by Gregg Meadows
After dropping three of their last four games to close out calendar year 2022, Coach Todd McLoughlin’s Tri-Valley boys basketball team needed a good start to the new year to get back on track.
And the Scotties got just that, blowing out host Morgan by a whopping 87-43 margin back on Jan. 6 in McConnellsville, then rallying from a halftime deficit Tuesday night, Jan. 10 in front of a packed house in New Concord to pick up an important 50-48 Muskingum Valley League Big School division win over the host John Glenn Muskies.
With the John Glenn win, Tri- Valley improves to 8-4 overall and 7-1 in league action.
In Tuesday night’s John Glenn victory, visiting Tri-Valley owned a 20-15 first break advantage over the host Muskies, who are coached by former Scottie standout cager Eric Sheck. TV junior Terrell Darden struck for nine first frame points, with teammates Erik Neal and Aaron Frueh dropping in four counters each, and super soph’ Max Lyall a trey.
The tide turned quickly however in the second stanza for the black and gold, as the host Muskies stepped up their game to the tune of a 17-5 blitz in the next eight minute session – to include a 12-0 run to end the period – as the maroon-and-white charged off the floor with a 32-25 lead over the visitors from Dresden. TV senior Aaron Frueh owned the only points in the second quarter for TV – a rebound bucket and trey from the right corner.
The Scotties righted the ship in the third quarter, chipping away at the lead and handling the suffocating Muskie press a little better, as a 12-6 scoring third period edge had the visitors down just 38-37 heading into what would be a wild fourth quarter. Erik Neal’s trey and pair of free throws, four key counters on athletic drives to the hoop from Terrell Darden, and another Lyall trey sparked the comeback.
The fourth quarter was vintage TV vs JG, as the Scotties capitalized on an early Lyall trey, then a huge Erik Neal three-point bomb that gave the visitors the lead for good at 46-43, as Tri-Valley rallied – then hung on – for the big road win.
Neal’s game-high 14 led the winners, followed by Darden’s 13, 10 from Aaron Frueh, and nine from Lyall. Nathan Walker’s 13 topped the Muskies, who also got 11 each from Kaiden Walls and Braylee Woodard. TV won the JV game 50-30 and was led in scoring by Keaton Hahn and Devin Crane’s 10 apiece and eight from Kam Karns. The Scotties also won the freshman game 39-32 thanks to Troy Patterson’s 15 markers and nine from Jason Shawger.
Friday night, Jan. 6 on the road at Morgan, TV jumped out to a 21-8 lead at the first break, then never looked back, doubling up the score in defeating the host Raiders 87-43. And for sophomore standout Max Lyall, it was a giant night, as the talented lefty struck for a career-high 30 points.
Lyall’s pair of first quarter treys and two-point counters sparked the visitors to a 21-8 start to the contest, then his additional nine second stanza points – with help from Terrell Darden’s seven – saw Tri-Valley take a cushy 43-20 lead headed to the halftime locker room.
And it was more of the same after the intermission, as the black-and-gold stormed out of the break with 19 third period points, with six different Scotties scoring, led by senior point guard Jayden Walker’s eight points, as TV took a 62-36 advantage into the final eight-minute session. Lyall heated up again in the fourth frame with nine points, and had plenty of help with five counters each from junior scorers Erik Neal and Terrell Darden, as a 25-point fourth quarter slammed the door on the host Raiders.
In addition to Lyall’s big night, Darden’s 16 and Walker’s 14 points led a Scottie team that saw nine players crack the scoring column, with Neal’s eight counters, and six apiece from Nohah Nichols and Aaron Frueh leading top TV point-getters. Carson Mummey’s 23 points led the Raiders.
Tri-Valley also took a 67-31 junior varsity win back to Dresden, as Kam Karns’ 17 points led three Dawgs in double figures, with help from Keaton Hahn’s 16 and and Brady Kaufman’s 11 counters, and eight from freshman Ryan Lamonica. Gavin Shriver’s 11 led Morgan.
The Scotties welcome the Philo Electrics to Dresden on Friday night, Jan. 13, then on Saturday, Columbus Desales invades the Dawg House for a non-league tussle.