Circleville 46, Logan Elm 35
CIRCLEVILLE— Circleville controlled the first half and held off a late run from Logan Elm to post a 46-35 win Tuesday.
The Tigers jumped out in front 12-4 in the first quarter and were up 27-10 at halftime.
Circleville limited LE to 4-18 shooting in getting the big halftime lead.
“That’s been our focus as a program – it’s been defense since Day 1 in June,” Circleville coach Evan Callihan said. “We didn’t want (Ne’miah) Waugh or (Tyler) Speas to get going and I thought our guys executed out of the gate and made it tough on them.
“You know those guys are going to score eventually and they made a run there in the third and fourth quarter.”
Neither team did much scoring in the third as both were 3-13 from the field. LE’s three buckets included a three-pointer as they were able to cut CHS’ advantage by a point and the quarter ended with Circleville up 33-17.
Circleville got their lead up to 38-21 when Logan Elm made a run.
The Braves got a three from Speas, which he followed up with another bucket. Lucas Bialy hit a three with 3:30 left and Speas hit another three a few seconds later to bring the Braves to within 39-32 with 3:07 on the clock.
Kole Nungester broke LE’s run when he hit a floater in the lane with 1:45 showing. After Waugh hit one of two free throws, Circleville’s Jack Kline got his own rebound and scored to make it 43-33 with 70 seconds left in the game.
After Waugh scored, the Tigers were able to close out the game with Nungester converting three of four free throws.
“They came out and guarded, they were physical, they were tough, and they did things right defensively that took us out of rhythm and kept us from attacking the paint,” LE coach Nate Dropsey said.
He said his Braves were able make a run by speeding up the game.
“When you’re scrambling like that, it speeds up the game and we were able to get some guys open because of some semi-transition,” Dropsey said. “Tyler continued to shoot the ball like we expect him to, unfortunately it didn’t start a little earlier.”
Circleville was dominant on the boards as the Tigers ended the night with a 40-24 rebounding advantage.
“We wanted to establish ourselves early in the paint with Ed and RJ (Riley Jenkins), Kole as a guard can get in there,” Callihan said.
Kirk and Nungester led the Tigers with double-doubles.
Kirk had 18 points and 11 rebounds while Nungester finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Jenkins had eight points to go with six rebounds.
“Ed, Riley and Kole attack the glass. We knew that coming in and I felt like we were trying to get bodies on them,” Dropsey said. “Ed is really athletic and able to jump up over us. It was a physical game, and I don’t think we adjusted to that quite quick enough.”
Callihan credited the team’s strong performance to a high-energy practice the day before.
“At this point in the year, practices aren’t super long, it’s a lot of mental stuff,” he said. “Our guys were flying around yesterday, energized, high-fiving – a lot of little things that we try to preach. I think that really carried over to the start. And that made the difference.”
Waugh led the Braves with 17 points and six rebounds. Speas finished with 13 points – 10 coming in the final quarter.
Along with welcoming in their biggest rival Tuesday, the Tigers also celebrated senior night for their lone senior Drew Thornsley.
“Drew is the ultimate competitor. It’s not easy when you’re the only senior,” Callihan said. “His role is to be the toughest kid on the floor when he steps on there. He does a lot of things that aren’t always going to show up on the stat sheet. But I’m so proud of what he’s done for us here as a basketball program and a school district.”
The Braves (4-12, 2-7) have a few days to regroup before hosting Amanda-Clearcreek Saturday afternoon.
Circleville (10-5, 7-2) hosts Fairfield Union Thursday. The Tigers will be recognizing SCOL championship teams from the early 1970s prior to the varsity game.
Circleville 46, Logan Elm 35
Logan Elm — Tyler Speas 5-0-13, Brody Neff 1-0-2, Lucas Bialy 1-0-3, Ne’miah Waugh 7-1-17. Three-point goals — Speas (3), Bialy, Waugh (2). Totals — 14-47 1-2 35.
Circleville — Kole Nungester 5-3-14, Jack Kline 2-0-4, Blain Fowler 1-0-2, Riley Jenkins 3-0-8, Ed Kirk 8-2-18. Three-point goals — Nungester, Jenkins (2). Totals — 19-48 5-9 46.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Logan Elm 4 6 7 18 35
Circleville 12 15 6 13 46
Logan Elm 49, Hamilton Towship 33
OBETZ — Logan Elm broke open their game at Hamilton Township in the third quarter in picking up a 49-33 win Tuesday.
Holding a 20-16 lead at the half, the Braves controlled the third quarter to outscore the Rangers 19-3 and go ahead 39-19.
“The Lady Braves did a great job sharing the ball and playing great team defense,” coach Mike Schultz said.
LE’s Kiki Ingram led all scorers with 20 points. Gillian Savage had nine for the Braves, Kimmy Petty had seven, Maggie Wilson six, Molly Miller three and Kennedy Groff and Maleah Gardner each had two.
The Braves (8-9) head to Washington Court House Wednesday.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Logan Elm 8 12 19 10 49
Hamilton Township 7 9 3 14 33
Adena 37, Amanda-Clearcreek 35 (girls)
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Amanda-Clearcreek 5 7 9 14 35
Adena 5 16 10 6 37
Zane Trace 58, Westfall 48 (boys)
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Westfall 15 5 13 15 48
Zane Trace 14 16 10 18 58