Chillicothe dismantles Jackson, moves onto district
CHILLICOTHE - If Friday night was any indication, Chillicothe has a long tournament run ahead of it.
The Cavaliers (15-8) started a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor and rode that wave of momentum all the way to a resounding 69-29 victory over Jackson (9-14) in a Division II Sectional Final.
“Our guys executed the game plan really well,” Chillicothe coach Eric Huffer said. “We started out on fire. We were playing really hard and with a lot of confidence. Jordan Johnson has been playing really well. He didn’t score much against Unioto and Wilmington but he came out tonight and shot phenomenally. He’s been doing all the little things right in the past two weeks and he was rewarded tonight.”
Hunter Coffland got Chillicothe on the board with a lay-in. Branden Maughmer and Seth Barnes each followed with baskets before Jordan Johnson swished a 3 for a 9-3 lead before closing out with a 15-7 advantage.
The Cavaliers kicked things up a few notches and simply overwhelmed the Ironmen.
Maughmer scored from deep, followed by baskets from Simon Roderick and Barnes for a 7-0 run and a 22-7 lead.
That 7-0 run was pushed all the way to 14-0, capped by a steal and basket from Roderick, pushing the score to 29-7 with 4:09 left.
The Cavs extend their lead to 40-11 at the break after shooting a red-hot 15-of-20 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from downtown in the first half.
“That was all defense,” Huffer said. “We were able to get some easy buckets in transition off turnovers. And when that happens it calms our nerves, allows us to relax and flow in our offense. There were times we turned down good shot for great shots and I’m really proud of how this team has came along from starting the season 3-5 to winning 12 of our last 15 games.”
The Cavaliers put everything in cruise control in the second half as they led 54-16 after the third quarter.
“It means a lot to cut the nets down for a sectional title,” Johnson said. “Especially with me being a senior, it’s a great feeling. But these aren’t the only nets we want. Hopefully we can cut down those nets at the Convo in a couple weeks, but it’s one game at a time.”
Johnson led all scorers with 20 points. Barnes followed with 10 points and three assists, Coffland finished with 10 points and Maughmer had nine points, seven rebounds and dished out three dimes.
Payton Speakman led Jackson with seven points and four rebounds with Caleb Wallis and Cooper Donaldson each had six points.
Chillicothe now eyes the Convocation Center in Athens for district action as they’ll face the winner between Fairfield Union and Meigs at 8 p.m. Thursday.
“We have to continue coming to practice and working out butts off,” Coffland said. “I thought our past two weeks of practice have been nothing but max effort. I feel we can make a nice run in the tournament if we keep pushing the ball up the floor and continue playing the way we have been.”
Stat Book
Jackson: 7-4-5-13 - 29
Chillicothe: 15-25-14-15 - 69
Jackson: 11 FG, 6-12 FT, 1 3pt. (Walls 1). Scoring: Speakman 7, Donaldson 6, Walls 6, Farley 4, Humphreys 2, Spohn 2, Graham 2.
Chillicothe: 27 FG, 7-11 FT, 8 3pt. (Johnson 6). Scoring: Johnson 20, Barnes 10, Coffland 10, B. Maughmer 9, S. Roderick 4, W. Roderick 4, Beard 3, Easter 2, Danzy 2, J. Maughmer 2, Detty 1.