Sports
Unioto takes district title over Waverly in OHSAA boys basketball tournament
By: Grant Kiefer
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — There is no bigger stage for high school basketball in Southeast Ohio than districts and regionals at the Convocation Center.
Unioto and Waverly capped off Thursday night’s action with a thrilling district final matchup, that saw the Shermans win in blowout fashion, 56-32.
The Shermans had lost just three games all season and secured the SVC title, while Waverly entered the game fresh off a major upset win over No. 2-seeded Jackson.
Nerves ran high in the first quarter for both teams as the atmosphere inside the Convo began to take shape.
Buckets were hard to come by early, but Unioto held the advantage.
The Shermans never relinquished their lead, pulling away in the second half to secure a dominant 56-32 victory.
The second half played right into Unioto’s style—high-tempo basketball that generated transition points.
“Well, I mean, you gotta give a lot of credit to Waverly. They had a good game plan that sort of slowed us down that first quarter. Seemed like it just was really slow-paced,” head coach Matt Combs said. “It took us a while to get the tempo where we wanted it. A lot of that credit goes to them. Some of it was we just didn’t make some shots early. But I thought most of the time for us, it was our defense—when it picked up, we were able to speed them up a little bit. That helped.”
Led by a senior-heavy roster, Unioto is headed back to regionals for the first time in three years.
“It’s great for these kids. I’m so proud of them. I’m happy for them,” Holmes said. “When you’re in high school, you only get four chances at this. So I’m happy for our seniors, first of all, but our younger guys too. I hope they enjoy it. It’s a good accomplishment.”
Unioto will return to the Convocation Center next week for the regional semifinal in Region 15.