The Chillicothe Hornets boys basketball team hosted Savannah as part of Jam the Gym Night on Friday. Both teams entered with winning records while Chillicothe was 1-1 in the MEC and Savannah was 2-0.
Chillicothe was clicking early, Turner Jackson drained a three pointer to close the first quarter and Chillicothe was ahead 14-7. The momentum changed when Jaishon White picked up his 2nd foul and exited the game with the Hornets ahead 16-9 in the 2nd quarter. Even though White returned just a few minutes later the Hornets could not regain their momentum and Savannah closed out the half to take an 18-16 lead.
Savannah led through the entire 3rd quarter, entering the final frame ahead 30-25 when Chillicothe hit a different gear. The Hornets used a 13-2 run to go ahead six points in the final three minutes. Jaishon White was unstoppable down low, scoring 19 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Chillicothe also received excellent contributions from their trio of starting freshman, Turner Jackson, Burke Beetsma and Deakan Delaney. Beetsma had a couple of steals late and both Beetsma and Delaney hit big fourth quarter threes. Savannah never got within a single possession following the Hornets blitz and Chillicothe pulled away for a 46-37 win.
Chillicothe jumps to 12-8 on the season and both teams are now 2-1 in the MEC. Chillicothe is on the road for another conference matchup against Lafayette on Tuesday.
Chillicothe 14 16 25 46
Savannah 7 18 30 37
Individual scoring:
Chillicothe – White 19, Beetsma 9, Jackson 8, Jack Marshall 7, Delaney 3
Savannah – Gash Miller 9, Kenton Dudeck 8, Aiden Knechtenhofer 7, Zyler Snapp 5, Jeremiah Rodgers 4, Dax Gauert 4