Blue Lion sophomore Noah Haithcock (10) pushes the ball in transition during the first half of the game against Chillicothe on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. Also pictured for Washington is senior Isaiah Haithcock (30). The duo combined for 20 rebounds on the evening, helping lead their team to a 59-36 victory.
Photo by Christy Wall
CHILLICOTHE — The Washington Blue Lion basketball team (1-0) began their attempt at repeating as Frontier Athletic Conference on Friday as they traveled to take on the Chillicothe Cavaliers (0-2) in their first FAC contest of the 2023-24 season.
The Blue Lions would force 17 turnovers and hold the Cavaliers to under 40 points on their way to a 59-36 road victory.
Washington held a narrow 12-10 lead going into the second quarter of play.
The Blue Lions jumped out to a 25-12 lead over the course of the second period, thanks to a basket from senior Garrett Rickman, two free throws from junior Will Miller, a layup from senior Isaiah Haithcock, a three from Miller, two free throws from senior John Wall, and a free throw from Miller. The Cavaliers would add a late bucket to make it 25-14 at the intermission.
Washington began the second half on a 6-0 run with a layup from John and a three from Isaiah.
They later would extend the lead to 19 points on a three from Rickman.
Late in the third quarter, sophomore Noah Haithcock recorded a steal and found Rickman for a layup to push the lead to 20, 39-19. Washington was in control with a 43-25 lead going into the final period.
Chillicothe got to within 13 points with around five minutes to go in the game, but the Blue Lions were able to pull away with three-pointers from Miller and Wall down the stretch. Layups by Roman Chijevsky and Isaiah Haithcock rounded out the scoring on the evening as they took down the Cavaliers.
Washington head coach Shannon Bartruff gave some comments following the victory.
“We did not have a good week of practice, so I was worried about this game. Chillicothe is young and a dangerous team that has nice pieces. We started slow, but our defense was solid all night. I felt like we guarded the ball really well, we were in good help, got deflections, and other than the first couple of minutes we rebounded well. Any road win is a good win. I’m happy for our guys, but we still have a long way to go to be more consistent.”
Statistically for the Blue Lions, John Wall led the scoring with 15 points, including 10 points from the free throw line. He added seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and one block.
Isaiah Haithcock recorded his second double-double of the season in as many games as he finished the night with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Haithcock also recorded two steals and blocked one shot.
Garrett Rickman was next in scoring with 13 points, along with two rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Will Miller followed with 12 points and tallied four rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Noah Haithcock chipped in four points and secured eight rebounds, with three steals and two blocks.
Roman Chijevsky rounded out the scoring with two points, and he also secured a rebound.
Gage Merritt added an offensive rebound to the teams total.
Washington (2-0, 1-0 in the FAC) has another conference contest on Tuesday, Dec. 12, their home-opener against the Jackson Ironmen (1-2, 1-1 in the FAC).
Chillicothe (0-3, 0-2 in the FAC) returns to action on Tuesday at home against McClain (1-2, 0-2 in the FAC).
SCORE BY QUARTERS
C 10 4 11 11 — 36
W 12 13 18 16 — 59
WASHINGTON — Garrett Rickman 5 (1)-13-; John Wall 1 (1)-10-15; Will Miller 2 (2)-2-12; Noah Haithcock 2-0-4; Gage Merritt 0-0-0; Roman Chijevsky 1-0-2; Isaiah Haithcock 5 (1)-0-13. TOTALS — 16 (5)-12-59. Free throw shooting: 12 of 18 for 67 percent. Field goal percentage: 21 of 64 for 33 percent. Three-point field goal percentage: 5 of 20 for 25 percent. Three-point field goals: Miller 2, Rickman, I. Haithcock. Turnovers: 7. Rebounds: 34 (9 offensive). Steals 12. Assists 12. Blocks 4.
CHILLICOTHE —Juan Miller 2 (1)-1-8; Caden Eblin 0-0-0; J. McNeal 0-0-0; Dom Barron 1-1-3; Cooper Stoneking 1-2-4; Andrew Hamman 0 (1)-0-3; Cam Badger 1-0-2; Caden Cox 4-4-12; Daniel Scissum 2-0-4. TOTALS — 11 (2)-8-36. Free throw shooting: 8 of 10 for 80 percent. Three-point field goals: Miller, Hamman. Turnovers: 15.
Washington j-v defeats Cavaliers
In the j-v contest, Washington prevailed by a score of 44-34.
Statistically for the Blue Lions, Javin Baker and Cooper Robertson led the way with 14 points each, followed by Jeston Everhart with five, Bryson Heath with four, Aden Osborne with three, and Jordan Lamb and Miguel Utrera with two.
