Good shooting night for WHS

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The Washington Blue Lions welcomed the Circleville Tigers to town Tuesday for a non-league match-up.

The Blue Lions came away with the win, 77-59.

Washington (now 6-6 overall) had four players in double figures, led by senior Jarett Patton, who topped the scoring column on both sides with 22 points. He hit two of the Blue Lions’ eight three-pointers.

Senior Griffin Shaw scored 12 points, including two three-point baskets.

Seniors Kenny Upthegrove and Kory Proby both had 10 points.

Junior Evan Upthegrove hit three threes for nine points and sophomore Dillon Steward scored nine.

For the Tigers (now 4-8 overall), sophomore Jay Styers led the way with 20 points. He hit four of the Tigers’ nine three-point buckets.

Junior Jacob Rhymer had 13 points, including three three-pointers.

Washington began the game with a 13-2 scoring surge.

At the end of the first quarter, the Blue Lions led the Tigers, 18-8.

The second quarter saw more balanced scoring, as the Blue Lions tallied 16 points to 15 for Circleville.

At the half, Washington was in front, 34-23.

The third quarter was another lopsided one in favor of the Blue Lions. Washington outscored Circleville, 24-14 in the third to take a 58-37 lead.

Circleville edged Washington in the fourth quarter, but only by two points, 22-20 for the final, 77-59.

The Blue Lions enjoyed a fine shooting night, going 28 of 50 from the field for 56 percent.

“I felt like our shots were high-percentage shots,” Washington head coach Shannon Bartruff said. “Even when we were shooting threes, we were making extra passes to get good, open looks.

“You want to get a lead, but, sometimes it’s really hard to play with a lead,” Bartruff said. “Sometimes kids get tentative and all the aggression that got you the lead, now, you’re kind of working against that.

“They got our lead down to 10 or 12, but then we did a good job of getting stops, getting rebounds, then we got some easy run-outs,” Bartruff said. “Everybody got to play tonight. Our kids’ energy was good.

“When we spread the floor and get guys attacking and we have three or four guys on the floor in any given lineup that can shoot it, we’re hard to guard,” Bartruff said. “Transition was really good tonight, too. Our defense in the first half was pretty solid. They have guys that can shoot. Coach Cassidy does a good job of flaring and then they screen the backside, as well.

“Our pressure, I felt, bothered them,” Bartruff said. “We turned them over a little bit and got some easy buckets.”

“It seems like the same story, just a different night,” Circleville head coach Tyler Cassidy said. “In the first quarter, for the last week or two, it seems like we’ve really struggled to get off to good starts.

“Tonight, we got outscored, 18-8 in the first quarter,” Cassidy said. “It was a similar situation against Fairfield Union (the Tigers’ previous game) we got outscored, 17-6 in the first quarter. That’s something that we talk to our guys about, about being prepared and ready to play at the tip.

“It just seems like our energy level and our passion for the game isn’t there, for whatever reason, to start off the game,” Cassidy said. “We just didn’t have good execution on defense. We moved our feet back to the three-point line to not allow people to penetrate and they continued to go by us.

“It’s just a matter of want to, and fundamentally getting better at the defensive end,” Cassidy said. “Right now, our footwork is not very good and our communication in transition, we have to start talking better to get matched up in the first place. Once we do get beat off penetration, we have to do a better job of rotating, not just to spots, but to their guys.

“Offensively, we scored 59 points, but we missed 12 lay-ups,” Cassidy said. “We also had 17 turnovers. Some of those did turn into points to get them to 77, but, then we also had numerous times when it was a 10-point game and we were going on a fast-break and we would miss a transition lay-up and that would get them back into transition lay-up or a three-ball on their end.

“Our biggest thing is communication,” Cassidy said. “I told our guys we really have to do a better job of communicating, especially on the defensive end.”

The Blue Lions are back in SCOL action Friday at Chillicothe with the j-v game at 6 p.m.

The Tigers return to action Friday against Bexley in the Wellington School Tournament at 8 p.m.

Wishing him well

“Coach (Keith) Eckles is having a little operation (Wednesday) morning,” Coach Shannon Bartruff said. “I want him to know he’ll be in our thoughts and prayers. He’s having a knee replaced.”

SCORE BY QUARTERS

W 18 16 24 20 — 77

C 8 15 14 22 — 59

WASHINGTON — Dillon Steward 3-3-9; Jarett Patton 4 (2)-8-22; Evan Upthegrove 0 (3)-0-9; Ross Matthews 0 (1)-0-3; Kory Proby 5-0-10; Kenny Upthegrove 4-2-10; Eli Lynch 0-0-0; Griffin Shaw 3 (2)-0-12; Blaise Tayese 0-0-0; Richard Burns Jr. 1-0-2. TOTALS — 20 (8)-13-77. Free throw shooting: 13 of 15 for 87 percent. Three-point field goals: E. Upthegrove, 3; Patton, 2; Shaw, 2; Matthews. Field goal shooting: 28 of 50 for 56 percent. Rebounds: 27 (8 offensive). Turnovers: 14. Steals: 7.

CIRCLEVILLE — Shaun Porter 0-0-0; Brandon Burroughs 1-2-4; Dalton Lynn 0 (1)-0-3; Kaleb Spangler 0-0-0; Colin Snyder 0-2-2; Cameron Banks2-2-6; Jordan Taylor 1 (1)-0-5; Jacob Rhymer 1 (3)-2-13; Rickey Clifton 1-0-2; Seth Risner 2-0-4; Jay Styers 3 (4)-2-20. TOTALS — 11 (9)-10-59. Free throw shooting: 10 of 13 for 77 percent. Three-point field goals: Styers, 4; Rhymer, 3; Lynn, Taylor. Turnovers: 17.

Washington senior Griffin Shaw (13) takes the ball to the basket against the Circleville Tigers Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017. Defenders for Circleville are Kaleb Spangler (13) and Jay Styers (50).
http://www.recordherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2017/01/web1_Griffin-Shaw-vs-Circleville-1-17-17-1.jpgWashington senior Griffin Shaw (13) takes the ball to the basket against the Circleville Tigers Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017. Defenders for Circleville are Kaleb Spangler (13) and Jay Styers (50). Photo by Mary Kay West
Blue Lions beat Tigers, 77-59

By Chris Hoppes

[email protected]

Reach Chris Hoppes at 740-335-3611, ext. 1104, or on Twitter @choppes1

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