

Cavaliers go cold in loss to Upper Arlington

Jan. 28, 2007

UPPER ARLINGTON - With Upper Arlington up by six early in the third quarter, Stu Beverly split through everybody to get his own rebound, then popped the shot back in to make it a four-point game.

On the other end, Anthony Hitchens ripped down a defensive rebound, brought it all the way back and pulled up for a jumper, cutting it to a one-possession game with 6:08 left in the period.

And then, the Cavs.



That second-half span was the difference in the game as Chillicothe dropped the reunion with its old rival 55-49.

It wasn't really that the Cavs didn't score - Upper Arlington didn't score in the final four minutes, either. But it was how each team pulled out of its tailspin that decided the game.

"We didn't really come out of it until the last five minutes of the game," Chillicothe coach Gary Kellough said. "They came out of it much quicker and got back to doing the things they needed to do."

Overall, the Cavs just didn't look sharp Saturday. Though the team did rally to tie the game at 23 late in the third quarter, the Cavs' high-octane offense sputtered all night. Ray Chambers and Chris Givens suffered through first-half foul trouble and missed much of the first 16 minutes, and the Golden Bears used it to their advantage.

"It hurt us," Kellough said of losing his size inside. "And Upper Arlington is a disciplined team. We knew they were going to pass the ball around until they found their shot, not try to run with us. And when we lost our big men they were able to get too many offensive rebounds. It took our transition game away."

Chillicothe didn't really start running like usual until late. The Bears swelled their lead to 10 points with 2:30 to go in the game before Chillicothe started its final push when Chambers hit a jumper in the paint. After UA was whistled for a double-dribble, Caleb Knights found Hitchens open for a wide-open 3, cutting the lead to five with two minutes to go.

After the Bears got it back to six, the margin stayed there until the final minute, when a Givens' putback cut it to four.

In the final 20 seconds, Chillicothe made it a one-possession game on a Chambers layup, but costly - and hotly contested - fouls against Chillicothe left the Cavs with no chance at a comeback.



"Well, we didn't like some of them," said Kellough, who was hit with a technical foul late in the fourth. "But that's basketball. I told the kids that you have to play through it, that (the officials) are people too and they have a bad night. It was a good test for us to see where we're at, it's just a shame some of those calls went the way they did."

For the record, the Bears went 10-for-16 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. Chillicothe went 4-for-11 in the game.

"But we're not going to panic," Kellough said. "We're still 11-4. It's tough to go on the road against a team that's 12-3 now and play well - which we didn't."

The upside is that a letdown against Upper Arlington doesn't cost the Cavs in the league any more.

A letdown this week will.

Chillicothe will travel to Jackson Tuesday before coming back home for the showdown against Zanesville Friday.


Things To Do


Real Deals
