Chillicothe 68 @ Portsmouth 42 Final

[Bronc21]

chillicothe is finally getting some games in...their early season long layoff between games hurt them.now their getting back in basketball shape . this team could be very dangerous come tourney time..this team can go 10-11 deep and not lose a beat...its good having those kids coming off the bench and giving the starters long breaks...the defense by ALL the cavs is creating major havoc...and to think, chilli gets their 6'8 freshman phenom back in a couple weeks. cavs have outrebounded every opponent so far and have been hitting the offensive end very hard...beware, the cavs are BACK !

[Hitchbone64]

chillicothe 68 - portsmouth 42

chilli- scoring
smith 19
dawes 11
knights 11
turner 12
benson 6

29-47 fg for 62%

portsmouth
horne(sp) 14
williams 9

19-44 43%

Portsmouth radio had Chillicothe as 30 of 50 for 60% shooting.

They had Portsmouth with 19 of 51 for 37% shooting.

Portsmouth only had 1 FT attempt all night!

Tobias,

The one thing we don't do is foul. 1 FT is way to low, but we have given up a lot of 3 balls that hurt us this year. Sounds like P-Town did not get to the glass either (to get the fast break going). That creates fouls in transition.

I was not at the game (out of town visiting Ms. hitchbones family for the holidays), but my fellow Cavs faithful are extremely happy with the defensive effort ane the balanced scoring. My text and cell have been blowing up.

P-Town and Chilly will be in the mix with all the others in the South this year. No one could have predicted a 20 point win by the Cavs (even a diehard fan like me). I thought P-Town would be favored in this contest.

I will say this and TrojanDave knows I am a big P-Town fan. The young Trojans still have to learn how to win the big games (just the Cavs did two years ago). This is a lesson for them and they will get better. It reminds me a a whopping Toledo Libbey put on the Cavs two years ago (at the Schott). 6 pt game at the half and down 20 to start the 4th. We lost but learned. The Trojans will rise and whomever they play next will pay.

Look forward to watching the game on DVD and then the return trip up to the "Hat".

GO CAVS!!! 2008 DII STATE CHAMPS!!!

[Bronc21]

hitch, do you have any copies left for sale on last years games vs poland and libbey?

[Hitchbone64]

hitch, do you have any copies left for sale on last years games vs poland and libbey?

I have the Libbey game. I am getting a few request on the Poland game as well. I plan on getting them to the next Home game and move them out by the concession stand at half-time of the game and after. I will post something. If you want one quicker let me know.

[Hitchbone64]

this loss might just be what the doctor orderd. the team may refocus and be ready to take on an extremley good ironton team.

hammerdown,

P-Town must play defense against the Tigers. They will run that weave all day until you fall asleep. They then back door you, or get a 3-ball off. If Lamb is not healthy it helps the Trojans. He killed the Cavs on the glass. He had like 16 boards (almost double digits offensively) and we are and excellent rebounding team (as evidenced by the Cavs performance tonight).

GO CAVS!!! 2008 DII STATE CHAMPS!!!

[Bronc21]

i'll look for the libbey game at next home game....if you can get me the poland game let me know, so i can ask the wife for permission to buy them..haha

[Hitchbone64]

i'll look for the libbey game at next home game....if you can get me the poland game let me know, so i can ask the wife for permission to buy them..haha

I can feel you on the wife thing.....Tell her I will make you a deal.

[Bronc21]

that usually doesnt work either....looks like i'll have to go out to dinner again.......
back to the cavs....ive been really impressed with the jv kids...they play good team ball. very athletic group of kids and go all out the whole game.....chilli's future looks very bright. still waiting to see malik's game

[Burg_Grad_77]

last week it was unacceptable to say the trojans played street ball. anyway --no way a team that talented loses by that many at home. I was'nt there but this group should'nt lose that bad to last years Cav's . I saw plenty to be worried about but when i raised some issues I got shouted down . anyway hope the trojans regroup and correct some issues. MD

MD, I too mentioned the "streetball" style that the Trojans played against the Pirates that almost cost them that game and got blasted as well. Sounds like it did cost them this game. If they don't wisen up and start playing as a team and listening to their head coach, a very talented Trojan team just might not have the great season expected from them. Hopefully this drubbing will wake them up and get them to play together and have the success I hope they can have. I fugured this would be the team from our area to make a deep tourney run, but if they continue to play like they are I just don't see it. Streetball may be fun to watch, but you get up against a team that plays solid defense, especially against the transition game, and they will beat you every time.

Good luck to the Trojans the rest of the season.

[ManitouDan]

Trojan Dave --- whats the scoop ?

[85inside]

The league games are big, but the sectional, district and regional titles are what everyone is playing for here. One thing for sure, whomever comes out of the D3 districts and regional will have to play good defense. Portsmouth has the athletes to play good defense along with their exceptional offense. However, you have to have the "want to." the team that does that in March will be very happy. The december and january games are fun, but the March games are where the "money's at."

[trojandave]

Congratulations to the Cavaliers on the win........Chillicothe played OUTSTANDING DEFENSE........it smothered Portsmouth's offense all night...........Caleb Knight's defense on Andrew Bendolph was SENSATIONAL.........that set the tone for the Cavaliers' runaway win...........

I thought Portsmouth played very good defense in the first half.....down only 25-23 at the break........but when the shots weren't falling for the Trojans in the 3rd quarter, their transition defense fell apart and gave up numerous layups to the Cavaliers who took full advantage of the defensive lapses.

Our kids got frustrated by having a blue uniform shadowing them everywhere.........and by the 3rd quarter PHS started to take some bad shots which just fueled Chillicothe's 21-7 run in that period.

We just had a bad night........yet we are still 5-1........we're off to our best start since 1999......and we're still a good team.......one loss doesn't change that.

I am not going to rant about "streetball".........you already know how I feel about the use of that term.....I felt in the third quarter the Trojans just got frustrated and took some bad shots.........but it was not "streetball".........

Of course there are things we can do to improve........but we will, and we have.......we are a better team than we were against McClain, but last night Chillicothe simply put together a defensive masterpiece and the Trojans had no answer for it.

But we're 5-1 and headed for Ironton..........GO TROJANS!!!

[trojandave]

I want to congratulate Coach Ted Newsome and his Trojan freshman.......they defeated Chillicothe to go 5-0 on the season..........Portsmouth is 3-0 in the SEOAL South in freshman play............

Our JV squad, coached by Aaron Smith, has improved immensely since a drubbing at the hands of Gallia Academy........they since have beaten Wheelersburg, and last night lost a close game to a good Chillicothe JV team.

[biggdowgg]

I never put much stock in the lower class games, you can tell a lot from them, dont get me wrong, but you can NEVER gfaurantee that they will all be there next year.

to many people moving, transfering in or out to depend on.

"JMO"

[trojandave]

Claygrad: You are absolutely right.........Wheelersburg has brought a number of sophomores and the freshman Whitley up to the varsity........and that does make a big difference for the Burg JV.......but also remember that Andrew Bendolph is a sophomore playing on the varsity for Portsmouth.

The way that the Portsmouth JV played against Gallia Academy the night before the Wheelersburg game, I was very pleased with the improvement of our kids, even if it was a scaled down version of a Burg JV squad.......and they continued to play some good ball last night against Chillicothe.

Any good news about the play of our kids gives me encouragement for the future.

[trojandave]

Biggdowgg is right.......especially at Portsmouth, where there have been years where we had a good JV squad only to have about half the kids tryout the next year.

I am especially encouraged by our freshmen class because many of these kids' best sport is basketball.......and they have won throughout junior high and now at the high school.........

The one thing that will be missing from next year's Trojan varsity for sure is size......we lose all our size to graduation.

[trojandave]

One other comment about last night.......although it was frustrating to Trojan fans, players, and coaches, just remember that 2 years ago we were 4-18.......we've come a long way since then, and one loss to a good Chillicothe team is not going to damper my spirits.

We're 5-1 after last night........I'm very happy with that........

[drrabbit]

Wheelersburg has three sophomores that start varsity and a fourth who broke his foot right before basketball started and he was one of the better freshmen last year. So they are a little depleted of talent. And they start all sophomores. But it was a good win for Portsmouth. Wheelersburg has plenty of talent left in their sophomore class. But they do miss four of their top five scorers and that shows in their low offensive numbers. That said, I like how their defense seems to be improving overall. They are tough kids who work hard.

Ironton has the best JV team the Pirates have faced so far but they, as usual, have a lot of juniors on the squad-at least for that game. But they have a couple of very talented freshmen and their sophomore #42 was a beast in that game. He really gave a lot of good minutes and his shots were falling.