The Chillicothe Hornets entered their home game on Tuesday night against conference foe St. Pius riding a six game win streak. There was excitement early, in the confines of the Chillicothe High School gym as the 11-3 boys basketball team was able to celebrate their player’s mothers with the annual Mom’s Night tradition. The excitement continued through the first half as the Hornets never trailed while Jaishon White was establishing his dominance in the paint. The sophomore scored 12 first half points, all coming under the basket. Chillicothe held a 24-18 advantage at half.
The air came out of the gym however early in the 3rd quarter when Sol’jier Allen suffered a knee injury and had to be helped off the court. St. Pius capitalized by tying the game up, but the Hornets did not waiver, with the game tied, Jackson Trout converted two free throws to retake the lead and the Hornets remained ahead the rest of the way. Later in the quarter, in Allen’s absence, Kenyen Gannan knocked in a big three pointer and Chillicothe took a six point lead into the 4th.
Chillicothe built a 14 point advantage in the 4th quarter before St. Pius made a late run in the final minutes and the game ended with a final score of 53-45 Hornets. Chillicothe improves to 12-3 on the season and 2-0 in the MEC. St. Pius falls to 6-10 and 0-2 in conference play. The Hornets will play another MEC game Friday night at St. Joe Benton.
Chillicothe 14 24 40 53
St. Pius X 13 18 34 45
Individual scoring:
Chillicothe – White 17, Trout 10, James Mathew 8, Allen 7, Gannan 6, Langsten Johnson 4, Alijah Hibner 1
St. Pius X – Miles Winders 14, Grant Redd 10, Vinny Ross 6, Tommy Hutsler 5, Jesse Lee 5, Logan Ewing 3, Matthew Schmitz 2
