MVHC: Basketball Players of the Game (Monday, March 9)

ZANESVILLE, OH – With seven athletes from seven games across five days on Z92, Highway 103, and AM 1240 from the first full week of the month, it truly is a tournament-sized edition of our “MVHC” basketball Players of the Game.

We begin back on Tuesday with a pair of district semifinal games. Maysville took to the road to defeat East Liverpool behind a dominant second half. Landon Iden was among the stars from the Panthers, showing out with 16 points in the win.

Meanwhile in the other Division IV east district bracket, John Glenn cruised past Claymont for a victory out in Coshocton. With starting forward Cooper Briggs injured early in the first quarter, Oakley Zamensky stepped up, playing a big role as the Muskies didn’t miss a beat, advancing to the district final.

A tremendous season came to an end for the girls team at West Muskingum on Wednesday night. The Lady Tornadoes knew they could lean on guard Lyla Johnson all season long, as the junior poured in 14 points in the regional semifinal loss to a tough Tusky Valley team.

However, the West Muskingum boys just kept rolling right along in the Division V district semifinals, rolling right over Harrison Central on Thursday night. As he often does, junior forward Carter Smith made quite the impact in a 12-point, 14 rebound double-double performance in the big win.

We return to Division IV with two district final games on Friday night. Maysville secured its fourth straight district title with an impressive win over Carrollton. As he inches closer to the school scoring record, Gator Nichols filled it up with 37 points, as the senior guard goes four-for-four in district title appearances in his Panthers career.

Meanwhile out at Muskingum University, the aforementioned Cooper Briggs had to gut out the pain, as he helped John Glenn to a district final win over rival Cambridge. While normally a key piece of the Muskies’ starting rotation, Briggs came off the bench with three threes, as John Glenn marches into this Wednesday’s regional semifinal against Maysville.

Let’s wrap it up with a bit of history in Division V. For the first time since 1990, the West Muskingum boys can call themselves district champions. A wire-to-wire win over Ridgewood brought home a fresh piece of hardware for the Tornadoes, who were led by 20 big points from senior forward Kyle Porter. The Tornadoes now head to Zanesville High School on Wednesday, trying to fend off the Red Devils of St. Clairsville for a spot in the elite eight.

Congratulations to all seven athletes.