By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
SAVANNAH -Chillicothe sophomore Griffith Bonderer buried a go-ahead three-pointer with 9.2 seconds remaining, lifting the Hornets past Savannah, 32-31, in a Class 4 District 16 quarterfinal at Savannah High School Monday.
After senior Wesley Darnell's layup gave the Savages a 31-29 lead with just under a minute left, Chillicothe (15-9) had the ball with still plenty enough time to tie or take the lead.
Coming out of a timeout, Bonderer raced out to the top of the key, and got a half-step ahead of his defender, giving himself enough separation to get the shot he wanted.
"When Griffith lifted up to shoot that, I felt really good about whatever happened," Chillicothe coach Tim Cool said. "You have the right kid making the right play at the right time. I credit the other guys for getting the ball swung so he could have that look.
"People will see the score and they'll think whatever they think, but that was a great game," Cool continued. "Every possession was so important. Both teams fought like crazy."
After senior Quay Jeter swiftly pushed the ball past midcourt for the Savages, head coach Nick Kemerling called timeout with 6.9 to go.
Coach didn't have to say much. Everyone knew Jeter was going to get the last look.
"We knew the ball was going to Quay Jeter," Kemerling said after. "In that situation, there's no one other than Quay that I'd rather go to. He's a tough kid. These kids have been doing this all season. They can play with the swings of the ball game. They're tough. They're hardnosed."
Jeter made a strong drive to the rack in the last five seconds, but his initial shot rolled off the side of the rim, and then the ball rolled loose on the floor in the last couple of seconds, allowing Chillicothe to hold on.
Jeter finished with eight points in the final game of his high school career.
Jeter was part of a fast start for Savannah, as the Savages (8-13) raced out to a 7-0 start in the first four minutes, sparked by four Jeter points.
The Hornets rallied quickly, taking a 13-11 lead at the end of the first, which ballooned to a 20-13 advantage by the middle of the second.
The Hornets held Savannah to just four second quarter points and Chillicothe enjoyed a 20-15 lead at the break.
The Savages showed more fluidity on offense in the third quarter, scoring nine points, including four hard-earned, second chance points by sophomore Ethan Dudeck.
"He's a tough kid," Kemerling said of Dudeck. "He got dinged up right off the bat, so we weren't even sure we'd have him the rest of the game. He showed up tonight. Maybe he didn't have 16-18 points, but without him, that's not a one possession game at the end."
Savannah was able to tie the game at 24 late in the third, but senior Hayden Simmer buried his third three of the game with less than a minute left in the quarter, putting the Hornets back up 27-24 entering the fourth.
Simmer finished with a game-high 14 points.
Neither team was able to seize momentum in the third quarter, as both teams only scored a combined 12 points over the last eight minutes.
Still, a lot closer and a lot more tense than the 53-38 beating Savannah took from Chillicothe on the same floor just a week prior.
"I think they had four good days of practice," Kemerling said about the days leading up to Monday's rematch. "Practicing four days this late in the year without a game is tough. We only gave them one day off since the last game, and these guys showed up everyday ready day ready to work, and I think you saw that on the court tonight."
Chillicothe goes on the road Wednesday to face No. 1 seed Richmond (20-3) in the semifinal round at 6 p.m. The Spartans earned a first-round bye, and are riding a seven-game winning streak.
"We're going to compete for 32 minutes and we're going to have to execute some things," Cool said. "We'll have to take away some of the things they're good at. We'll have to limit their offensive rebounding, because they're big and they go to the glass pretty hard.
"But, I'm just so happy our kids get to go and play. This was a huge game. To come in here and beat Savannah on the road in district play was just really an incredible win for our kids."
Chillicothe 32 - 13, 7, 7, 5
Savannah 31 - 11, 4, 9, 7
Chillicothe scorers - Hayden Simmer - 14, Griffith Bonderer - 7, Cayden Potter - 5, Mason Baxter - 4, James Mathew - 2
Savannah scorers - Wesley Darnell - 11, Quay Jeter - 8, Ethan Dudeck - 6, Heisman LaFave - 3, Aiden Leonard - 3
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