The Blue Lions came out hitting on all cylinders at Hatton Gymnasium, scoring 20 first quarter points and leading by double figures until Chillicothe made a late run.
Two sophomores led the first half Lion attack as 6’6” Tanner Lemaster and wing Traeton Johnson scored 30 first half points for WCH. Lemaster stepped out and nailed 5 threes in the early going. The Blue Lion big man was nearly unstoppable and wound up with 31 points on the night.
The Blue Lions led by 11 at half and by 14 at the end of three periods. Chillicothe would make some runs but could never get to single digits until the final quarter.
Chillicothe trailed by 16 when they went on an 11-0 run. Trapping, slapping, and transitioning got them going. Jaiden Cain hit four late threes, Mike Miller slashed for a couple buckets, and Max Lee was all over the court as the Cavaliers battled to within three points with less than a minute to play.
The Blue Lions were able to get some clutch free throws from freshman John Wall and Lemaster to hold off the Cavs. Lemaster led the way with his 31, while Johnson added 14. Wall chipped in 8 off the bench. WCH hit 11 threes in the game.
The Cavs hit 9 threes and had four players in double figures. Max Lee hit for 16, Cain hit five threes for 15, Miller added 13, and Mason Siberall came off the bench with 11.
Chillicothe played without their only senior Joel Barnes, who was ill. The Cavaliers fall to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in FAC play.
The Cavs, with a lot of games to make up, come right back Saturday night and host Miami Trace. You can hear the game on the home of the Cavs,1490 AM WBEX and 92.7 FM.