The 16-4 Chillicothe Hornets basketball team was coming off a 6 point victory over Lafayette and had another dramatic finish Thursday night against the 14-7 Kirksville Tigers. Kirksville began the game by scorching the nets, hitting 6 first quarter triples. The Tigers raced out to a double digit lead in the first half and were ahead by 8 at halftime.
Chillicothe was energized to begin the 2nd half, anchored by Jaishon White who scored 10 3rd quarter points and a team high 19 for the game, the Hornets outscored Kirksville 19-8 in that frame to take a lead into the 4th. Chillicothe held a 6 point 4th quarter advantage, but Kirksville executed a 4 point play from Cole Kelly, coupled with some Hornets free throw misses and turnovers, the Tigers tied the game up at 59-59 with 9 seconds to go on a contested shot in the paint by Gavin Pike. Both teams had shots to win the game in the final 10 seconds but neither side converted and the game went to overtime.
In overtime, Alijah Hibner regained the momentum for the Hornets scoring the first four points of the period, and unlikely hero Jack Marshall went a perfect 4/4 at the line in overtime to ice the game for Chillicothe in the 70-65 win. It was a total team effort as all five Hornets starters scored in double figures.
Coach Tim Cool and the Hornets are now 2-1 in overtime games this season and 17-4 on the year. Chillicothe will play at Marshall on Friday night.
Chillicothe 14 28 47 59 70
Kirksville 22 36 44 59 65
Individual scoring:
Chillicothe – White 19, Hibner 15, James Mathew 13, Marshall 12, Jackson Trout 11
Kirksville – Cole Kelly 23, Pike 15, Justin McKim 13, Carson Kelly 8, Kyle White 6
