Basketball Recap: Zane Trace Beats Paint Valley for Their Sixth Straight Win

Pioneers

Margin (Wins)

12/10/24 vs Adena	39
01/18/25 @ Piketon	39
12/17/24 vs Paint Valley	34
12/06/24 vs Piketon	25
12/27/24 @ Amanda-Clearcreek	24

Zane Trace entered their tilt with Paint Valley on Friday with five consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with six. They put the hurt on the Paint Valley Bearcats with a sharp 68-44 victory. The Pioneers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight games by 21 points or more this season.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Zane Trace to victory, but perhaps none more so than Grady Stewart, who went 7 of 10 en route to 22 points in addition to six boards and three steals. Lantz Stevens also deserves some recognition as he scored his first points of the season.

When it comes to explaining why Paint Valley lost, don't look at Carson M Free. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double on 18 points and 12 rebounds. M Free is on a roll when it comes to boards, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last five games he's played. Braylon Robertson was another key player, putting up 11 points.

Zane Trace's win was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 13-2. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.2 points per game. As for Paint Valley, they now have a losing record at 6-7.

Zane Trace wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next match, a 56-49 victory against McClain on the 25th. As for Paint Valley, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 65-64 loss against Westfall on the 25th.