Circleville had a strong open and close to a Mid-State League Buckeye Division game on Friday, but visiting Hamilton Township did enough over the middle quarters to emerge with a 61-59 win.
“I felt like we got off to another good start, but could never keep the momentum going,” Circleville coach Cody Carpenter said. “We struggled to defend Jovon McBride and he made us pay all night.
“It was our senior night and we wanted to send our seniors Parker Kidwell, Matt Bradley, Ian Warden and Nolan West out with a win but, unfortunately, it was just not our night.”
The Tigers surged ahead to an early 18-12 lead, paced by Ian Warden scoring eight points and Cramer adding five.
Hamilton Township trimmed its deficit down to 32-31 at the break and then went ahead 46-41 going into the fourth quarter.
Jovon McBride knocked down a trio of three-pointers over those two quarters to led the way with 11 points, Josh Woods had nine points and Trent Renz added eight.
Cramer poured in 10 of his team-high 24 points in the fourth quarter and Kidwell tossed in four of his six points, but the Rangers were able to hold on.
Both teams hit 22 field goals and the Tigers knocked down two more free throws (13-11), but the Rangers hit six triples to just two for the Tigers.
Warden followed Cramer’s 24 points with 12 of his own, Slater Search tallied nine and West added eight.
McBride led all scorers with 29 points and Renz chipped in 13 for the Rangers (6-16, 4-10).
The Tigers (10-12, 6-8) host Waverly (2-19) a week from today for a sectional quarterfinal.
Hamilton Township 61,
Circleville 59
HAMILTON TOWNSHIP — Brady Holt 2-0-4, Josh Woods 3-1-8, Jovon McBride 9-7-29, Trent Renz 5-3-13, Hamidou Diallo 3-0-6. Three-point goals — Jovon McBride (4), Woods (2). Total — 22 11-21 61.
CIRCLEVILLE — Nolan West 3-0-8, Briley Cramer 10-4-24, Parker Kidwell 2-2-6, Ian Warden 4-4-12, Slater Search 3-3-9. Three-point goals — West (2). Total —22 13-18 59.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Hamilton Twp. 12 19 15 15 61
Circleville 18 14 9 18 59
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