Division IV Regional Semifinal
Circleville 50, Unioto 48
ATHENS — A hot start gave Circleville the cushion it needed to hold off Unioto at the end to advance with a 50-48 win Wednesday night at Ohio University.
Kole Nungester, the Mid-State League Buckeye Player of the Year, led Circleville with 31 points while Blake Fitch, two-time Scioto Valley Conference Player of the Year, led Unioto with 25.
“That was a battle of two point guards that didn’t want their careers to end. You look at Kole Nungester and Blake Fitch, those two are two of the best point guards in the area,” Circleville coach Evan Callihan said. “They just went at it. We really didn’t have a great answer for Fitch. We tried a few different things. They didn’t have a great answer for Kole.
“That’s two good players, just playing a hell of a basketball game.”
The Tigers hit six of their first seven shots to jump out to a 13-3 lead in their regional semifinal.
CHS had the lead to 12 points late in the second before the half came to an end with Circleville up 27-17. The third ended with Circleville up 36-28.
The Shermans fought back and scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to tie the game at 36-36.
Nungester then had 10 of his 31 in the game’s final four minutes to help his team to their 18th straight win.
“We kind of got in a little bit of a funk there, and, you know, as a young coach at a clinic several years ago when I first started coaching, a quote that’s always stuck with me is, in crucial moments, think players, not plays,” Callihan said. “So we have a few things to get him the ball and we kind of just let him go to work out of those sets.”
Nungester and Fitch, who had 13 in the fourth period, were the only players to reach double-digit scoring.
Blain Fowler had seven for Circleville and Isaac Coy had nine for the Shermans.
It just gets tougher for the Tigers as they return to Ohio University Saturday for a 2:30 matchup with defending state champion Maysville (25-1) led by Ohio Mr. Basketball finalist Gator Collins.
“They’ve had three different guys have 40-point games this year,” Callihan said. “They have a lot of firepower. We know that. We’ll have our hands full, but, you know, that’s what you want.
“It’s about just competing together and just giving it the best shot that we can. I’m glad it’s not a best of seven. It’s just one game. So, you know, anything can happen.”
Circleville 50, Unioto 48
Unioto — Isaac McCoy 3-3-9, Blake Fitch 10-4-25, Jack Welch 0-2-2, Jaxon Zickafoose 1-0-3, Dawson Mitchell 2-1-5, Brayden Harsha 2-0-4. Three-point goals — Fitch, Zickafoose. Totals — 18-44 10-12 50.
Circleville — Kole Nungester 10-7-31, Blain Fowler 3-1-7, Gavine Bigam 1-0-2, Jack Kline 2-0-4, Riley Jenkins 2-0-4, Ed Kirk 1-0-2. Three-point goals — Nungester (4). Totals — 17-40 12-17 50.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Unioto 9 8 11 20 48
Circleville 13 14 9 14 50
