional and district play — where the seeds don't matter and your season can end at any given moment.
• The first magical moment took place Monday night. Here's the scene: Zane Trace and Southeastern's boys are tied 43-43 with 7.7 seconds left in a Division III sectional semifinal. The Panthers are in a timeout and have possession of the ball. Coach Andy Slaughter draws up a play to get the rock to Rex Hartman. Hartman's shot falls short, but Aaron Benson is there to save the day. Benson's two-handed putback lifts SE to a 45-43 win and a trip to a sectional final. What a heads-up play from Benson. When the referee signaled the basket was good, I thought the gym was going to explode. That, ladies and gentlemen, that kicked off our week.
• Wednesday night in boys action, the No. 14 seeded Westfall Mustangs met with the No. 3 seeded Adena Warriors in a Division III sectional semifinal. 14 against 3? You can see the future, right? Remember, seeds don't matter. Westfall handed Adena a 59-41 loss to win their third game of the season. And you would have thought the Mustangs had won a state championship. It was such a cool moment in their locker room after the victory. As senior Matt Jude put it, "This win made our entire season. I don't even know what to say."
• Right after the Mustangs pulled off an upset, it looked as if No. 11 Huntington's boys were on track to do the same against Paint Valley. Close, but no cigar. The Bearcats fought off a hot shooting night from the Huntsmen — they hit 11 3-point field goals — and beat them for a third time this season, 61-51. In the win, Dylan Swingle and Andrew Brauner each had 20 points, while Bryce Newland, coined "The Silent Assassin", dropped in 18.
• On Thursday, I'll be completely honest, I witnessed the best game I've ever covered in my three and a half years here at the Gazette. Not one, not two, but three overtimes in a Division III district semifinal. And the result was the icing on the cake, with Southeastern's girls topping Ironton, 61-55. Ironton's Lexi Arden tied the game at the end of regulation, 45-45, with a buzzer-beating backboard-touching 3. SE's Ella Skeens then tied the game at 51 with 2.8 seconds in the first OT. After heading into the third OT at 55-55, the Panthers ended the night on a 6-0 run.
• That same night, Chillicothe's girls competed in a dogfight with Warren in a Division II district semifinal. After three quarters, the two were tied 15-15. And no, that's not a typo. But in the fourth quarter, senior Osh Brown stepped up to give the Cavaliers a 36-26 victory — do the math, Chillicothe scored 21 in the final eight minutes and 15 in the first 24. Brown had 21 points and 11 rebounds in the win, lifting the Cavaliers to their third straight district final appearance. If Chillicothe can top Miami Trace Wednesday night, it'd mark a fifth district title in school history.
• Player of the Week: Mr. Aaron Benson, meet the limelight. Limelight, shake hands with Mr. Aaron Benson. Southeastern's senior forward was magnificent this week, carrying his team to two wins in postseason action. Monday night, Benson gave the Panthers a win over ZT with the aforementioned buzzer-beater before scoring 21 points in a 65-62 win over top-seeded Lynchburg-Clay Friday.
• Stat of the Week: In his last two games — a sectional semifinal and a sectional final — Piketon's Casey Moore is 21-of-24 from the free throw line, a percentage of 87.5. The senior has scored 55 points in the Redstreaks' two wins, alongside nine rebounds and five assists.
• Historical Fact of the Week:Dylan Swingle became just the fourth player in Paint Valley history to win the SVC Player of the Year award this past Wednesday. He joined the company of Mike Kinnamon, Mick Shoemaker, who did it twice, and Craig Kerns. Swingle is currently sitting at 1,159 career points — 38th all-time in the SVC.
• Pop-Culture Reference of the Week: I came across an article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday evening and was instantly intrigued. A gentleman by the name of Michael Stein has been asked to showcase his collection that would take you back to the 1960s and 1970s. The collection, with some 5,000 items, will be displayed at the original site of Woodstock. If you get a chance, check out the piece. It's a good read.
dwebb@chillicothegazette.com
Twitter: @dw1509
Power Rankings
*Bold lettering indicates that season is over
Boys: Chillicothe (15-8), Unioto (17-5), Paint Valley (14-9), Piketon (13-11), Adena (13-10), Southeastern (7-17), Zane Trace (8-15), Huntington (7-16), Westfall (3-20)
Girls: Chillicothe (22-3), Southeastern (23-1), Piketon (17-6), Unioto (17-7), Huntington (15-8), Paint Valley (11-13), Zane Trace (9-14), Westfall (3-20), Adena (2-21)