CHILLICOTHE — The Washington Blue Lions knew the challenge that awaited them when they traveled to Chillicothe High School Tuesday night for a Frontier Athletic Conference battle with the Cavaliers.
The Blue Lions trailed by just four points with 5:25 to play in the third quarter.
From about that point forward, however, the Cavaliers were able to pull away for a 67-48 victory.
Senior Branden Maughmer led the game for the Cavs with 21 points.
Senior Simon Roderick scored 14 and sophomore Jayvon Maughmer added 10 for Chillicothe.
Junior Evan Upthegrove led Washington with 14 points.
Fellow junior Blaise Tayese scored 13 and junior Ross Matthews Jr. scored eight.
“In the first half, really the first four or five minutes of the third quarter, I didn’t think we were playing with passion and intensity,” Chillicothe head coach Eric Huffer said. “We were just kind of going through the motions. When they got within four, we called that time out and it was just a challenge to our guys. I know how great they can be when they just find that next gear and constantly stay in it.
“That was really the challenge and I thought they accepted it,” Huffer said. “That is something I should not have to say. That should always be a given. I thought we responded well.
“It takes a while to get a motion offense going,” Huffer said. “Just getting back in the flow of everything.”
“They’re a tough guard,” Washington head coach Shannon Bartruff said. “You can’t really go zone. They have some good shooters that spread the floor; they have guys who can attack the glass and finish and they have good size and length to guard you.
“I felt like their halfcourt defense was pretty solid,” Bartruff said. “They didn’t give us a lot in transition, either. Our transition defense, especially in the first half, wasn’t very good. And that caused us some problems, because we gave them probably 10 or 12 easy points and we’re down nine at the half.
“Then, we made a couple of stops in the third quarter and made a couple of shots,” Bartruff said. “They called time out and then they kind of ran away from us after that.
“We’ve just got to get better,” Bartruff said. “I felt like we did a few things better at times. I felt like we rebounded a little bit better at times. We did a better job of guarding the ball and giving help at times. The problem is, though, when they beat one guy and they draw the help, they have three or four kids standing around the perimeter that can shoot the ball.
“They are a nice team,” Bartruff said. “We played in spurts, but our effort wasn’t there consistently tonight against a team the calibre of Chillicothe.”
There were three lead changes in the first quarter, the Cavaliers emerging with a 19-15 lead.
Chillicothe expanded its lead over the next eight minutes of play, taking a 34-25 lead into the locker room.
After a couple of early buckets for the Blue Lions, the visitors found themselves right on the cusp of catching up with the Cavaliers.
An 11-2 run by Chillicothe set the home team up with a 10 point lead.
After three quarters of play, the Cavs led the Blue Lions, 50-39.
The teams traded threes in the first couple of minutes of the fourth quarter.
Soon, however, Chillicothe began to distance themselves from Washington, pushing the advantage to as many as 23 points before a late three by Blue Lion sophomore Trevor Rarick set the final tally at 67-48, Cavaliers.
The Blue Lions (1-2 overall, 1-1 in the FAC) are back in action Friday at home hosting Jackson. The j-v game tips at 6 p.m.
Chillicothe (now 3-0 overall, 2-0 in the FAC) will host the McClain Tigers Friday evening.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
W 15 10 14 9 — 48
C 19 15 16 17 — 67
WASHINGTON — Eli Lynch 0-0-0; Dillon Steward 2-2-6; Evan Upthegrove 2 (3)-1-14; Ross Matthews Jr. 1 (2)-0-8; Garitt Leisure 2-0-4; Blaise Tayese 5 (1)-0-13; Trevor Rarick 0 (1)-0-3. TOTALS —12 (7)-3-48. Free throw shooting: 3 of 5 for 60 percent. Turnovers: 9. Three-point field goals: Upthegrove, 3; Matthews Jr., 2; Tayese, Rarick. Field goal shooting: 19 of 52 for 37 percent.
CHILLICOTHE — Branden Maugher 7 (2)-1-21; Tre Beard 0 (1)-0-3; Jalen Jordan 0 (1)-0-3; Will Roderick 1-0-2; Jayvon Maughmer 0 (3)-1-10; Simon Roderick 4 (2)-0-14; Jason Benson 3-0-6; Darius Lawson 0-0-0; Brandon Noel 2 (1)-1-8. TOTALS — 16 (10)-3-67. Free throw shooting: 3 of 5 for 60 percent. Three-point field goals: J. Maughmer, 3; B. Maughmer, 2; S. Roderick, 2; Beard, Jordan, Noel. Turnovers: 7. Field goal shooting: 26 of 56 for 46 percent.
