The Chillicothe Hornets boys basketball team did not start the way they wanted to against Maryville in their final regular season game. The Midland Empire Conference rivalry matchup belonged to the host Spoofhounds early. Chillicothe was unable to get the offense jumpstarted in the first half, managing just 12 points. Maryville took a 27-12 advantage into the locker room.
Trying to overcome the 15 point deficit, the Hornets opened the 3rd quarter with an 8-0 run, however Maryville prevented Chillicothe from getting any closer by knocking in consecutive three pointers to push the lead back to 13. Maryville was on fire from long range all night, connecting on 10 from beyond the arc. The Hornets never were able to make another push for the lead until the final minutes, the closest Chillicothe got was 6, which ended up being the final margin at 57-51. Chillicothe’s leading scorer on the season Jaishon White struggled offensively, managing just 7 points, although Soljier Allen was able to provide a spark late, scoring 17 in the 2nd half and 19 for a game high, but not enough to pull off the come from behind victory.
Chillicothe is now 15-10, 3-4 in the conference. The Hornets received a first round bye in the Class 4 District 16 tournament as the #2 seed, so they will play either #3 Lafayette or #6 Cameron in the semifinal from Benton High School on Wednesday night.
Chillicothe 6 12 25 51
Maryville 14 27 38 57
Individual scoring:
Chillicothe – Allen 19, Kenyen Gannan 14, White 7, Langsten Johnson 4, Jaydin Kohl 3, Cooper Robinson 2, Logan Murrell 2
Maryville – Jackson Dredge 16, Carson Hageman 12, Jackson Wilmes 10, Lucas Vierthaler 7, Miles Poynter 5, Luke Allen 4, Colsen Freeman 3
