Panthers fall to ‘Cane, 61-41

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WILMINGTON — In the midst of a four-game losing streak, Wilmington High School boys basketball coach Mike Noszka felt it was time to reassess team goals.

It was obvious from a defensive approach, the Hurricane was not following the script. Going into Tuesday night’s game with former South Central Ohio League foe Miami Trace, re-evaluating those goals was a step in the right direction.

The end result was a 20-point victory for the Hurricane, 61-41, at Fred Summers Court. The win halted their four-game losing streak and was the sixth victory of the season for WHS.

Willie Morris paced the Hurricane attack with 21 points, including 16 in the first half. Cameron Coomer added 13, all in the first three periods.Sam Jacobyansky had 14 for the Hurricane, including a trio of three pointers.

For Miami Trace, leading scorer was Austin Mathews with 14 points, all coming in the first three quarters. Trevor Barker added 11, all in the third quarter of action.

Wilmington returns to SBAAC American Division play Friday when Western Brown visits FSC. The Broncos defeated Wilmington in the first match-up at Mt. Orab, 52-31, on Dec. 14.

In the early minutes of the game, things did not go well for the Hurricane, as the Panthers jumped out to a 17-9 first quarter lead. Steadily, Wilmington chipped away at the Panthers’ lead, and after three consecutive three-pointers by Morris, Jacobyansky and Coomer, the Hurricane took a 26-21 lead and never looked back.

It was a 29-21 margin for WHS at halftime. Wilmington won the third quarter battle, 21-15, to take a 50-36 lead after three quarters. In the fourth, Miami Trace managed just five points as the Hurricane salted away the victory.

For the Panthers, sophomore Dylan Bernard was the game’s leading rebounder with seven.

Junior Kyler Conn led the Panthers with four assists and three steals.

Senior Austin Brown blocked two Wilmington shots.

In other games involving Frontier Athletic Conference teams Tuesday, Goshen defeated Hillsboro, 69-47 and Chillicothe beat Logan, 52-47.

Miami Trace (1-17 overall) is back in FAC action Friday at Jackson.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

MT 17 4 15 5 — 41

W 9 20 21 11 — 61

MIAMI TRACE — Austin Mathews 4 (2)-0-14; Trevor Barker 1 (3)-0-11; Austin Brown 2-0-4; Dylan Bernard 0 (1)-0-3; Kyler Conn 0 (1)-0-3; Cameron Moore 0-3-3; Ethan Steele 0 (1)-0-3; Logan Rodgers 0-0-0; Cody Brightman 0-0-0; Braden Osborne 0-0-0. TOTALS — 7 (8)-3-41. Free throw shooting: 3 of 6 for 50 percent. Three-point field goals: Barker, 3; Mathews, 2; Bernard, Conn, Steele. Field goal shooting: 15 of 36 for 41 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 8 of 14 for 57 percent. Rebounds: 17 (5 offensive). Assists: 10. Steals: 9. Blocks: 3. Turnovers: 23. Personal fouls: 11. Bench points: 9. Second chance points: 6. Points off turnovers: 5.

WILMINGTON — Morris 6 (3)-0-21; Jacobansky 1 (3)-3-14; Coomer 3 (2)-1-13; Butcher 3-2-8; Custis 1-1-3; Sweeney 0-2-2; Stewart 0-0-0; Spears 0-0-0; Anicic 0-0-0; Jones 0-0-0. TOTALS — 14 (8)-9-61. Free throw shooting: 9 of 11 for 81 percent. Three-point field goals: Morris, 3; Jacobansky, 3; Coomer, 2. Field goal shooting: 22 of 53 for 41 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 8 of 23 for 34 percent. Rebounds: 29 (15 offensive). Assists: 13. Steals: 9. Blocks: 1. Turnovers: 13. Personal fouls: 7. Bench points: 2. Second chance points: 2. Points off turnovers: 10.

By Bill Liermann

Wilmington News Journal

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