The Chillicothe Hornets rode the first-half scoring brilliance of sophomores Westley Brandsgaard and C.J. Pfaff to a 38-23 halftime lead over Bishop LeBlond, and, despite a third quarter slump, the Hornets strong finishing quick gave Tim Cool’s team a 66-55 victory on Thursday night, in the semifinals of the Savannah Invitational Tournament.
Brandsgaard had 15 points and Pfaff 13 in the first half for CHS, with the Hornets perimeter defense was strong against a Golden Eagle team with a potent three-point shooting attack, holding Sean Davis, Brennan Haynes, and Jack Harvey to just one three-point make each.
In the third quarter, Harvey, the southpaw senior guard, had a nine point quarter, part of a 16-8 LeBlond advantage that cut the lead to 46-41. With Brandsgaard scoring nine fourth quarter points, Chillicothe pulled away late for a 3-0 start to the season.
Brandsgaard led Chillicothe with 27 points, while Walker Graves had 17 points and 12 rebounds, with C.J. Pfaff adding 15. Harvey led LeBlond with 26 points, while Sean Davis had 17.
Chillicothe moves into the Savannah championship game to play Platte County, an 80-70 semifinal winner over Maryville, behind 23 points from Deiondre Ragsdale. Tate Oglesby had a game-high 30 points for the Spoofhounds.
The Chillicothe Lady Hornets dropped into the third place game at Savannah, with a costly 11-0 run by Savannah, early in the fourth quarter, turning a one point Savages lead into a 12 point Savages lead, with CHS unable to recover in a 63-52 defeat. Grace Stites had 22 points, with Gabby Hummer and Briley Jeter scoring 10 each for the Savages, who will play Staley for the title of their own tournament.
Sophomore Hunter Keithley had a strong game for Chillicothe with 20 points, with Jordan Hibner, on the strength of three first-half three-point shots, adding nine, and Kennedie Kieffer eight. Chillicothe will play Maryville for girls third place tonight (Friday night) at 7:30 at Savannah High School.
The Staley girls won in the semifinal round over Maryville, 55-48. The Lady Spoofhounds, coached by former Trenton High School Head Coach Quentin Albrecht, and assisted by former Chillicothe Hornet Maggie Graves and Trenton Bulldog Megan Sole, have made strides in their rebuilding project this year. Three talented freshmen, led by 5’11” guard Serena Sundell, have increased the competitiveness of the ‘Hounds. Sundell had 22 points in defeat against the Falcons. Lou Gilbert had 14 points to pace the Falcons attack.
Three games will be played tonight (Friday night) from Savannah, as the LeBlond girls play the Central JV for fifth place at 4:30, followed by the Savannah boys playing Benton in the fifth place boys contest at 6:00. The Chillicothe-Maryville girls duel will follow for third place at 7:30.
Saturday’s action at SHS start at 1 o’clock, with the Maryville boys against LeBlond in the third place game. Savannah and Staley battle for the girls title at 2:30, with Chillicothe and Platte County for the boys 1st place hardware at 4:00.
