Coach Tim Cool and the Chillicothe Hornets basketball team faced a tall order to open the season Tuesday night. Chillicothe welcomed in Winnetonka who was a Final 4 team in Class 5 last season.
The Hornets scored the first three points of the game courtesy of Jaishon White but then Winnetonka went on a 10-0 run to take an early advantage. The Hornets struggled initially to play composed at the pace the Griffons were pushing the game towards. At the end of the first quarter Winnetonka was ahead 24-15. Chillicothe used a run of their own to score 10 unanswered which made the score 24-21 midway through the 2nd quarter. Soljier Allen had two first half triples and the Hornets were hanging around at the half trailing 39-28.
The game was very physical throughout, Winnetonka committed at least five fouls every quarter, sending Chillicothe to the free throw line 26 times, but the Hornets struggled to convert from the stripe, making just 10 foul shots. The Griffins led by double figures the majority of the 2nd half, extending the advantage out to 15 at its largest. However Chillicothe hung tough, behind the scoring duo of Allen and White who both had over 15 points in the game. The Hornets cut the deficit to 9 at 60-51 with just under 5 minutes to go. Winnetonka would not let Chillicothe get any closer however, with four different players in double figures headlined by Jaylen Craig who hit four three pointers as Winnetonka won 67-55.
Chillicothe 15 28 43 55
Winnetonka 24 39 55 67
Individual scoring:
Winnetonka – Craig 17, Darieon Carter 12, Malik McGinnis 11, Sullivan Thurman 11, DJ Coleman 7, Hunter Harlan 6, John Wyatt 3
Chillicothe – Allen 19, White 16, Langston Johnson 8, Kenyen Gannon 7, Cooper Robinson 3, Oliver Perry 1, Ashton Baker 1
