Jonathan Alder’s Ryan Mark (11) drives into the paint while getting fouled during the second half of action. The Pioneer notched 14 points during the team’s win over Hilliard Davidson.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
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Jonathan Alder’s boys hoop squad notched a 64-58 victory at Hilliard Davidson on Tuesday.
“I am very excited,” JA coach Derek Dicke said. “You don’t take winning for granted. It’s tough, but we went into a great environment and played a good game.”
Following a 53-44 loss to North Union, the Pioneers trended upwards with consecutive wins against London (52-32) and Bellefontaine (52-48).
“I told the guys all summer ‘find a way to get things done’ and tonight we did,” Dicke said.
Seeking to keep the ship on the right direction, the Pioneers ventured into hostile territory looking to get the upper hand on their Division I opponent.
“The gym was kind of dead to start the night, so it was hard to get going,” senior Peyton Heiss said.
Davidson was an even 8-8 heading into the matchup.
Its most recent game resulted in a 52-44 conference loss to Dublin Coffman.
Stifled by a stellar shooting performance by the Wildcats, Alder regrouped during the first period.
Steamed by a 23-point performance from Heiss, the Pioneers found their groove following the initial quarter.
The Wildcats took advantage of a missed Pioneer scoring opportunity before Ben Oakley claimed the team’s first trey.
Ryan Mark came up short on a three-point attempt.
That eventually led to a basket from Drew Remlinger to put the margin at 5-0.
Oakley’s range proved to be an asset.
His second straight trey jolted Davidson to an 8-0 lead.
He added a charity toss roughly a minute later for a 9-0 advantage.
“Davidson relies on the three-point shot and I told the guys that,” Dicke said. “They have to make threes to beat us. I thought we came out a little flat and a little over-hyped.”
“It was almost like a wakeup call to get us going,” Heiss said.
Struggling to put points on the board, the Pioneers’ starting five regrouped after the slow start.
“I saw something I haven’t seen before and we came together in a huddle,” Dicke said. “That’s what great teams do… they come together when things are splintered.”
With around 3:30 left in the first quarter, Sam Cramer recorded JA’s bucket.
Heiss missed his first free throws, but redeemed himself in the latter portion of the period by connecting on his second trip to the charity stripe.
The additional two points cut JA’s deficit to 9-4.
Davidson did not faulter as Remlinger nailed another trey.
Heiss kept the spirits high for the Pioneers with another basket that cut the deficit in half at 12-6.
With around a minute left, three-pointers from Mark and Garrett Bauer tied the matchup at 12-12 heading into the second stanza.
With a little over six minutes left in the first half, Alder’s Heiss and Davidson’s Oakley exchanged trifectas to knot the game at 17.
The Pioneers got the upper hand with 4:30 left in the half.
Chase Muetzel had a chance to score a traditional three-point play.
He missed the free throw, but Heiss’ stickback gave JA a 23-20 edge.
Alder outscored the Wildcats 15-11 in the second period and took a 27-23 halftime edge.
The slow start was still felt in the locker room.
Rather than expanding the frustrations, though, assistant coach Scott Heiss put a flame in the Pioneers’ hearts during halftime.
“I had a game plan of what I was going to say, but coach Heiss came in and pretty much lit a fire,” Dicke said. “He let them know we are the better team… we just had to play like it.”
“A lot of us were a little timid in the first half and we came out like a dog in the second half,” Peyton Heiss said. “That was kind of the message.”
The pep-talk was well spent as Noah Hess put JA up 29-23 once play resumed.
At the six-minute mark of the third quarter, Remlinger kept the Wildcats in contention. His trey cut the margin to 29-26.
Both squads scored 13 points in the third period.
Davidson stayed vigilant despite still being down for the entire second half.
A three-pointer by Ilies Djebbar narrowed Davidson’s deficit to 56-53 with just over a minute left in regulation.
Cramer delivered a “dagger” trey with just 51 seconds left to give JA a 59-53 edge.
Scrambling for a last-second miracle, the Wildcats opted to foul the Pioneers.
Alder hit 10-of-11 free throws during the final set to seal the victory.
“We were in the bonus and I wanted to shoot free throws,” said Dicke. “Kudos to Davidson… they battled back and weren’t giving up.”
Heiss’ 23 points were complimented by Mark, who finished with 14.
Alder improved to 11-7 on the season (with a 4-4 Central Buckeye Conference mark).
“I think we can start games better,” Peyton Heiss said. “Throughout the year, we’ve gotten better at staying together through hard times.
“You have to come together if you have a chance to win the game,” he said.
The Pioneers will travel to Tecumseh on Friday.
“Every day is an opportunity,” Dicke said. “I tell the guys every day ‘you are either energy givers or energy suckers’ and everyone in here should be an energy giver.
“It’s mastering the mundane and doing the stuff to the best of our abilities,” the coach said.
Jonathan Alder
Heiss 6-8-23, Mark 2-9-14, Hess 1-2-4, Adkins 0-2-2, Cramer 4-0-10, Muetzel 4-0-8, Bauer 1-0-3. Three-point goals: Heiss 3, Mark, Cramer 2, Bauer.
Hilliard Davidson
Remlinger 3-4-12, Oakley 5-3-16, Lynch 8-0-18, Bidlack 1-0-3, Djebbar 1-0-3, Maurer 2-2-6. Three-point goals: Remlinger 2, Oakley 3, Lynch 2, Bidlack, Djebbar.