Vandalia, Ohio — Botkins had a losing tradition when head coach Sean Powell took over. That very quickly changed as he led a young team last year to 18-7 record with a 7-5 conference record. This was the first time Botkins had a winning SCAL record since 2013.
Returning Jayden Priddy-Powell, Zane Paul, and the Pleiman brothers, Botkins knew they had the chance to do something special this season. It all started when they knocked off Jackson Center and Aidan Reichert on the road to open the season. They then went on to win eleven straight games and win a share of the SCAL title. This was their first SCAL title in 25 years.
With their blowout win over Fayettesville-Perry last weekend, the Trojans won their first District Title since 2001. They looked to keep their tournament dreams alive with a matchup against Newark Catholic with a chance to go to their first Regional Title game since 1994.
The Green Wave of Newark Catholic took the early lead as Cole Canter proved to be a dominant presence early on. Jameson Meyer came off the bench for Botkins and immediately made a huge impact. The guard hit three straight threes but Canter countered those as he started off hot which gave Newark Catholic the 17-15 lead after one quarter of play.
Meyer picked up right where he left off in the second quarter as he gave Botkins the lead with a corner three following a layup from Jayden Priddy-Powell. Jameson Meyer then hit yet another corner three to give Botkins a 23-19 lead. Cole Canter kept Newark Catholic in the game as he continued to hit contested shots. A three from Carter Pleiman and then a slam dunk in transition from Jacob Pleiman gave Botkins a 42-27 lead at the half.
Jameson Meyer finished the first half with 18 points off of six three’s and Cole Canter had 22 of his team’s 27 points as the break.
Botkins pulled away in the third quarter as Jayden Priddy-Powell started to attack the basket more aggressively. Jacob Pleiman started to heat up as well as they led 59-42 moving into the final quarter.
The Trojans continued to pull away in the fourth quarter as they won 75-50. Jacob Pleiman caught an alley-oop from Priddy-Powell to put the exclamation point on their Regional Semifinal victory. Priddy-Powell led Botkins with 26 points while Jameson Meyer had 21 points off of the bench with 7 three’s. Jacob Pleiman had 16 points in the win and Cole Canter finished with 31 points for Newark Catholic in the season ending loss.
Following Cedarville’s win over Tri-Village later that same night, Botkins will face the Indians with a Regional Title and a trip to University of Dayton Arena on the line. That matchup will take place back at Butler High School on Friday at 7 pm.