Defense powers Thunder win over Chillicothe

JON DYKSTRA/THE FORUM
Nodaway Valley sophomore Braxton McGinness sprints in for a layup Saturday against Chillicothe at the Bishop LeBlond Holiday Tournament.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — The Chillicothe Hornets aren’t only bigger than Nodaway Valley in terms of classification, but also just in height and bulk with their interior players led by Jaishon White, a First Team All-State defensive end in football.

Nodaway Valley senior Tyler Gray got the assignment against the 6-foot-5, 230-pound center, but it was a team effort to limit the Hornet star. The Thunder got it done in Saturday’s opening round of the Bishop LeBlond Holiday Tournament with a 43-38 victory.

“We knew coming in that we were going to have to be physical and be smart,” Nodaway Valley sophomore Jax Cowden said. “We did that.”

With White of the interior, Nodaway Valley (8-2) looked to take advantage of its backcourt. Junior Tye Hoyt hit a 3-pointer and sophomore Braxton McGinness had steals on 3-straight possessions to take a 12-1 lead early in the first quarter.

“I was just seeing some lazy passes and I was trying to get into the lane, get a steal and go on a fast break,” McGinness said. “… When we get up on them, they can’t make those easy passes in there for an easy layup. We decided that they were a little lazy with the ball, so we were just going to get up and pressure.”

White answered with free throw then a rare 3-pointer for the big man. White had back-to-back baskets and Jack Marshall hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 15-12.

Cowden hit a 3-pointer to stop the run and Hoyt hit another to end the half with a 21-14 lead.

“We were a little undersized, but not under-worked,” Nodaway Valley coach Shawn Emerson said.

Cowden kept the Thunder in front with the first nine points of the third quarter for his team. Gray had two free throws to put Nodaway Valley up 32-20.

“Everybody was moving and cutting to the ball,” Cowden said. “That is what is good about our offense — everybody is always moving.”

Chillicothe (4-5) had another big run to end the third quarter and open the fourth quarter on a 12-2 to get within 34-32, but the Thunder refused to relinquish the lead with a pair of McGinness free throws followed by a steal and layup for a 38-32 margin.

Nodaway Valley closed it out for a 5-point win to advance to Monday’s semifinals against Pleasant Hill, who beat Savannah 65-54 in overtime. Monday’s game is at 4 p.m. at LeBlond.

“It is a big confidence booster for us playing against a school that big,” Cowden said. “It is really going to boost our confidence and push us forward in these next games.”

Cowden led all scorers with 19 points including 14 in the second half. McGinness had 10 and Hoyt had nine. Deontrae Mincy and Tyler Gray each had two points while Grey Hunt had one.

“For sure, that is when we are playing our best,” McGinness said of the ball movement. “It makes us play better and makes us bounce back from those downs — like those those two minutes where we didn’t really score.”

White had 17 points to lead Chillicothe.

“We’ve been just grinding a lot lately, playing a lot over break and hoping that we start this tournament off the right way,” Emerson said.

In the other two quarterfinal games, Rock Port beat Cameron 64-47 and Bishop LeBlond beat North Andrew 57-49 in two overtimes.