Ironton (10-2/9-0) survived a would be rout and turned the tables on the Cavaliers for a 59-48 victory at Hatton Gymnasium Friday night.

Chillicothe (7-4/6-2) used a 25-2 run to build a 29-6 lead in the second period. However, just as good as the Cavs looked in the first half, Ironton was better in the second half.

Ironton closed out the second quarter with a 7-0 run after going scoreless for nearly 12 minutes of play.

The Cavs held a 29-13 lead at the half.

Chillicothe increased their lead to 33-13 out of the intermission, but managed only six points the rest of the way as Ironton began to whittle the 20-point deficit down.

The TIgers cut it to 39-30 through the third quarter.

The Tigers had gained momentum and wouldn't let go. Ironton used a 35-12 run capped by back-to-back 3's from J.P. Taylor to tie the game at 41 with 5:54 remaining.

The Tigers outscored Chillicothe 29-9 in the final quarter to take a two game lead in the SEOAL standings.

Michael Turner scored 16 of his game leading 24 points in the first half.

Ironton was paced by Tim Kochendoerfer's 19 points. Freshman Zac Carter scored 12 and Travis Elliott and Taylor combined for 20 more points.

Chillicothe travels to Ohio State Saturday to play Canton Timken in the Ohio Scholastic Play-By-Play Classic at Schottenstein Center. Airtime on 1490 WBEX is 1:45pm.

Photos by Dana Cousins wbex.com
Purchase photos

It's a battle for first place tonight at Hatton Memorial Gymnasium as the Ironton Tigers come to Chillicothe unscathed at 7-0.

Since their last meeting, Chillicothe (6-1) has won 6 straight SEOAL contests. For the Tigers, it's been an 8-game winning streak, with their closest game a 5 point win at Jackson in late December. They handed Portsmouth its second league loss last Tuesday 60-54.

In their second game of the season, the Cavs let a 13 point lead slip away as Ironton's Tim Kochendoerfer got hot and scored 23 points off the bench for a 51-48 victory (recap below).

Both teams started their respective seasons 1-2, but since are a combined 14-1.

Chillicothe has been stopped by Logan Elm and Pickerington Central, but the rest of the SEOAL teams have failed to keep the Cavs in check.

Kochendoerfer leads the Ironton attack with just under 20 ppg and Tommy Waginger is second on the team in scoring, 13 ppg followed by Travis Elliott with 8 ppg.

Chillicothe counters with Michael Turner (25 ppg in the last three games) Jalen Ragland (38 points the last two games) and rebounder-shot blocker Malik London.

Friday's match is the 3rd game of the night. The Freshmen start things at 5pm followed by the Junior Varisty, and then the main event, carried live on 1490 WBEX and Horizonview Channel 298.

Ironton's Mark Lafon and Chillicothe's Gary Kellough ina fight for the SEOAL lead
Photos by Dana Cousins, wbex.com

Purchase photos

Chillicothe (7-3/6-1) took the necessary step Tuesday night to set the stage for a first place showdown with Ironton this Friday, a 63-48 victory over the Logan Chieftains at Hatton Gymnasium.

Michael Turner (22pts.) and Jalen Ragland (21pts., pictured) combined for 43 points to give the Cavs their 6th straight SEOAL victory. Their only league loss came in the opener at Ironton last month. The Tigers (7-0) finished the first round with a 60-54 win over Portsmouth (5-2).

The Cavs held an early six point lead and went on a 6-2 run to close out the first quarter at 18-8. The teams played even to close out the first half 27-17.

Chillicothe shot 55% from the field, including six 3-pointers to begin to pull away in the second half, leading 45-28 through three periods and despite being outscored 20-18 in the final quarter.

Logan's Patrick Angle, averaging nearly 25 ppg since returning from a knee injury, was held to 13 points. Mason Mays had 16 points to lead the Logan attack.
Now, the Cavs rematch with Ironton, who came from 13 points down for a 51-48 victory at the Conley Center in Ironton before Christmas. Tip off will be around 8pm
Friday night at Chillicothe.

NOTES: The Cavs swept their tripleheader. Adam Bixler nailed a buzzer-beater for a 31-30 win in the Freshman game and Marcus London nailed a shot with two seconds remaining to break a 46-all tie to win the JV game, 48-46... As the Cavaliers will be introducing their new football coach this Monday, a coaching search has begun at Logan. After nearly 20 years in leading the Chieftains, Dale Amyx resigned the position last Monday.

Photos by Dana Cousins wbex.com
Purchase photos

Coach Jordan and the Ironmen stayed with Chillicothe, but the Cavs came out on top at Jackson, 77-57.

The Jordan was not longtime coaching legend Larry, but his son Mike led the Ironmen. In his pregame interview on WBEX, Larry explained hid first aid certificate had expired. He says he has caught up with the necessities, but was told by Superintendent Phil Howard, he was not permitted to coach until the certification reached the proper authorities.

All that said, son Mike, who had just led Jackson to a 47-45 JV victory took over the reigns.

Both teams were lights out in the first quarter, fighting to a 20-all tie. Chillicothe had a 16-6 lead whittled away by Jackson three-point bombs.

The Cavs pulled ahead 37-30 at halftime, nearly hitting their season average for points per game.

Chillicothe again took a double-figure lead in the third, but Jackson would not go away, trailing the Cavs 51-45 through the 3rd quarter.

Eventually Chillicothe took control in the 4th outscoring Jackson 26-12.

The Cavs were sterling from the field, making 32-of-40 of their shots (80%) from two-point range and 6-of-8 on their three's (75%).

Michael Turner led Chillicothe with 25 points, Jalen Ragland had 17 while Malik London scored 13 with 17 rebounds.

The Jackson attack was led by Morgan Dobbins with 17 and Dylon Newsome and Andrew Christmas had 16 points each.

Chillicothe (6-3, 5-1) plays three games next week, two at home. After playing 7-of-9 on the road, the Cavs return to Hatton Memorial Gymnasium with Logan Tuesday and open the second round of the SEOAL season with Ironton Friday. Chillicothe has won five straight games since dropping the league opener at Ironton in December. Then,
Saturday, Chillicothe plays in the Play-By-Play Scholastic Shootout at Ohio State University's Value City Arena, facing Canton Timken at 2pm.

NOTES: Jackson slips to 3-3 and 1-3 in the SEOAL... Morgan Dobbins, winner of the 2009 Ohio Division II State Golf Title was presented with a banner which will be hung in Jackson's Gymnasium.


Photos by Dana Cousins, wbex.com

Chillicothe pulled away from Warren late to grab a 63-52 SEOAL win Tuesday night.
The game was postponed by last weekend's winter weather.

For the Warriors, it was their first game since a league win over Logan December 29th.

Warren held an early 8-4 lead over Chillicothe, but the Cavs used a 12-0 run to take a 16-8 lead early in the second quarter. The margin increased to 19-10 with 4:18 left before the Warriors whittled away with a run of their own, 9-3 to trail at the half 22-19.

Michael Turner, held scoreless in the first quarter, finished with a career high 27 points including 8-of-10 in free throws. As a team, Chillicothe made 16-of-22 from the line.

Warren's Austin Cunningham, who led all scorers with 30 points, hit a three pointer with 6 minutes remaining in the game to bring the Warriors to within one at 41-40, but that's all the closer the home team could get.

Warren managed to close the gap to 53-50 with 2:18 remaining, but the Cavs held the Warriors at bay, closing out with a 10-2 run.

The Cavs' Tyler Manion had a career high 11 points.

Chillicothe improves to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in SEOAL play. Warren slips to  5-3 and 1-3.

The Cavs travel to Jackson Friday night while Warren heads to Gallia Academy.

The Cavaliers (4-3/2-1) make the long trip to Warren (5-2/1-2) for a battle with the Warriors tonight in a make up date from last Friday.

The Cavs look to bounce back from Saturday night's 46-37 loss at Pickerington Central.

As for Warren, they're just happy to get back on the game floor. They've not played since a win over Logan on December 29th due to weather related postponements.

Coverage on 1490 WBEX begins around 7:30pm.

The Pickerington Central Tigers proved too much for the Cavaliers down the stretch in a 46-37 non-conference battle.

Chillicothe led 2-0 on an Isaac Beverly basket, but Pickerington (5-4) motored ahead on a 9-0 run and never looked back.

Chillicothe used the three-ball to pull to within two points by halftime. Michael Turner hit back-to-back three's to make it a 21-16 game before Jalen Ragland closed out the half with another long bomb for a 21-19 score at intermission.

The Cavs were 3-of-8 from beyond the arc, but made just 11-of-34 shots from the field. The TIgers hit 47% of their field goals to keep Chillicothe at bay.

In the third quarter, Pickerington outscored the Cavs 10-8, and then opened up the fourth on a 6-2 run to build a 37-29 lead.

Chillicothe cut that lead to 37-34, but could get no closer.

The Cavs had 12 turnovers to the Tigers' 7.

The Cavs were led by Malik London's 12 points. Turner added 11.

Chillicothe (4-3) will be back on the road Tuesday in a rescheduled match from last Friday's postponement at Warren. The JV contest begins at 6:00pm with coverage of the varsirty contest around 7:30pm.

The Cavaliers will make a rare Tuesday night trip to Warren 1-12. The first meeting was postponed last Friday.

Coverage on 1490 WBEX will begin around 7:30pm Tuesday night.

Another casualty of the winter storm, Chillicothe's boys basketball game at Warren.

The Athletic Department says a make up date will be announced next week.