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It was a match up of two excellent teams with 9 of 10 starters being returning seniors from last year. The talent didn’t disappoint and it was the big men from Chillicothe that were the difference as the Cavs scored 19 second chance points to gain the win, 65-49.
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Chillicothe out-rebounded the Pioneers 34-19 on the evening. Zane Trace got 23 points from their all state guard Cam Evans and 17 combined from perimeter players Colby Swain and sub Bryce Johnson. But the visitors got only 4 from interior players Triton Davidson and 2 from Nick Nesser, both of whom are coming off injuries.
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Meanwhile 6’8” Brandon Noel put up a double double with 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Cavaliers. Noel had two dunks that nearly brought down the roof of a packed Hatton Gymnasium.
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The other part of the Cavs’ terrific trio added double figures as Jayvon Maughmer scored 12 and Tre Beard notched 19.
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Chillicothe used two scoring spurts to gain control of the game. After ZT opened with a 7-2 lead, the Cavaliers went on a 16-2 run to lead 18-9 after a quarter.
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The Pioneers would not go away and started the second half by narrowing the lead to six. Chillicothe again went on a run, scoring 10 unanswered points to regain control.
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The Pioneers shot 18 of 43 for 42%, were 6 of 16 on threes, and shot 7 of 8 from the foul line for 88%.
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Chillicothe hit 26 of 45 shots for 58% but were only 4 of 16 on threes for 25%. The Cavs were 9 of 14 from the charity stripe.
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Cavs Coach Eric Huffer agreed that hitting the offensive glass was key but added that the Cavalier defense was also big forcing many tough shots by Zane Trace. “We watched last year’s film when ZT handled us at their place. We had that on our mind and felt we are much more physical this year.”
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Coach a Gary Kellough knew it was a tough match up and still feels his Pioneers will peak when they get a little healthier inside.
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The Cavs (9-1) are off till January 3rd when they travel to Alexander. The Pioneers are now (7-2).
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Zane Trace: Evans 23; Nesser 2; Swain 7; L Johnson 3; Davidson 4; B Johnson 10.
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Chillicothe: Beard 19; Maughmer 12; Noel 23; Roper 6; Smith 3; Taylor 2.
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