Jonathan Alder’s Peyton Heiss (4) drives to the baseline during the fourth quarter against Urbana’s Kayden Jacobs (24). Heiss scored 12 points during the loss.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
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Jonathan Alder’s boys basketball squad came up short against Urbana, 61-52, during the team’s senior night celebration.
“The game plan was to be fight-ready and attack every opportunity,” JA coach Derek Dicke said. “I thought for the most part we did, but we just had a little spurt in the second quarter with them going on a 9-0 run.”
The second-to-last game of the season was a rematch with the Hillclimbers, who topped JA 59-57 in mid-January.
Coming off a 58-51 loss to Bishop Watterson a few days earlier, JA sought to get back on course.
Prior to tipoff, Alder honored its lone senior Peyton Heiss, along with paying homage to each member of the boys’ 1,000-point club.
“There are not enough words to describe what Peyton meant to me as a first-year head coach last year,” Dicke said. “He’s set the standard for a lot of our guys.
“We went 16 weeks straight without missing a 6 a.m. shooting (session) during the summer and that just speaks to the work ethic he has.”
Heiss claimed his 1,000th career point earlier this season, making him the sixth Pioneer boy to do so. At midcourt, he was joined by Darren Clark-2002 (1,020 points), Jackson Izzard-2021 (1,137 points), Rod Bentley-1991 (1,139 points), Andrew Koenig-2017 (1,286 points) and Jay Ferguson-1980 (1,662 points).
“It was cool especially that all the 1,000-point scorers were able to make it here tonight,” Dicke commented. “It was a special moment.”
“It was an honor,” Heiss said. “Being in a group with those people, you know how much work all of them put into the game and to be a part of that group was super special.”
While taking in the celebration, Heiss and his teammates stayed locked into the task at hand.
“Heading into it, I was just trying to block out all of the distractions from senior night,” Heiss said. “Overall, it was tough to get in a rhythm.”
The opening quarter went back-and-forth. Guided by eight points from Ryan Mark, Alder held a 15-14 edge heading into the second period.
“The first quarter was kind of like a heavyweight fight going blow-for-blow,” Dicke said. “We went out with the right game plan and were able to knock down some shots.”
The Hillclimbers bounced back in the second quarter with 20 points, while Alder had 15.
Urbana’s Will Donahoe collected nine points in the period.
“Peyton got in foul trouble and that hurt us defensively,” Dicke said. “We were in some mismatches and Urbana took advantage of that.”
The Pioneers found themselves trailing 34-30 at the half.
The third quarter marled the lowest scoring for both squads. Urbana edged JA, 9-8.
With 14 seconds remaining in the period, Donahoe went one-for-two at the charity stripe.
Urbana held a 43-38 lead going into the final eight minutes.
“Stops, stops and stops,” Dicke said about the mindset heading into the fourth quarter. “We stressed that.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t sustain and get stops when we needed them.”
Mark stripped Donahoe of the ball early in the quarter.
That led to a layup that cut JA’s deficit to 43-40.
Donahoe struck back with a field goal.
Alder’s Chase Muetzel scored to keep the deficit at 45-42.
With approximately four minutes left to play, the Hillclimbers began to pull away.
Drake Dixon’s bucket put the score at 49-43.
The visitor’s lead climbed to 51-43 on another layup from Donahoe.
A pair of free throws by Noah Hess cut Urbana’s lead to 51-45.
Donahoe and Mueztel exchanged baskets, making the score 53-47.
Mueztel made a three-point play after getting fouled for JA’s 48th point.
Fighting the clock, the Pioneers scrambled to play catchup.
Urbana’s shot-making ability proved to be Alder’s downfall down the stretch.
While moral victories do not count in the final score, Dicke complimented his team’s ability to stay together. Compared to the last time the two teams competed, the second-year head coach noticed Alder’s resiliency.
“Tonight, we weren’t splintered,” he said. “We are still not completely where I’d like us to be, but we are definitely growing. Hopefully we can hit our stride next week.”
The Pioneers recorded a 43.2 field goal percentage, compared to Urbana’s 63.9 performance.
On the upside, the Pioneers outshot Urbana from the line, 92.9% to 70.6.
Mark was JA’s top scorer with 15 points. Hess followed with 12.
Heiss led with six rebounds, while Mark finished with four steals.
JA fell to 12-9 overall and finished 5-5 in the Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail Division. Alder tied with London for third in the division.
The Pioneers will host Olentangy on Thursday.
“We just have to take care of us,” Dicke said. “We have to control the controllable.
“Olentangy is no slouch, so we have to be able to defend and rebound.”
“I think it’s a big opportunity to get back on the right track going into the tournament,” Heiss said. “I think we have to play with more effort and that can get us a long way.”
Jonathan Alder
Heiss 3-6-12, Mark 5-2-15, Hess 0-3-3, Adkins 2-0-4, Cramer 3-1-9, Muetel 4-1-9. Three-point goals: Mark 3, Cramer 2.
Urbana
Lantz 1-0-2, Donahoe 9-4-24, Davis 3-0-6, Bradshaw 4-1-9, Hower 1-0-2, Jacobs 3-5-12, 2-2-6. Three-point goals: Donahoe 2, Jacobs.