The Chillicothe Hornets boys basketball team was matched up against Smithville in the opening round of the Savannah Tournament Monday night. The Hornets and the Warriors battled in this bracket last season, with Chillicothe winning 33-31. Sometimes history has a funny way of repeating itself.
Both teams started slowly offensively but it was Chillicothe with an 11-8 lead after one. The Hornets used a 16-0 run to go from down 3 to ahead by a score of 21-8 spurred by barrage of triples from Cooper Robinson, Kenyan Gannan and Sol’jier Allen. Smithville closed the deficit to 10 at halftime 26-16.
Smithville controlled the 3rd quarter, climbing all the way back to tie the game behind junior guard AJ Mason who finished with a game high 19 points. Chillicothe struggled to take care of the basketball committing 19 turnovers, leading to the two teams entering the final frame all square at 35-35.
The Hornets defense tightened back up in the 4th quarter allowing just 6 points which was crucial because Chillicothe only made one field goal in the 4th quarter, when Jaishon White found Gannan for a floater in the lane to tie the game up inside the final 2 minutes. The Hornets got the ball back still knotted up with a minute to play. Coach Tim Cool called a timeout and instructed his team to be poised and patient in holding for the final shot. Against the pressure of the Smithville defense Chillicothe waited until the final 10 seconds to attack when Allen drove baseline and was fouled with 8.2 seconds left, sending him to the free throw line. With the score tied 41-41, Sol’jier Allen stepped up to the line and calmly knocked down both shots. The Warriors pushed the ball quickly down the court when Langston Johnson switched onto Smithville’s star Mason. Johnson’s defense and contest in the lane resulted in Mason’s game tying attempt coming up short. Jaishon White secured the rebound as time expired to preserve the win for Chillicothe. White was a major factor on both ends finishing with a team high 13 points and 13 rebounds as Chillicothe prevailed 43-41.
The Hornets win improves their record to 1-1 and sends them into the Savannah Tournament semifinal Wednesday at 5:30 against Kearney.
Chillicothe 11 26 35 43
Smithville 8 16 35 41
Individual scoring:
Chillicothe – White 13, Allen 9, Gannan 9, Robinson 5, Johnson 4, Ashton Baker 2, Howie Donoho 1
Smithville – Mason 19, Tanner Billings 8, Jeremiah Bloemker 5, Cooper Williams 4, Aidan Larson 2, Braden Turner 2, Lawson Mast 1
