An awkward moment turned into a 56-54 Chillicothe victory over visiting Dublin Coffman Saturday night.

With the score tied at 54 in the game’s final seconds, the Cavs had difficulty handling the Coffman full court pressure, but once the ball got down the floor good things happened.

Aaron Elliott’s pass to the baseline didn’t quite reach MaLik London cleanly. London had to chase the ball to the sideline. Meanwhile, Elliott headed for the basket and London rifled the ball back to Elliott who hit the bucket to lift the Cavs back on top. Not exactly how it was drawn up, but it worked out for a win for the Cavaliers.

London had a big night with 27 points.

The Cavs’ swingman was 8-for-9 in the first half which helped Chillicothe take a 33-31 lead into the intermission. Chillicothe had trailed 25-19 before London hit 12 of the Cavs last 14 points of the half, closing on a 16-6 run.

The two clubs traded baskets for most of the second half with Zach Johnson and Isaiah Johnson teaming up to push Chillicothe ahead 45-41 at the end of the third.

The Cavs held off a late charge by Dublin in the final period. London buried a handful of free throws to give his team a 54-48 cushion.

The Shamrocks weren’t done as they tied the game at 54 with under a minute remaining, but Elliott’s basket was the nail in the coffin.

For a second straight night, the Cavs had fewer turnovers than their opponents (18-12) and had similar field goal percentage hitting 23-of-52 shots (44%) to Coffman’s 22-48 (45%).

It was the third straight Chillicothe (8-3) win and third straight loss for the Shamrocks (7-4) this week after falling to OCC foes Hilliard Davidson and Worthington Kilbourne.

The game marked the return to the lineup of Zach Johnson who poured in 15 points. Other Cavalier scorers included Elliott and Adam Bixler with four each and Jalen Jones, Marcus Dunn and Isaiah Johnson with two points each.

Chillicothe doesn’t play again until Friday at Gallia Academy.

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