The Miami Trace Panthers enjoyed a fine shooting night, with a season-high 12 three-point shots made in an 83-53 win over East Clinton in an SCOL make-up game Thursday at the Panther Pit.
Skyler McDonald, a 6-0 junior, had a career-best 28 points for the Panthers, 22 of those coming in the second half when Miami Trace pulled away.
“He’s capable of getting super hot,” said Miami Trace coach Rob Pittser. “Once he gets rolling … .”
McDonald had a pair of three-pointers in the first quarter then failed to score in the second. He then drained three three-pointers in the third while scoring 13. In the fourth he tossed in nine points.
Tyrae Pettiford had a double-double of 14 points and 15 rebounds. He also led the team in assists with five and blocked shots with two.
Darby Tyree scored nine points and DeAndre Pettiford had eight points and seven rebounds.
“Late in the year, we’ve started to play a little better, shot the ball a little better,” said Pittser. “I hope it carries over into the tournament.”
Miami Trace made a season-high 12 three-point shots in the game. The Panthers connected on 12 of 26 for 46 percent from behind the three-point line. Seven different players made three-point shots for Miami Trace.
The Panthers took what was likely a season-high 70 shots, making 34 for 48 percent.
The Panthers led in rebounding, with 36 to 25 for East Clinton. Miami Trace had 15 offensive rebounds.
East Clinton scored 24 points in the opening period then mustered just 28 the rest of the way.
Brian Barnes had eight points in the first quarter while Josh Moskel had six and Wyatt Floyd tallied five as the Astros raced out to a 24-18 lead.
The Miami Trace defense picked up the pace in the second quarter, holding the Astros to just four points. The Panthers led 36-28 at halftime.
In the second period, East Clinton did not make a field goal. All points came from the free throw line where the Astros were 4-for-7 in the period.
Floyd finished with 14 points for East Clinton while Barnes had nine, but just one after the first quarter. Moskel and Jonny Blair both had eight for EC.
The win lifted Miami Trace’s record to 13-8 overall, 8-5 in the SCOL.
East Clinton is now 7-14 overall, 2-12 in the SCOL.
The Panthers open Sectional tournament play Tuesday, taking on the Waverly Tigers at 8 p.m. at Southeastern High School located east of Chillicothe.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
EC 24 4 9 16 — 53
MT 18 18 25 22 — 83
EAST CLINTON — Wyatt Floyd 4 (1)-3-14; Brian Barnes 4-1-9; Jonny Blair 4-0-8; Josh Moskal 4-0-8; Cole Jenkins 3-1-7; Irwin Griffin 1 (1)-0-5; Matthew Campbell 0-2-2; D.J. Luttrell 0-0-0; Austin Mercer 0-0-0; Paul Luttrell 0-0-0; Alex Pence 0-0-0. TOTALS — 20 (2)-7-53. Free throw shooting: 7 of 11 for 63 percent. Three-point field goals; Floyd, Griffin. Combined field goal shooting: 22 of 51 for 43 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 2 of 8 for 25 percent. Rebounds: 25 (7 offensive). Assists: 8. Steals: 4. Blocks: 2. Turnovers: 20.
MIAMI TRACE — Skyler McDonald 5 (6)-0-28; Tyrae Pettiford 4 (1)-3-14; Darby Tyree 3 (1)-0-9; DeAndre Pettiford 4-0-8; Blake Pittser 2 (1)-0-7; Cameron Carter 2 (1)-0-7; Ian Herbert 2-0-4; Jacob Batson 0 (1)-0-3; Mitchell Creamer 0 (1)-0-3; Seth Leach 0-0-0; Tiante Connell 0-0-0; Brad Card 0-0-0; Keondrick Bryant 0-0-0. TOTALS — 22 (12)-3-83. Free throw shooting: 3 of 5 for 60 percent. Three-point field goals: McDonald, 6; T. Pettiford, Tyree, Pittser, Carter, Batson, Creamer. Combined field goal shooting: 34 of 70 for 48 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 12 of 26 for 46 percent. Rebounds: 36 (15 offensive). Assists: 17. Steals: 15. Blocks: 4. Turnovers: 14.
