MOUNT ORAB — The Miami Trace Panthers made the trip over into southwestern Ohio, Friday, Dec. 1 to open the 2023-24 basketball season against the Western Brown Broncos.

Miami Trace led by as many as 10 points in the first half, but the Broncos tuned up their shooting in the second half and emerged with a 53-47 victory.

Junior Jet Jamison was the game’s leading scorer for the Broncos with 19 points. He made three of his team’s four three-point field goals.

Senior Abe Crall had 14 points, while senior Ben Crall and junior William Stewart each scored seven.

Senior Bryson Osborne led the Panthers with 12 points. He connected on two three-point field goals. Osborne had a team-high three steals.

Sophomore Grant Guess had nine points and six rebounds, all from the offensive glass.

Sophomore Adam Guthrie scored eight points and led the Panthers with 11 rebounds, seven of those being from the offensive side. Guthrie also blocked two shots.

Junior Skye Salyers scored seven points and had seven rebounds. He made one three-point field goal.

Senior Brady Armstrong scored six points, with one three. He had two assists, one steal and three rebounds.

Junior Trey Robinette hit one three-point shot and grabbed four rebounds. He had one assist.

Senior Coleden May scored two points to go with five rebounds and one blocked shot.

“We’ve got a lot to clean up,” Miami Trace third year head coach Ben Ackley said. “I don’t want to take anything away from Western Brown, but we didn’t play one phase of the game well tonight.”

Ackley addressed the offensive struggle for the Panthers.

“We shot it extremely bad,” Ackley said. “Our defense was bad. We just didn’t play well and that falls on me. We thought we were ready to go, but I didn’t have these kids ready to go.

“So, the blessing is we have a quick turnaround (Saturday, Dec. 2) at Unioto,” Ackley said. “We’re playing a different style (now that Andrew Guthrie has graduated) so there are different things we all have to get accustomed to. We’re trying to play at a higher speed — get more possessions.

“We just didn’t shoot it well tonight,” Ackley said.

The Panthers had 40 rebounds, including 23 on offense, but for the game Miami Trace was 19 of 67 from the field for 28 percent. From three-point range, the Panthers went 5 of 28 for 18 percent.

The cold shooting extended to the free throw line where the Panthers made 4 of 11 for 36 percent.

Meanwhile, Western Brown made 21 of 45 shot attempts for 46 percent. The Broncos made 4 of 12 from three-point range for 33 percent and went 7 of 10 from the line for 70 percent.

Miami Trace held a 15-13 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 26-18 lead at the half.

The Panthers allowed the Broncos just five points in the second quarter.

Miami Trace scored 10 points in the third quarter to 17 for Western Brown.

The Panthers still held a 36-35 lead after three quarters.

The game remained closely-contested throughout the fourth quarter.

Western Brown took a 38-36 lead at the start.

Guthrie responded with an offensive rebound and basket to tie the game.

Western Brown hit another three-point shot and after a missed shot by the Panthers and a turnover by Western Brown, Guess scored with 5:15 to play to cut the deficit to one.

Western Brown made a layup to set the score at 43-40 with 4:36 to play.

There followed a frustrating sequence for the Panthers as they missed four shots at the basket on one possession nearing the four-minute mark.

The Broncos increased the lead to five and Guess countered to make it 45-42 with 3:29 remaining.

About one minute ran off the clock before Osborne scored to cut it to 45-44.

A quick Miami Trace time out was followed by the Broncos converting off an offensive rebound with 1:43 to play.

With just under one minute to go, Osborne hit a three to tie the game, 47-47.

After another timeout, the Broncos put one in off the glass.

A missed shot by the Panthers was followed by a foul, which netted the Broncos one point, putting the margin at 50-47 with half a minute left.

The Panthers missed two more field goal attempts and Western Brown went 3 of 4 from the foul line for the 53-47 final.

In other games involving Frontier Athletic Conference teams Friday, McClain defeated Paint Valley, 42-41; Hillsboro defeated Wilmington, 66-52 and the Washington Blue Lions beat Columbus St. Charles, 56-49.

Chillicothe opens its season Saturday at Bexley and Jackson plays Portsmouth West Saturday.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

MT 15 11 10 11 — 47

WB 13 5 17 18 — 53

MIAMI TRACE — Grant Guess 4-1-9; Coleden May 1-0-2; Trey Robinette 0 (1)-0-3; Brady Armstrong 1 (1)-1-6; Skye Salyers 2 (1)-0-7; Adam Guthrie 3-2-8; Bryson Osborne 3 (2)-0-12. TOTALS — 14 (5)-4-47. Free throw shooting: 4 of 11 for 36 percent. Three-point field goals: Osborne, 2; Robinette, Armstrong, Salyers. Field goal shooting: 19 of 67 for 28 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 5 of 28 for 18 percent. Rebounds: 40 (23 offensive). Turnovers: 10. Assists: 5. Steals: 6. Blocked shots: 3. Fouls: 16.

WESTERN BROWN — Jet Jamison 3 (3)-4-19; Isaiah Smith 1-0-2; Mason Ernst 1-0-2; Abe Crall 7-0-14; William Stewart 1 (1)-2-7; Ben Crall 3-1-7. TOTALS — 17 (4)-7-53. Free throw shooting: 7 of 10 for 70 percent. Three-point field goals: Jamison, 3; Stewart. Field goal shooting: 21 of 46 for 46 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 4 of 12 for 33 percent. Turnovers: 14. Offensive rebounds: 9.

Panthers beat Broncos in j-v game

Miami Trace won the junior-varsity game Friday at Mount Orab, 49-30.

Conner Napier was the game’s leading scorer for Miami Trace with 17 points. He made three three-point baskets.

Julian Baker scored seven points; Mason Buchhammer, Luke Armstrong and Cade Whitaker each scored six points; Bryson Yeoman scored three and Dane Wilt and Anthony Huffer both scored two points.

Connor Gulley led Western Brown with 10 points.

Miami Trace wins freshman game with Western Brown

In the freshman game Friday, Miami Trace defeated Western Brown, 37-18.

Anthony Huffer led the Panthers with 11 points.

Dane Wilt scored eight, Evan Parsley scored seven, hitting one three; Cody McMillin hit one three and a quartet of players — Kenton Berry, Liam Havens, Gage Henry and Matthias Smith — each scored two points.

Emanuel Gibbs led Western Brown with eight points.