Circleville 60, Westfall 57 (Boys)
WILLIAMSPORT— Circleville scored the final 11 points Friday night to beat host Westfall in the nightcap of the inaugural Brad Morris Holiday Classic.
Westfall coach Kyle Joseph was a student-athlete for Westfall when Morris was beginning his journalism career.
“I think Brad started covering high school sports here when I was in high school,” he said. “I remember when he got here and seeing him at everything – track meets, baseball, everything all year long.
“It was pretty cool to get the county schools together here in something I know he would have been really happy with.”
Joseph’s Mustangs got out to a 9-2 lead and finished the first quarter up 14-11. They held a 29-22 lead at halftime and had it to 34-24 two minutes into the third.
Circleville chipped away at the lead and scored the final five points of the third to go ahead 47-46.
Westfall outscored the Tigers 11-2 to hold a 57-49 lead with three minutes left in the game.
A basket by Ed Kirk and then two three-pointers from Riley Jenkins helped the Tigers tie the game with 1:35 left.
“The big thing for our team has been consistent effort. Every team we play on our schedule is tough and we’ve got to have consistent effort. I thought we had that tonight,” Circleville coach Evan Callihan said. “I thought our guys never faltered. It would have been easy being down 10 in the third. I thought our guys handled it down the stretch.”
Circleville had possession of the ball after a missed Mustangs shot with the clock winding down under a minute and worked time off looking for the right opportunity. It came when Kole Nungester drove the lane, scored and was fouled with 10 seconds left. He hit the free throw for the winning points.
“When you’ve got a point guard like Kole, you put it in his hands and he’s such a good decision maker. He made a big play there at the end,” Callihan said.
“We just didn’t make enough plays late,” Joseph said. “We didn’t handle the physicality enough late when you’ve got a lead and know the other team is entering into desperation mode. And hat’s off to Circleville, they kept playing and made some good plays at the end.”
With eight of their nine games being decided by six or fewer points, Joseph thinks his team has it in them to get past that, but they have to be more consistent in the game.
“We’re not putting a full four quarters together in any of these,” he said. “We still feel like as a coaching staff and I know my guys feel like we’ve got a lot more to approach our ceiling. We’ve got a lot of work to do and just have to get after it.”
With 11 points in the third period and two big threes in the fourth, Jenkins led Circleville with 24 points Friday. Jack Kline had 10 of his 13 in the third quarter.
“Riley Jenkins played his butt off. No one puts in more time than that guy in the offseason,” Callihan said. “Jack Kline, I felt, played really well for us.
“Defensively, Kiser Cassidy and Drew Thornsley, we mixed and matched them on some guys, and they gave us everything we needed.”
Cassidy blocked the potential game-tying shot in the final seconds to preserve Circleville’s win.
Jacob Hicks led Westfall with 16 points and had four rebounds. Bryan Craig led Westfall with seven rebounds to go with 10 points. Joe Wray had 12 points for the Mustangs.
Westfall (5-4) will be at Logan Elm taking on the host Braves in Day 2 action of the Brad Morris Holiday Classic with tip off set for 6 p.m. The Tigers (6-3) open the day’s action as they take on Teays Valley at 3 p.m.
Circleville 60, Westfall 57
Circleville — Kole Nungester 2-5-9, Drew Thornsley 1-1-3, Jack Kline 4-3-13, Blain Fowler 1-0-2, Riley Jenkins 10-0-24, Ed Kirk 2-5-9. Three-point goals — Kline (2), Jenkins (4). Total — 20-54 14-19 60.
Westfall — Ethan Rose 2-0-4, Joe Wray 4-4-12, Bryan Craig 4-1-10, Nate Wolfe 2-0-4, Haden Rigsby 2-0-6, Brock Williams 1-0-2, Caleb Lowe 0-1-1, Rick Hanley 1-0-2, Jacob Hicks 6-1-16. Three-point goals — Craig, Rigsby (2), Hicks (3). Total — 22-48 7-10 57.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Circleville 11 11 25 13 60
Westfall 14 15 17 11 57
Circleville 67, Westfall 24 (Girls)
WILLIAMSPORT —Circleville used its speed and defense to attack Westfall Friday afternoon, and the Mustangs were unable to counter as the Tigers rolled to a 67-24 win at the Brad Morris Holiday Classic.
The Tigers scored the game’s first 11 points and led 29-5 by the end of the first quarter.
Forcing 24 turnovers in the first half, Circleville had a 54-9 lead at the break.
Addison Edgington led the Tigers with 22 points and seven rebounds. Brooklyn Cramer put in 17.
Mackenzie Cook led the Mustangs with 14 points.
Circleville 67, Westfall 24
Circleville — Kaelin Burchett 1-2-5, Brooklyn Cramer 6-2-17, Ava Justice 1-1-3, Maddie Blakeman 3-2-9, Juliana Sims-Ross 0-1-1, Ally Thornsley 3-0-6, Kaylee West 1-0-2, Addison Edgington 9-2-22, Mallory McConnell 2-0-4. Three-point goals — Burchett, Cramer (4), Blakeman. Total — 26-51 9-15 67.
Westfall — Marianna Packer 1-0-3, Reese Baughman 1-0-3, Aubrey Clark 1-0-2, Mackenzie Cook 4-4-14, Isabella Patete 0-2-2. Three-point goals — Packer, Baughman, Cook (2). Total — 7-25 6-8 24.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Circleville 29 25 8 5 67
Westfall 5 4 7 8 24
