Chillicothe Coach Eric Huffer wondered if maybe his Cavs may have overlooked the McClain Tigers Friday night, but was certainly satisfied that his Cavs now stand 4-0 on the year.
“They (Tigers) are without one of their top player (Dalton Mischal) but McClain came in and really battled us tough.” The Cavaliers led by just 5 at the half but once again spurted in the third period to get control of the game.
Chillicothe amped up the trap pressure and saw McClain turn over the basketball seven time in the third quarter. The Cavs behind senior Branden Maughmer’s 11 points extended their lead to double figure in the pivotal third stanza.
The Cavs led 43-31 heading to the final quarter. Sophomore Brandon Noel came off the bench for 15 big points, including 3 treys to help the Cavs maintain a double figure lead through the final period.
The elder Maughmer led the Chillicothe gang with 17, to go with Noel’s 15, and Simon Roderick’s 10 as the Cavs had three players in double figures. Coach Huffer’s club shot well hitting 22 of 41 for 54% from the floor. They were also 7 of 9 from the charity stripe.
McClain got almost all of their scoring from junior Devin Carter (15) and sophomore Garrison Banks off the bench with 14. The Tigers shot 53% from the floor but 20 turnovers just created too many transition buckets for the Cavaliers.
Chillicothe is only giving up 43 points a game through four contests. The Cavs are now (4-0) and are (3-0) in FAC play.
Chillicothe travels to Upper Arlington tomorrow night to face one of the top Division 1 teams in the Central District, before returning home Tuesday against Hillsboro.
To hear play-by-play of the game from Greg Bigam and Lou Postage, go to our podcast found below...