Barnesville’s Aaron Marovich (21) gets position under the basket Tuesday night as he’s guarded by Buckeye Local’s Luke Darrah (34). Looking on is the Panthers’ Jacob Pielech (11). Marovich scored 12 points in the Shamrocks’ 53-35 victory.

BARNESVILLE — Slowly, but surely, Barnesville found its footing Tuesday night.

Playing without the area’s leading scorer — Luke Powell — the Shamrocks struggled in the early going in their boys’ high school basketball encounter against Buckeye Local. But as the game progressed, the hosts became more comfortable at both ends of the court and cruised to a 53-35 Senior Night triumph.

“Once we adjusted in the second half, we were fine,” Barnesville head coach Matt Johnson said. “When you lose 30 points and double-digit rebounds, it’s gonna take a while to get adjusted.”

Powell, a junior, was injured during the Shamrocks’ 80-65 victory at Caldwell last Friday. Johnson said it was determined Monday that his concussion symptoms would keep him out of Tuesday’s game.

In his stead, Johnson turned to two players honored prior to the game — Tate Dowler and Aaron Marovich. The duo scored 15 and 12 points, respectively, as the Shamrocks (10-7) rallied by outscoring Buckeye Local 30-10 in the second half.

“They came out and responded to the challenge,” said Panthers head coach Chris Heaton, whose squad led 25-23 at halftime. “I thought their kids responded well without (Powell) on the court. They had seniors step up. Hats off to them.”

Buckeye Local (1-15) used its size to its advantage in building a 25-20 second-quarter lead. Hunter Darrah scored five of his team-best eight points in the period. But when Evan Hudson drained a 3 at the buzzer to end the first half, that sparked the ‘Rocks.

“We got some good shots in the first half but they just weren’t falling,” Johnson said. “Hudson made a big shot at the end of the first half and made a big shot in the second half, too, to get us going.”

That shot — his second trey — made the score 33-26 with 1:50 left in the third quarter and capped a 10-1 run to begin the second half. After being able to get the ball inside almost at will early, Heaton said Barnesville tightened the screws during the final 16 minutes.

“They really honed in on help side and we weren’t able to get the ball into the big guys,” he said. “That’s one thing we’ll have to work on.”

After being held scoreless in the first quarter, Dowler and Marovich both came alive in the third, scoring four and three points, respectively. It was a low-scoring period for both teams, but the Panthers mustered just one field goal as Barnesville stretched its lead to 35-28.

In the fourth, Buckeye Local only registered two field goals. Barnesville did them just one better, but it went to the line 16 times, making 11. Dowler keyed the effort, scoring seven points.

“I thought he was big in the second half,” Johnson said. “He came out with a little more energy and distributed the ball a little bit more and kind of took charge of the offense.”

Powell’s status is up in the air, Johnson said. He knows, though, his team hits the road later this week with more work to do.

“We’ll be fine,” he said. “We just need to get back to work and get ready for Bridgeport on Friday and see where we’re gonna fall in the OVAC (standings).

“That’s a big thing for us. We want to get in that tournament. That’s big for what we’re trying to do in the future. We’re putting a lot of stock in that.”