The Chillicothe Hornets boys basketball team traveled to Savannah Friday night coming off the dramatic buzzer beating win against Kauffman, but while at 12-8 on the year, were still looking for their first conference victory at 0-3 in the MEC.
The Hornets survived the early push from Savannah who jumped out to a 9-3 lead, encouraged by the electric home crowd. Chillicothe’s Ashton Baker came off the bench to score the final four points of the quarter making the margin just two for the Savages. The Hornets offense then came alive in the 2nd quarter courtesy of the usual suspects Jaishon White and Soljier Allen, the two combined for 15 points in the quarter and Chillicothe went from down 6 in the first to up 6 in the 2nd before Savannah closed out the half with a three cutting the Hornets lead to 25-22.
The two teams traded punches throughout much of the 2nd half, the Hornets maintained the lead but could not put Savannah away. Allen had an exceptional night, scoring 21 points including five three-pointers, and White dominated down low on both ends, finishing with 15 points and a double double. Savannah was a tough customer, after entering the 4th quarter still trailing by three, then going down 6, the Savages ripped off five straight, tightening the score to 39-38 Chillicothe. With the game hanging in the balance, senior point guard Kenyen Gannan chose the perfect time to make his only field goal of the night, knocking in a left wing three to put Chillicothe ahead by 4. The Hornets, spurred by that shot, closed the game on an 11-0 run, shutting the door on the Savages and winning going away at 50-38.
Chillicothe earned their first conference win of the season, the Hornets are now 1-3 in MEC play, and 13-8 overall. Chillicothe will host Lafayette on Tuesday in another conference matchup.
Chillicothe 7 25 34 50
Savannah 9 22 31 38
Individual scoring:
Chillicothe – Allen 21, White 15, Gannan 5, Langsten Johnson 5, Baker 4
Savannah – Jaiden Martinez 11, Aiden Knechtenhofer 8, Zyler Snapp 7, Jackson Dudeck 6, Gash Miller 6
