In his pregame interview, Coach Eric Bradley said "We're just a bunch of musicians and dancers...".
Don't be fooled, Dayton Stivers School for the Arts has some ball players, too.5'9 freshman Robert Caldwell lit the Cavs up for 22 points and gave his Tigers an early seven point spread on the Cavaliers.
A defensive adjustment allowed Chillicothe to begin to claw back into the game,
Coach Gary Kellough switched Zack Johnson's defensive assignment to Caldwell and stopped the bleeding. Meanwhile, Jalen Ragland's 9-point second quarter gave the Cavs their first lead of the game at 27-26 with 4:04 left, en route to a 36-32 lead at halftime. Ragland had been held scoreless through the first period.
Malik London kept the Cavs in the first quarter with 9 of his 16 points as Stivers (1-2) built a 21-15 lead.In the third, Chillicothe made just one of their first six shots and the Tigers went on a 10-2 run to regain the lead and led 48-42 with 1:25 remaining. But the Cavs put together a quick barrage of scoring to tie the game at 48 entering the fourth period.Chillicothe took charge in the final period with pressure defense, which forced Stivers into 20 turnovers for the game. The Cavs made 53% of their shots in the fourth but only quarter of those in the third. In a reversal of rolls, Stivers hit 58% in the third, but went cold in the fourth.The Cavs hit 19 of 27 free throws while the Tigers were 14-of-18.Ragland led the Chillicothe attack with 26, pouring in 12 points down the stretch.Isaac Beverly scored a season high 10, Johnson and Tyler Manion had 9 points apiece and Marcus Dunn added 3.Brooklyn Bradley and Caldwell combined for 40 of the Stivers points.The Cavs took better care of the basketball. After tallying 25 at Xenia, Chillicothe committed just 13 against Stivers.Chillicothe (2-0) will host Hamilton Township Saturday December 18th.
Photos by Dana Cousins/wbex.com
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