Brock Netter, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
ATHENS — When its clicking, Circleville is nearly impossible to stop.
The Tigers’ ball movement was flawless, the turnovers were minimal, the defense was on point, and finishing the game with four players in double figures doesn’t hurt, either.
All of that equaled a one-sided 68-36 victory over Gallia Academy in a Division IV district semifinal inside Ohio University’s Convocation Center on Sunday.
“We had six days to prepare for this game and that can be tough,” Evan Callihan said. “We haven’t played in nine games and practice can get kind of boring this time of year. But I thought our guys showed up, walked through our plays and they did a great job executing defensively. That’s our big thing. Teams, at this point in the season, our advancing with our defense. It’s physical, so defense is going to be how you advance.”
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
Out of the gates, Kole Nungester connected on a pair of 3’s that put the Tigers ahead 6-2. Blain Fowler and Jack Kline followed with buckets to offset shots from GA’s Alex Blair for a 12-8 lead after the first quarter.
Nungester opened the second with a bucket, followed by a steal and score from Fowler to take a 17-10 lead.
That’s when Riley Jenkins made his presence felt.
He connected on a 3 before hitting two shots inside off assists from Kline, scoring the final seven points for Circleville (21-2) in the quarter to make it 24-15 at halftime.
In the third, Glavine Bigam and Alex Blair traded triples before Macen Meadows connected inside to bring the game within 27-20.
That’s where the Tigers began to show why they’re the top seed.
Jenkins and Fowler buried consecutive shots, Kline scored and Nungester found the bottom of the net that allowed the Tigers to end the frame on a 16-9 spurt to put them ahead 43-29.
Gallia Academy (11-12) was still in striking distance if it could manage to get defensive stops, but Circleville was having none of that.
Fowler opened the fourth with a bucket before Kline, who had six assists through three quarters, started getting rewarded and scored eight straight points to effectively put the game out of reach.
“I think we beat a good basketball team. [Gallia Academy] is underrated,” Callihan said. “Our guys battled and we rebounded well. We did what we needed to do to be successful tonight. Kole had a great night getting to the basket, Blain made some big shots when we needed him to, Jack had some big assists in that game, and Riley Jenkins was big on the inside. Glavine [Bigam], defensively. It was a total team effort.”
Nungester finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists to lead the Tigers. Jenkins added 13 points, Fowler had 13 points and nine rebounds, and Kline added 12 points and six assists.
For Gallia Academy, Meadows led the way, finishing with 11 points.
Circleville returns to action at 6 p.m., Thursday in a Division IV district championship game against Waverly, who beat New Lexington to advance.
That game will also take place at Ohio University’s Convocation Center.
“Getting [to the Convocation Center] is a really great goal to have,” Callihan said. “But we really talked to our guys about wanting more than just today. So it was like, ‘Take it all in during warm-ups and then, after that, it’s time to get business.’ It’s not going to get any easier, either. But I’m proud of what our guys were able to do tonight.”
“It’s a lot of walkthrough stuff at this point and a lot of mental stuff. A lot of shooting,” Callihan said. “When you play for a district title, anything can happen. We have a lot of respect for Waverly. That’s a great young team that’s capable of beating anybody. We’ll have a lot of prepare for. But anytime you’re practicing in March, that’s a good sign.”
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