New Hope 90, CHESS 50
CIRCLEVILLE — CHESS Christian got off to a good start but couldn’t sustain it as New Hope turned things around to send the visitors home with a 90-50 loss in the OCSAA tournament Thursday night.
The Royals got out to a 13-9 lead when New Hope took a timeout with three minutes left in the period. The Statesmen came out of the break and scored the final eight points to lead 17-13 after the first eight minutes.
“Last year we went to their place and escaped with a tight win 56-50 and we really felt like they out worked us a little in that game,” New Hope coach Shane Roese said. “They started this game the same way, they came after us right from the jump. After that timeout, our guys got locked in and changed the game.”
By halftime New Hope had built its lead to 41-27 and set the tone for the second half with a strong start and ended the third up 64-41.
“The first three to four minutes of the third quarter are always important and we simply took the game from them with our defensive pressure and pace on offense,” Roese said. “You could see their energy level change mid-way through the quarter and that’s a credit to our kids because they just kept up the intensity.”
Xander Rink led the Statesmen with 33 points while grabbing seven rebounds and handing out eight assists.
Hunter Cavanaugh put in 24 points with five rebounds and six assists.
Nathaniel Ames added 13 points and Tyler Cook had 11.
New Hope advances to the OCSAA semifinal Friday at Ohio Christian University. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m.
New Hope 90, CHESS 50
CHESS — Kempe 2-0-4, Meester 4-0-11, Huff 7-5-20, Hecker 4-0-8, Brooks 1-2-5, Frueauf 1-0-2. Three-point goals — Meester (3), Huff, Brooks. Totals — 19-7-50.
New Hope — Hunter Cavanaugh 8-4-24, Gaven Ludens 2-0-4, Xander Rink 15-3-33, Landen Parker 1-0-3, Nathaniel Ames 5-1-13, Matthew Beard 1-0-2, Tyler Cook 4-0-11. Three-point goals — Cavanaugh (4), Parker, Ames (2), Cook (3). Totals — 36-8-90.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
CHESS 13 14 14 9 50
New Hope 17 24 23 26 90