In a game that had 14 lead changes, Washington Court House was able to hold on to beat Chillicothe 47-41 Tuesday night at Washington Court House High School. Blaise Tayese scored the final 14 points of the game and went 8-8 from the free throw line to seal the deal.
The game started with Chillicothe coming out fast going up 11-7 but Washington went on an 11-0 run to finish the quarter and led 17-11. Washington's run went into the second quarter before Chillicothe was able to get back into the scoring column. Chillicothe went on an 11-4 run of their own to close out the half but still trailed 28-24.
Even Upthegrove led the way for the Blue Lions in the first, with 10 of his 12 points. For the half Washington shot 10-21 for 48% including 2-3 from behind the arc and they forced Chillicothe into 13 turnovers with tough defense which lasted through the entire night. Chillicothe shot 10-26 in the half for 38%, they out rebounded Washington 13-6 and forced 8 turnovers.
The second half saw the lead change hands multiple times with Chillicothe outscoring the Blue Lions 12-7 to take their first lead since early in the contest at 36-35. The Blue Lions held Chillicothe to just 5 fourth quarter points and handed the ball over to Senior Blaise Tayese who scored the final 14 points, going 8-8 from the free throw line. All his points came in the second half. Senior Richie Burns played every minute of the game and held Chillicothe standout Brandon Noel to just 8 points, Noel had over 50 points combined in his last two games.
On the night the Blue Lions (3-1) shot 15-36 for 42% including 2-6 from three. They committed 19 turnovers and pulled down 21 rebounds. The big key of the game was the free throw line where they shot 15-18 for 83%. Tayese led them in scoring with 14 followed with Evan Upthegrove's 12.
Chillicothe (3-2) finished the night shooting 16-52 for 31%, committed 17 turnovers and pulled down 27 boards but were only 4-9 from the free throw line for 44%. The were led in scoring by Jayvon Maughmer's 17 and Tre Beard chipped in with 10.