Circleville 66, Unioto 59 2OT
CHILLICOTHE — It took an extra eight minutes of game time for Circleville to come away with a hard-fought 66-59 win at Unioto Friday.
“I felt like that was a district tournament, Convo type game, and that’s what we wanted,” Circleville coach Evan Callihan said. “It was a good environment to bring our guys into, for toughness and I thought our guys played with a lot of poise down the stretch.”
The game was tied after the third quarter (36-36), at the end of regulation (46-46) and at the end of the first overtime (55-55).
The Tigers struck first in the second overtime on a basket from Kole Nungester but it was quickly followed by a basket from Unioto’s Isaac Coy.
Nungester put Circleville up again 30 seconds later. Another minute passed before Circleville’s Riley Jenkins scored to make it a four-point game. A free throw from Glavine Bigam made it a 62-57 Tiger lead.
Blake Fitch pulled the Shermans within three with 30 seconds left.
Nungester then closed it out for the Tigers as he connected on four free throws in capping a 28-point night.
“He pretty much took over that double overtime,” Callihan said.
Nungester had 13 of his 28 points in the two overtimes, including going 6-6 at the line.
“He was mad at himself,” Callihan said, alluding to a couple of missed free throws with 17 seconds left in regulation. “He’s the guy we want with the ball in his hands and it’s like I told him, they’re not always going to go in, just move on. He kept his poise and made some huge shots there in that double overtime.
“I just felt it was a gutsy win.”
Jenkins finished with 16 points and eight rebounds for the Tigers. Blain Fowler had eight of his 10 in the third quarter and pulled down seven rebounds. Ed Kirk had six rebounds to go with four points.
Overall, the Tigers finished with a 35-26 rebounding edge, including outrebounding Unioto 13-3 in the two overtimes (six of those were offensive).
“I felt like in regulation we did do a good job rebounding but I still felt there were some loose balls that we should have got,” Callihan said. “That first half, I thought they out hustled us. I thought they out toughed us and that was one of our challenges at halftime.
“I don’t know how many offensive rebounds we had (18 for the game), but I felt like that was a big difference.”
Coy and Fitch led the Shermans with 21 points each. They accounted for Unioto’s nine first-quarter points and got some help from a couple teammates in the second to hold a 23-18 lead.
“We were finally able to get some stops,” Callihan said of getting the game tied up in the third. “Fitch is so good off the two-man game. And I’m over there screaming at our guys, but I know how hard he is to guard.”
Being in a tight battle down the stretch is something the Tigers have learned to handle better from previous years thanks, in part, to a lineup with a number of experienced players.
“Last year we finished 14-10 and we were in a lot of situations like that. And in the third quarter, a lot of times it would unravel,” Callihan said. “It helps when you have a lot of seniors.
“We’ve been in that situation a lot and we’re probably going to be in that situation a lot in the next couple weeks.”
Circleville (18-2) wraps up the regular season this week with league games against Fairfield Union Tuesday and at Liberty Union Friday. Unioto (16-3) has already wrapped up a 14-0 run through the SVC and has regular season games against North Adams and Miami Trace left on the schedule.
Circleville 66, Unioto 59 2OT
Circleville — Kole Nungester 10-6-28, Blain Fowler 3-2-10, Glavine Bigam 0-1-1, Jack Kline 2-0-5, Riley Jenkins 6-2-16, Ed Kirk 2-0-4, Auri Travis 1-0-2. Three-point goals — Nungester (2), Fowler (2), Kline, Jenkins (2). Totals —24-60 11-16 66.
Unioto — Isaac Coy 7-4-21, Blake Fitch 8-4-21, Patterson 1-0-3, Jack Welch 2-6-11, Jaxon Zickafoose 1-0-2, Dawson Mitchell 0-1-1. Three-point goals — Coy (3), Fitch, Patterson, Welch. Totals — 19-50 15-16 59.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 OT OT F
Circleville 10 8 18 10 9 11 66
Unioto 9 14 13 10 9 4 59
Pickerington Central 73, Teays Valley 45 (girls)
PICKERINGTON — Teays Valley wrapped up the regular season Friday night with a 73-45 loss at Pickerington Central.
Areyana Karshner led the Vikings with 11 points and Cami Robins had 10. Tessa Horsley added eight with Avery Mann scoring four.
Teays Valley (14-7) finished third in the OCC’s Buckeye Division with a 10-4 record. Pickerington Central (17-3) still has two league games left and is sitting in first place at 12-0.
Pickerington Central 80, Teays Valley 51 (boys)
ASHVILLE — Pickerington Central was an 80-51 winner at Teays Valley Friday night.
The Tigers (12-6, 9-3) held a 37-24 lead at halftime and led 66-32 after three periods.
Kaden Purdon led the Vikings with 15 points, Brody Fields had 13 points, Tanner Smith had nine points and Dillon Damron added six.
Albert Moore led Pickerington with 24 points, Landon Evans had 18 pts and Aaven Snyder had 15 pts.
The Vikings (8-12, 3-10) host Whetstone Wednesday and finish up league play Friday hosting Logan.