Jaishon White Dominates But Hornets Come Up Short

The Chillicothe Hornets were looking to get above .500 against Centralia Friday night following a pair of victories.

Centralia posed a challenge early as Chillicothe struggled offensively in the first half. The Panthers opened up a 24-13 lead at the break behind freshman Oliver Bohlmeyer who finished with a team high 22 points.

Chillicothe was trailing by 15 in the 3rd quarter when senior Jaishon White began to take over. White powered to the rim on nearly every possession, scoring 23 consecutive points for Chillicothe to open the 2nd half, willing his team back into the game. The Hornets gradually closed the gap and entered the 4th quarter trailing by 9.

Chillicothe continued their run cutting the margin down to three in the final few minutes. Down by 1 with just a handful of seconds left, White drove to the rim and was fouled. He split the pair of free throws to even the score at 40-40 with just 4.9 seconds left. Even though White was the only Hornets player to score from the field in the 2nd half Chillicothe erased a 15 point deficit to send the game into overtime, fouling out both interior players for Centralia in the process.

In overtime, Centralia found a 2nd gear, immediately regaining the lead and going up by 7 when White picked up his five foul exited the game with 32 points, and 27 of those coming after halftime. With their star on the bench, Chillicothe was unable to make the comeback a second time, falling 54-47.

The Hornets valiant effort was thwarted by Centralia as Chillicothe falls to 3-4 on the season. Chillicothe will be back in action Monday in the NCMC Holiday Hoops.

Chillicothe 6 13 23 40 47

Centralia 7 24 32 40 54

Individual scoring:

Chillicothe – White 32, Turner Jackson 6, Burke Beetsma 5, Max Probasco 4

Centralia – Bohlmeyer 22, Ethan Ross 12, Chase Kempker 6, Elliot McCoy 4, Anthony Ford 3, Anthony Young 2, Chase Chancellor 2, Cal Romine 1