Blue Lions notch 10th win in a row

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The Washington Blue Lions stretched their winning streak to 10 in a row Friday with a 62-44 victory over the Chillicothe Cavaliers in SCOL action at Washington High School.

The Blue Lions are now 11-2 overall, 7-1 in the SCOL, standing in second place in the league behind Wilmington.

The Cavaliers fall to 5-8 overall, 5-3 in the SCOL.

Washington had three players reach double figures, led by junior Griffin Shaw with 18 points.

Senior Cameron Eckles had 15 points and senior Max Knisley scored 14.

Unofficially, Washington hit 24 field goals on 54 attempts for 44 percent.

The Blue Lions made 12 of 15 free throws for 80 percent and had 12 turnovers.

Chillicothe (again, unofficially) made 16 of 44 field goal attempts for 36 percent.

The Cavaliers went 7 of 14 from the free throw line for 50 percent and had nine turnovers.

Sophomore Simon Roderick led the Cavs with 12 points (hitting four three-point field goals).

Senior Kristian Boltenhouse and junior Seth Barnes each added nine points for Chillicothe.

The teams traded baskets in the early going, however, Washington continued to hit some shots in the second half of the first period to take a 20-12 lead.

Late in the second period, Washington was able to push its lead into double figures. At the break, the Blue Lions led the Cavs, 35-23.

The third quarter was low scoring for both teams. Washington won the frame, 9-8 to take a 44-31 lead with eight minutes to play.

Washington began the fourth quarter with a 7-2 run to extend the lead to 51-33.

The Cavaliers were able to get back to within as close as 12 points with just under three minutes remaining.

The Blue Lions outscored the Cavs 11-3 down the stretch to come away with the 62-44 victory.

“It helps having a lot of senior leadership out there,” Washington head coach Shannon Bartruff said. “Not only Max, but, C.J. Taylor and Cameron Eckles. I feel like those guys do a nice job of steadying the flow sometimes.

“We’ve seen a lot of different defenses this year,” Bartruff said. “They came out with some soft zone pressure, trying to slow us down. It took some possessions out of the game in the second half, but, I thought our kids did a nice job of being poised, passing the ball and taking what they gave us.

“I was pleased with the effort,” Bartruff said. “Defensively, I was pleased. I felt like our zone was pretty good in the second and third quarters.

“Max has been phenomenal,” Bartruff said. “Cameron Eckles has been phenomenal. I thought Kenny Upthegrove gave us some great minutes tonight.

“C.J. Taylor goes in and does the grunt work,” Bartruff said. “Kory Proby guarded well and rebounded the ball well. Griff had a couple of blocks tonight; he shot the ball pretty well, finding some open spots on the baseline and finished well.”

“That’s a great team,” Chillicothe head coach Eric Huffer said of the Blue Lions. “They are very well coached. They did a very good job of making us take tough, contested shots. I don’t know how many threes and lay-ups we missed tonight. I’m sure it was a lot.

“We’ve got to keep pressing on,” Huffer said. “Keep working at it.”

Chillicothe hosts Upper Arlington Saturday and McClain on Tuesday.

The Blue Lions are off Saturday and return to SCOL play Tuesday at East Clinton.

The McClain Tigers come to town next Friday night.

Elsewhere around the SCOL Friday, Miami Trace beat Clinton-Massie, 52-42; Hillsboro defeated East Clinton, 58-46 and Wilmington beat McClain, 56-21.

Wilmington sits atop the SCOL at 8-0, followed by the Blue Lions at 7-1. Washington will play at Wilmington on Thursday, Feb. 11.

Chillicothe is third in the league at 5-3, with Miami Trace in fourth place at 4-3.

Hillsboro is in fifth place at 3-5, with Clinton-Massie in sixth at 2-5, followed by McClain at 2-6 and East Clinton at 0-8.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

W 20 15 9 18 — 62

C 12 11 8 13 — 44

WASHINGTON — Max Knisley 4 (1)-3-14; Jarett Patton 1-0-2; Evan Upthegrove 0-0-0; Kory Proby 1-3-5; Ryan Flora 0-0-0; C.J. Taylor 1-2-4; Kenny Upthegrove 1-2-4; Griffin Shaw 7 (1)-1-18; Cameron Eckles 7-1-15; Richard Burns Jr. 0-0-0; Jacob Knisley 0-0-0; Blaise Tayese 0-0-0. TOTALS — 22 (2)-12-62. Free throw shooting: 12 of 15 for 80 percent. Three-point field goals: Knisley, Shaw. Combined field goal shooting: 24 of 54 for 44 percent. Turnovers: 12.

CHILLICOTHE — Brandon Maughmer 2-0-4; William Roderick 2-0-4; Simon Roderick 0 (4)-0-12; Matthew Benson 0-0-0; Seth Barnes 3 (1)-0-9; Nathan Rosenbauer 2-2-6; Kristian Boltenhouse 2-5-9. TOTALS — 11 (5)-7-44. Free throw shooting: 7 of 14 for 50 percent. Combined field goal shooting: 16 of 44 for 36 percent. Turnovers: 9.

Blue Lion j-v squad beats Chillicothe

In the j-v game Friday night, the Blue Lions defeated the Cavaliers, 39-35.

Washington’s Evan Upthegrove was the game’s leading scorer with 13 points.

Richard Burns Jr. and Blaise Tayese each scored nine points.

Tre’ Brown led the Cavs with 10 points. Tanner Easter was next with eight points.

Washington is now 10-1 overall, 7-1 in the SCOL.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

W 6 10 11 12 — 39

C 8 5 9 13 — 35

WASHINGTON — Elijah Ruth 0-0-0; Evan Upthegrove 4 (1)-2-13; Jordan Behm 3-1-7; Austin Bailey 0-0-0; Nicholas Barrett 0-0-0; Jalen Pettiford 0-0-0; Richard Burns Jr. 4-1-9; Kenny Arboleda 0-1-1; Blaise Tayese 4-1-9. TOTALS — 15 (1)-6-39. Free throw shooting: 6 of 12 for 50 percent. Three-point field goal: Upthegrove.

CHILLICOTHE — Tanner Easter 3-2-8; Jalen Jordan 0-2-2; Khaleel Danzy 2-0-4; Matthew Detty 0 (1)-0-3; Zach Coats 1-3-5; Darius Lawson 0-0-0; J. Benson 1-1-3; Tre’ Brown 5-0-10; Adrian Beverly 0-0-0. TOTALS — 12 (1)-8-35. Free throw shooting: 8 of 15 for 53 percent. Three-point field goal: Detty.

Washington Blue Lion junior Kenny Upthegrove (11) takes the ball to the basket during an SCOL game against the Chillicothe Cavaliers Friday, Jan. 15, 2016. Also pictured for the Blue Lions are Cameron Eckles (right) and Jarett Patton (back, left).
http://www.recordherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2016/01/web1_KennyUpthegrovevsChillicothe1152016.jpgWashington Blue Lion junior Kenny Upthegrove (11) takes the ball to the basket during an SCOL game against the Chillicothe Cavaliers Friday, Jan. 15, 2016. Also pictured for the Blue Lions are Cameron Eckles (right) and Jarett Patton (back, left). Chris Hoppes | Record-Herald
Beat Chillicothe, 62-44

By Chris Hoppes

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

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