The Chillicothe Hornets earned the #3 seed in the Class 4 District 16 tournament, with the right to host #6 Cameron. Chillicothe had defeated the Dragons twice already this year, and needed a third win over their conference rival to keep the season alive.
Chillicothe’s sense of urgency was apparent right away. After Cameron scored the first points of the game, Chillicothe fired off a 22-0 run to go ahead 22-2 a minute into the 2nd quarter. The Hornets suffocating defense and dominance on the glass kept Cameron off the scoreboard for over 7 minutes during the run. Offensively, Chillicothe shot the ball well from behind the arc, Burke Beetsma and Jack Marshall each made a pair of threes in the first half and Turner Jackson added another for the Hornets who led 28-11 at the break.
The inside game was just as strong for Chillicothe, between Jaishon White and Max Probasco, the Dragons had no answer down low. White was unstoppable once again, finishing with a game high 15 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. Chillicothe quickly pushed the margin up to 25 in the 3rd quarter and Cameron could not mount a comeback attempt. Chillicothe claimed a comfortable 55-28 win to advance to the district semifinal.
Chillicothe improves to 17-9 on the season. The Hornets will face #2 Maryville in the 2nd semifinal from Benton on Thursday at 7:30.
Chillicothe 20 28 46 55
Cameron 2 11 19 28
Individual scoring:
Chillicothe – White 15, Beetsma 12, Marshall 8, Probasco 7, Jackson 5, Deakan Delaney 4, Josh Ojeaga 2, Kale Oliver 2
Cameron – Kaden Robinson 8, Grant Newsom 5, Elijah McCallan 3, Jake Feighert 3, Levi Reickard 3, Sage Burnett 2, Dillon Robinson 1, Cohen Vidal 1