The Chillicothe Hornets and Macon Tigers were locked in a defensive battle throughout the night at Macon High School on Tuesday. Neither team scored more than twelve points in any quarter, and the largest lead of the night was Macon’s 7-0 start. Chillicothe slowly battled back to close the deficit to 21-20 at the break.
The Hornets claimed their first lead of the night with the opening bucket in the 3rd quarter. Chillicothe’s defense played the Macon ball screens very well, preventing the Tigers point guard Ryder Lewis from consistently driving towards the basket. Lewis finished the game with a team high 10 points, but Macon managed just two points in the entirety of the 3rd quarter.
Chillicothe was ahead 28-23 entering the 4th quarter, but that is when the Hornets offense hit a wall. Macon made it their focal point to prevent Jaishon White from getting clear looks. White was consistently double teamed, and often triple teamed when he touched the ball inside the three-point arc. Macon dared most of the Hornets perimeter players to take outside shots, which were not falling for Chillicothe. Each team only hit two threes in the game.
Chillicothe found themselves trailing 34-31 with under two minutes remaining after a series of Macon free throws. Chillicothe only allowed four made field goals in the entire 2nd half but early fourth quarter fouls pushed the Tigers into the bonus where they reclaimed the lead.
Jaishon White scored the first six points of the 4th quarter for Chillicothe including the tying free throw with just under a minute to play after the Hornets had forced a turnover and a missed shot in consecutive possessions to give themselves a chance. White’s 2nd free throw to put Chillicothe ahead was missed, but the offensive rebound was collected by freshman Deakan Delaney. After a timeout, Chillicothe put the ball in freshman Turner Jackson’s hands who used a high ball screen from Delaney to drive in and hit a runner from the right side of the lane with 2.1 seconds remaining. Macon’s desperation heave at the buzzer was well contested and the Hornets prevailed with a road win curtesy of the Jackson game winner.
White and Jackson were an excellent duo again, after each scoring 20+ on Friday, both players were back in double figures in this defensive battle. White scored a game high 15, while Jackson had 11 including the biggest shot of the night. Chillicothe’s 36-34 victory improves the Hornets to 3-3 on the season.
Chillicothe 9 20 28 36
Macon 12 21 23 34
Individual scoring:
Chillicothe – White 15, Jackson 11, Max Probasco 5, Jack Marshall 3, Deakan Delaney 2
Macon – Lewis 10, Talen Holman 9, Hagan Ritter 7, Cash Reid 5, Max Devenport 2, Evan Newland 1