WL-Salem clinches share of OHC crown
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West Liberty-Salem’s Dillon Callicoat goes up for a basket during the fourth quarter of a game against Mechanicsburg on Friday. Callicoat scored 16 points in the Tigers 68-47 win. (EXAMINER PHOTO | AARON LaBATT) |
As the third quarter wore on Friday, West Liberty-Salem knew it was closing on what it had worked so hard for.
The Tigers pulled away from visiting Mechanicsburg and took away any suspense away as they won their 14th straight game and clinched at least a share of the Ohio Heritage Conference crown in a 68-47 win.
WL-Salem improves to 18-2 overall and 13-0 in the OHC. The Tigers have a one-game lead over Southeastern, which they play next Friday in South Charleston. A win over the Trojans would secure an outright league championship.
The Tigers defeated Mechanicsburg 68-64 in their first meeting of the season and Friday looked to be another tightly contested game.
WL-Salem led 14-12 after the first quarter and 31-25 at halftime.
M’burg made a small run early in the third quarter to cut the Tigers’ lead to 34-31 with 6:01 left in the period.
But WL-Salem went on an 11-2 run after that to grab a 48-33 cushion. They outscored the Indians 17-8 in the period.
WL-Salem’s perimeter shooting was firing on all cylinders as the Tigers hit 11 three-point shots, including six in the second half.
The defense was stout as well as it frustrated M’burg in the final quarter.
Dillon Callicoat led the WL-Salem offense with 16 points, Kannon Stillings had 15 points, Austin Miller tallied 12 points and Luke Woods added 11 points.
Lackluster second half sends Chiefs to loss
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Bellefontaine’s Jacob Rogan puts up a shot during Friday’s home game against Tippecanoe. (EXAMINER PHOTO | MATT HAMMOND) |
Bellefontaine’s defense could not bail out a cold-shooting offense Friday night against Tippecanoe.
The Chiefs could not find any kind of spark on the offensive end in a 45-32 loss to the visiting Red Devils in a Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail division boys basketball game.
Bellefontaine drops to 7-11 overall and 3-6 in the CBC, while Tippecanoe improves to 12-7, 5-4.
The Chiefs led 14-12 at halftime before the Red Devils warmed up in the second half. Bellefontaine never did.
Bellefontaine shot just 26 percent from the field and 50 percent (6-of-12) at the foul line.
It was still a tight game at the end of the third quarter as the Red Devils led by just three at 25-22.
However, the visitors outscored the Chiefs 20-10 in the final period.
Bellefontaine did not have a scorer in double digits against the Red Devils. Hayden Nease and Isaiah Miller each had eight points, Jacob Rogan and Spencer George had six points each and Dawsin Tillman chipped in four points.
Lakers keep rolling, outlast Warriors
Points were not hard to come by as Indian Lake’s boys basketball team outlasted visiting Northwestern in a high-scoring clash on Friday in Central Buckeye Conference Mad River division action.
The Lakers piled up a season high for points in an 84-77 win over the Warriors, a game that saw the two teams combine for 59 points in the fourth quarter.
Indian Lake has now won five games in a row and seven of its last eight to improve to 12-7 overall and 7-2 in the CBC Mad River division.
The Warriors fall to 7-12, 5-4.
The Lakers grabbed a 21-15 lead after the opening quarter and the hosts led 44-36 at halftime.
Indian Lake’s lead was eight after the third quarter as well as the Lakers took a 55-47 advantage into the fourth period.
Northwestern was one point better than the Lakers in a wild final stanza, outscoring the Lakers 30-29. However, Indian Lake was able to fight off the threat to get the win.
Beau Hefner led the offensive fireworks for Indian Lake with 34 points. Alex Jacobs piled up 22 points and Collin Coburn had 13 points.
Upper Scioto Valley turns back Riverside
Upper Scioto Valley found its groove midway through the game to dispatch visiting Riverside 62-45 in Northwest Central Conference boys basketball action Friday.
The Commodores improve to 12-7 overall and 5-2 in the NWCC as the Pirates fall to 6-12, 3-4.
Upper Scioto Valley held a 12-11 lead at the end of the first quarter and then outscored the Pirates 14-6 in the second quarter to hold a 26-17 halftime lead.
USV continued to stretch out its lead in the second half.
Landon Kelsey led Riverside with 15 points and Jesse Kean added 12 points with seven rebounds.
Cardinals brush aside Irish
Triad’s boys basketball team was clicking early Friday against host Springfield Catholic Central and rolled to a 64-55 win in Ohio Heritage Conference action.
The Cardinals boost their record to 14-6 overall and 8-5 in the OHC, while the Irish slide to 5-11, 3-8.
Triad’s Hadley LeVan led all scorers with 22 points. Ryan Boyd was close behind with 17 points and Colby Watson had 15 points.
Triad took care of business early as it led 14-9 after the opening quarter. The Cardinals edged the Irish 17-15 in the second quarter to take a 31-24 advantage at halftime.
Catholic Central kept itself in the game with a 15-13 effort in the third quarter, but still trailed 44-39.
Triad locked up the win with a 20-16 run in the fourth quarter.
Hillclimbers clinch share of CBC Mad River title in win over Raiders
Urbana’s boys basketball team handled host Benjamin Logan 58-38 on Friday and in the process claimed at least a share of the Central Buckeye Conference Mad River division championship.
The Hillclimbers are 12-6 overall and 8-1 in the Mad River division with a one game lead over Indian Lake and one division game left to play.
Urbana took control with a 15-8 lead after the first quarter. The Hillclmbers hit full stride in the second quarter with a 24-7 run, which gave them a 39-15 cushion at the break.
The Hillclimbers outscored the Raiders 12-8 in the third quarter to take a 51-23 advantage. The Raiders went on a 15-7 scoring spurt in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to catch Urbana.
Grant Ricketts fueled the Raiders with 14 points, while Nolan Robson and Austin VanBuskirk each had seven points.