Confident Licking Valley boys basketball flies past Horizon Science

On Feb 12, 2023

HANOVER — The Licking Valley boys basketball team initially hit the snooze button Saturday, but the Panthers were wide awake after an early timeout from coach Mikey Flowers.

Valley fell behind visiting Horizon Science 7-0 within the game’s first three minutes, but the Panthers allowed just one field goal during the next seven. They took the lead for good early in the second quarter, racing to a 59-39 victory, their third consecutive inside Dick Torbert Gymnasium.

“To be honest with you, it starts with those practices when we have to wake up bright and early. It’s hard to get up sometimes, but we have to get shots up,” junior Jacob Wheeler said. “These past couple games we’ve believed in each other. We’ve played together as a team, sharing the ball and making that one extra pass to get a better shot.”

Wheeler spent most of the night assisting junior Gunner Bowman and sophomore Kam Walker, but he took his turn with the Hawks (11-11) threatening to swing the momentum. With Valley (9-12) leading 39-32, Wheeler started the fourth quarter with three consecutive 3s.

With the crowd anticipating a fourth, Wheeler’s shot from the left wing rimmed out. He, however, made the play of the night later in the possession when he reached high above the rim for a putback.

“We love sharing the load. He got hot really quick,” said Bowman, who got the Panthers started with a 3 from the right wing off a pass from sophomore Chase Vermilion in the high post.

Once Valley started getting stops at the defensive end, the Panthers quickly turned them into points at the other end. Bowman went coast to coast for a layup and then finished in transition off a bounce pass from Wheeler.

“They got that 7-0 run, and if they get seven, you can’t let them get to nine,” Bowman said. “I felt like I had to step up, and I got a bucket. That really got us going.”

Walker was Bowman’s running mate in the first half. He hit a pair of 3s and also beat the Hawks downcourt after a basket for one of his own.

Walker and Bowman had eight apiece in the second quarter, combining for 16 of Valley’s 17 as the Panthers took a 25-16 halftime lead. That advantage grew to 35-22 before the Hawks answered with a 10-0 run only to be halted by Wheeler’s hot hand.

“That’s how we are. That’s the kind of team we are,” Wheeler said. “Anybody can get hot at any certain moment. That’s what makes us scary. Going into the playoffs, you don’t know who is going to get hot, and we are finally getting the hang of it. We are finally getting that started.”

Bowman totaled 17 points with Walker’s 16 and Wheeler’s 13 following. Vermilion and classmate Owen Hottinger combined for nine points in the paint.

Valley with just two seniors — Colton Carr and Connor Fee — opened the season with three losses against eventual league champions — Fairfield Union, West Muskingum and Licking Heights. Despite a stretch of seven consecutive road games, the Panthers gained their footing and had climbed back to 6-7 before losing five in a row.

“There was a stretch here in the season where it was, ‘Hey, are we going to continue to fight or are you going to pack it in?’ They have really stepped up,” Flowers said. “Guys have been playing hard, and we have been playing smarter basketball. I am proud of them.”

The Panthers denied Granville an opportunity to clinch the Licking County League-Buckeye Division title on Feb. 3, and a victory against Zanesville followed. They host KIPP Columbus next Saturday with an opportunity to make it four consecutive wins to end the regular season.

A rematch at Johnstown awaits in the Division II first round on Feb. 21. The Panthers had possession with a chance to tie late in a 53-46 loss Jan. 24 with Walker out of the lineup.

“We had a big game against Granville, and that really got us going,” Bowman said. “That was a huge rivalry game. We got that win and got all of that momentum.”