Circleville Advances to D-IV Elite 8 with 50-48 Win over Unioto
Article presented by Herlihy Moving & Storage …
Survive and advance. It’s a familiar phrase used every March by basketball teams at all levels of tournament play.
The saying was true at The Convo Wednesday in Circleville’s 50-48 win over Unioto in the Boys D-IV Regional Semifinal. The Tigers improved to 23-2 in school’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 1997. Circleville will face defending State Champ Maysville who dismantled John Glenn early in the first half as Gator Nichols scored 34-points in a 71-35 blasting in the opener of the D-IV double feature.
The Tigers jumped out to a 13-3 lead on Unioto in the first quarter making 60% of their shots from the field. The Shermans chipped away at the lead on an 8-0 run before Riley Jenkins hit a shot from the right.
Circleville’s Kole Nungester started to take over the game. He quietly scored seven of his game-high 31-points during the first four minutes of play. The senior guard then went on a run scoring 10 of the Tigers’ 14-points in the second period. Jenkins hit another basket to lift Circleville to a 12-point lead at 27-15. The Shermans’ Jack Welch knocked down a shot just before the half to cut the lead to ten at the break.
Unioto’s Blake Fitch takes aim on an mid-range jumper in the first half.
The Shermans made some halftime adjustments and forced Circleville into some uncharacteristic turnovers. Next thing you know, Unioto pulled to within 36-34. Isaac Coy picked off a pass and raced to the other end of the floor to knot the game at 36-36 with 5:09 remaining.
What happened next was a momentum stopper.
Just a minute later, Nungester scored posting up on the low block left of the basket and was fouled. It was immediately followed by a technical foul. Nungester finished off the bonus free throw, hit one of two on the technical, then knocked down a bucket on the next possession. A 6-0 run to put Circleville back on top 42-36.
While the Shermans didn’t quit, they weren’t able to pull even the rest of the game.
Unioto’s Blake Fitch hit a basket at the buzzer but Circleville – well, survived and advanced 50-48.
“It was a dog fight to the finish” said Circleville’s Evan Callihan. “You were watching two of the best point guards in the area go at it right there in Blake Fitch and Kole Nungester. We didn’t really have a great answer for Fitch and I don’t think they (Unioto) had a great answer for Kole … We were fortunate, we came out on the right side of it.”
Fitch’s final game as a Sherman added 25-points to his decorated career for Unioto, selected SVC Player of the Year the last two seasons. Isaac Coy had 9-points for the Shermans, Dawson Mitchell had 5, Brayden Harsha 4, Jaxon Zickafoose 3, and Jack Welch 2. Unioto finished the season 20-4.
Behind Nungester’s 31, Circleville’s Blain Fowler had 7, Jack Kline and Rile Jenkins scored 4-apiece, with Glavine Bigam and Ed Kirk with two each.
The 23-wins on the year is a new school mark for the Tigers, who have reached the Regional Championship game for the first time since 1976. Circleville lost to the eventual AA State Champion Dayton Roth, 84-56.
