The Chillicothe Hornets boys basketball team played their first MEC game of the season on the road at Bishop LeBlond on Thursday. Chillicothe entered the game 6-5 on a two game winning streak with both victories coming on the same floor they where they were playing again Thursday.
Chillicothe got Jaishon White involved early, as the forward contributed 10 first half points. Chillicothe built up a 9 point lead in the 2nd quarter behind White and four first half threes, but LeBlond made a late push to end the half including a banked in shot from well behind the arc at the buzzer to go into the locker with a 22-19 Chillicothe advantage.
To open the 3rd quarter the Hornets defense continued to improve, allowing just one 3rd quarter field goal. The Hornets held a 31-22 lead going into the 4th and scored the first bucket of the final frame to open up their largest lead of the game at 11 early in the 4th. That’s when Bishop LeBlond made their biggest run of the game, scoring 9 straight to trim the margin down to two. With White on the bench after committing his fourth foul, Max Probasco stepped up with a big bucket inside to give Chillicothe a bit more breathing room. Probasco had a big 2nd half, scoring all 7 of his points after the break. Chillicothe capitalized at the free throw line late to hold off the Golden Eagles comeback attempt, winning 40-34.
Chillicothe improves to 7-5 on the season with the win and is now 1-0 in conference play. The Hornets will head to Lathrop for their next contest on Monday.
Chillicothe 10 22 31 40
LeBlond 6 19 22 34
Individual scoring:
Chillicothe – White 19, Probasco 7, Burke Beetsma 6, Oliver Perry 4, Jack Marshall 3, Deakan Delaney 1
LeBlond – Ethan Nguyen 12, Walter Meierhoffer 8, Landyn Woolery 5, Satchel Studer 3, Cole Sigrest 2, Jensen Nash 2, Jerrick Dudley 2