After taking the lead midway through the first quarter, Circleville never trailed visiting Washington the rest of the night as the Tigers posted a 53-43 win.
The Tigers got to see the Blue Lions in action Monday night in a loss at Logan Elm and knew they were going to see a different team Wednesday.
“We knew we were going to get Court House’s best. We knew that coming off a loss Monday at Logan Elm that they were going to play their butts off, and they did,” Circleville coach Evan Callihan said.
While the Tigers maintained the lead most of the night, the Blue Lions didn’t lay down. They closed to within a point in the third before the Tigers closed the quarter with 11 of the final 13 points for a 43-33 lead.
Washington was able to close to six points early in the fourth but wasn’t able to get any closer.
Callihan credited the Tigers’ effort with making the difference.
“We told our guys today we had to have consistent effort,” he said. “I think we crashed the boards a little bit better and when the game got within (six), our guys handled that. If this game would’ve been two weeks ago and the game was that close, I don’t know if we would have come out on top. We’re growing in that area and trying to grow in tough moments.
“These guys have been working hard in practice so it’s good to see it pay off.”
Scoring came from a number of areas Wednesday as four Tigers reached double figures led by Riley Jenkins with 18 and he led the team with eight rebounds.
“He’s grown a lot and that goes back to last offseason,” Callihan said. “As soon as he was allowed in here, he was in the gym every single night. That’s what he’s capable of doing.”
Jack Kline had 12 points, Ed Kirk 11 and Kole Nungester put in 10.
“I thought Jack Kline stepped up huge for us tonight, he hit some big shots,” Callihan said. “Kole has been steady for us. I felt at moments in that game where we needed him to take control of the game, he did. He dictates the pace for us.
“Ed Kirk came in off the bench tonight. He’s been a little under the weather, actually, so he gave us some great minutes tonight. I think he’s really grown as a player and a person. And we had other guys who didn’t score a ton tonight and we’re going to need them at some point, too.”
Circleville finished the night with a 26-22 rebounding edge. Along with the eight from Jenkins, Drew Thornsley, Kline and Kirk each had four.
Jeston Everhart and Noah Haithcock led the Blue Lions with 13 points each and Roman Chijevsky had 11. Haithcock also had a team-high seven rebounds.
Circleville heads to Bloom-Carroll Friday.
Circleville 53, Washington 43
Washington CH — Jeston Everhart 4-1-13, Bryson Heath 1-0-2, Roman Chijevsky 5-1-11, Noah Haithcock 4-5-13, Jacob Lindsey 1-1-4. Three-point goals — Everhart (4), Lindsey. Total — 15-46 8-15 43.
Circleville — Kole Nungester 3-3-10, Drew Thornsley 1-0-2, Jack Kline 4-0-12, Riley Jenkins 7-2-18, Ed Kirk 2-7-11. Three-point goals — Nungester, Kline (4), Jenkins (2). Total — 17-36 12-16 53.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Washington 10 8 15 10 43
Circleville 13 13 17 10 53
