Circleville 48, Teays Valley 44 (boys)
CIRCLEVILLE — Circleville won a close battle against Teays Valley 48-44 to open the second day of the Brad Morris Holiday Classic played at Logan Elm High School.
“They’re way better than what their record is, they play a tough schedule and they’ve been playing well of late,” Circleville coach Evan Callihan said. “We were fortunate, we made some shots down the stretch that we needed to. We were able with a minute and a half left, just go to our five out, spread the floor and try to make them come foul us. That worked for us down the stretch and made some free throws when we needed to.”
It was a game that was tied at halftime and had the Tigers up two entering the final period.
Circleville had the lead to eight points midway through the final quarter before a couple of baskets from Kaden Purdon tightened the game to four with three minutes left.
Two free throws from Ed Kirk with 1:25 on the clock gave CHS a six-point lead.
Circleville had its opportunities to seal the win but missed five of its first six free throw attempts in the final minute. A basket from TV’s Brody Fields came in the middle of those misses to make it a five-point game.
The Tigers wrapped it up when Kole Nungester sunk a pair of free throws with five seconds left.
Purdon concluded a 19-point effort with a three as time expired.
“Anytime you get two county rivals together, it’s going to be a physical battle all the way from the tip to the final buzzer and that’s what we had tonight,” TV coach Brian Barnett said. “Things went their way and just didn’t quite go our way. We battled and battled — we just couldn’t quite make the plays when we had to.”
Nungester led the Tigers with 19 points with Ed Kirk putting in 17 and Riley Jenkins 10.
“Kole stepped up big today for us, running the point and made big shots when we needed him to. He was a leader on the floor for us,” Callihan said. “Ed Kirk played well, too. Ed’s matured a lot this year. He put a lot of time in this summer and has a lot of room for growth still but he’s someone who’s showed a lot of growth the last few months for us. He’s someone, I felt, made some big baskets for us today.”
Kirk also grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Tigers in that category with Nungester grabbing five and Kiser Cassidy and Jenkins each grabbing four.
Purdon was the only Viking to reach double-figure scoring with his 19 points.
“Kaden Purdon did a nice job tonight,” Barnett said. “I thought he was pretty active. He’s gotten better and better and better and starting to get his confidence back. He went through a little slump, but he’s battled through it and I think will be a force for us the rest of the year.”
Luke Burgett and Jayden Morrison each had five rebounds to lead TV with Purdon and Hayden McCray each grabbing four.
It was a good bounce-back weekend for the Tigers (7-3) after a pair of 20-point losses before Christmas.
“Those two teams that we lost to, Hamilton Township and Unioto, are two really good teams, but I also felt in those games that we didn’t have consistent effort,” Callihan said. “That was our key all week leading up to these two games was to have consistent effort. Our upperclassmen have really bought into that, and they worked harder at practice Thursday.”
Circleville starts the new year with a trip to Miami Trace (8-0) Saturday.
With a win over Logan Elm Friday, the Vikings (2-7) split their contests at the Classic and won’t return to action until a trip to Logan on Jan. 7
“It was a great weekend of basketball,” Barnett said. “It’s a situation where anytime you can get all the county schools together and play, this is the way we wanted it to be — to honor Brad and all the things he did over the years. What a great way to come together as a community.”
Circleville 48, Teays Valley 44
Teays Valley — Brody Fields 1-5-7, Luke Burgett 1-0-3, Owen Hoffhines 2-0-4, Karter Kowlowski 1-0-2, Kaden Purdon 9-0-19, Hayden McCray 2-0-5, Jayden Morrison 2-0-4. Three-point goals — Burgett, Purdon, McCray. Total — 18-50 5-7 44.
Circleville — Kole Nungester 5-6-19, Jack Kline 1-0-2, Riley Jenkins 4-0-10, Ed Kirk 3-11-17. Three-point goals — Nungester (3), Jenkins (2). Total — 13-36 17-24 48.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Teays Valley 9 15 10 10 44
Circleville 14 10 12 12 48
Circleville 35, Teays Valley 22
CIRCLEVILLE — Circleville struggled a little to convert their scoring opportunities, but the Tigers’ defense was on point in picking up a 35-22 win over Teays Valley in the second game Saturday of the Brad Morris Holiday Classic.
Despite the loss, TV coach Trevor Younkin appreciated being part of the event.
“It means a lot to me. I had Brad in class my first year teaching,” he said. “Just to see what he did in his life and what he did with you guys as reporters was unbelievable. I’m glad we were part of this. I wish we could have got at least one win out of this weekend, but it’s a learning lesson.”
Circleville got out to an 11-2 lead in the first quarter and scored the last seven points of the second for a 24-5 halftime lead.
Points were hard to come by in the third quarter with the Vikings converting four free throws in the first part of the period and the Tigers hitting two free throws and a bucket in the latter half of the quarter to make it 28-9.
TV’s three-point shooters found their shot for a moment in the fourth as Addie Keplar, Camryn Robins and Amelia Brumfield each converted in a 90-second span to make it a 30-20 game.
But Circleville limited their opponent to only more basket over the last five minutes while adding three points from Addison Edgington and two from Maddie Blakeman.
Edgington finished the game with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Circleville had a 34-18 rebounding edge in the game.
Both teams struggled through turnovers with Circleville committing 18 and TV 17.
Tessa Horsley was TV’s leading scorer with seven points.
Both teams struggled to convert from the field with Circleville hitting 14 of 39 (36 percent) and TV 7 of 30 (23 percent).
Circleville’s zone defense gave the Vikings a lot of trouble.
“I’m glad we’re part of the OCC – we don’t see much 2-3 zone. And that’s the bad thing, they’re really good at it,” Younkin said. “We knew they were good at it and tried to work on it. That really threw us off. You can simulate it in practice, but when it comes to a real game it’s a different situation.”
The Vikings (4-7) have a bit of time off before resuming play.
“We’ve got to get ready for Grove City on January 7 who will play a 2-3 zone, about the only one in the OCC who does,” Younkin said.
Circleville (8-2) heads to Liberty Union Friday.
Circleville 35, Teays Valley 22
Teays Valley — Amelia Brumfield 1-0-3, Camryn Robins 1-0-3, Addie Keplar 1-0-3, Kenzington Younkin 1-0-2, Avery Mann 1-2-4, Tessa Horsley 2-3-7. Three-point goals — Brumfield, Robins, Keplar. Total — 7-30 5-6 22.
Circleville — Brooklyn Cramer 1-0-2, Maddie Blakeman 3-0-6, Maddux Bigam 1-2-4, Ally Thornsley 1-0-2, Kaylee West 1-0-3, Addison Edgington 7-4-18. Three-point goals — West. Total — 14-39 6-11 35.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Teays Valley 2 3 4 13 22
Circleville 11 13 4 7 35
