By Dan Ramey
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Less than 24 hours after losing to rival Unioto, Chillicothe improved to 5-0 through the first round of Frontier Athletic League action with a 55-48 victory at Jackson Saturday.
The Cavs (7-2/5-0) finished a busy week 3-1 squeezing in a four game set before Christmas.
After the game, Cavs coach Eric Huffer said he was happy the week went so well for his team. “Extremely happy with our guys… I kept reminding them, you’ve got just four more minutes, three more minutes” until the four games in five days gauntlet was done.
The Ironmen didn’t make it easy following Unioto’s lead with a zone package in their defensive scheme. The had difficulty handling the Shermans’ zone and Jackson’s Max Morrow said he took note. “Yeah, we did. We were fortunate to catch Chilli on the tail end of their back-to-back NBA-schedule they’ve got going here.”
Chillicothe closed out the first period with a 14-9 lead, but Jackson used a 7-3 run over the final three possessions before halftime to know the score at 23 at the break.
Coming out of the intermission, the Cavs attacked the zone “We’ve gotta get used to it because we’re gonna be seeing it” said Huffer . “There wasn’t a lot of adjustments we needed to make, just certain reads we were missing… we knew coming into today, this is how it was going to be. Jackson plays extremely tough.”
The Ironmen were forced to play without one of their leading scorers when Carson Spohn picked up a third foul in the opening period. “He’s a senior captain for us” said Morrow. “We don’t have a lot of court time without him on it. Our bench stood up and came to play tonight.” Spohn returned to the floor midway through the third but picked up his fourth foul after just over a minute.
The Cavs entered the fourth quarter leading 41-38 and managed to create enough separation late for the win. Jackson closed the gap to three points, but couldn’t get closer. Jayvon Maughmer hit a running layup for a 50-45 margin and Will Roderick had a stick back with 43 seconds left to give Chillicothe a three possession advantage.
Chillicothe won the battle on the boards 28-13.
Branden Maughmer led all scorers with 16 points. Jayvon Maughmer added 13 and Simon Roderick added 12. Cooper Donaldson and Payton Speakman had 11 points each to pace the Ironmen.
Jackson’s been enjoying a bit of revival in its basketball program. Jackson Mayor and public address announcer Randy Heath stated before the game the Ironmen hadn’t been 3-0 to start a season since Lyndon B. Johnson was President. The Ironmen last won a league title in 1992. “Our kids have really bought into the system” said Morrow. “They’re being accountable for things, coming to practice day-in, day out, and it’s leading to some good things.”
Jackson hosts Athens next Friday and travels to face Unioto Saturday.
The Cavaliers will take a break for Christmas, then battle in three straight games again next week. Chillicothe heads to Thomas Worthington for a holiday showcase with Reynoldsburg Thursday and the host Thomas Worthington on Friday. They’ll close out 2017 at Logan Elm Saturday night.
CHILLICOTHE (55): Branden Maughmer, 16; Jayvon Maughmer, 13; Simon Roderick, 12; Will Roderick, 6; Brandon Noel, 3; Jalen Jordan, 3; Jason Benson, 2; Trey Beard, 0.
JACKSON (48): Payton Speakman, 11; Cooper Donaldson, 11; Caleb Wallis, 8; Traylon Davis, 6; T.J. Burd, 4; Brice Graham, 2; Caden Donaldson, 0.
NOTES: The schools played four games Saturday. Jackson won the Girls game 33-26, but the Cavaliers swept the Boys games. Chillicothe took the Freshman game 32-19 and won the JV game 54-39… There will not be a broadcast of either of the Cavs’ games at Thomas Worthington Thursday and Friday.
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