Chambers, Hitchens lead Chillicothe over Poland Seminary

By Mike Parris

March 13, 2008, 1:52PM

Ray Chambers and Anthony Hitchens combined for 55 points and 23 rebounds to lead Chillicothe to a 78-70 victory over previously unbeaten Poland Seminary in a Division II Semifinal.

Chambers led the way with 31 points (13-18 FG) and 17 rebounds. Hitchens chipped in with 24 points, six rebounds and three assists.

The contest was a matchup of the top two teams in the final AP poll. Poland Seminary entered ranked first and Chillicothe ranked second.

The game started on a frenetic pace, as expected. The offensive-minded teams wasted no time pushing the pace and deploying full-court presses. Chambers, a 6-foot-7 senior, scored eight of the Cavaliers' first ten points to stake them to a 12-11 lead after the first quarter.

Poland Seminary continued its smothering full-court trap to claw its way back. Senior guard Ben Umbel, a First Team All-Ohio selection, showed off his scoring ability with seven of the Bulldogs' first eleven tallies.

Hitchens, Chillicothe's standout senior point guard, began to assert his will in a wild two minute strech to begin the second. He hit two pull up jump shots to begin the quarter and dished to Chambers for two-handed dunk with 6:12 left to give the Cavaliers a 18-16 lead.

Chillicothe pushed its lead to 34-21 on two consecutive lay-ins by Chambers and an easy bucket by Hitchens off the break with 58 seconds remaining in the half.

Poland Seminary, which shot a paltry 21-percent from the field in the first half, played the final two minutes of the half without its star Umbel, who suffered an apparent shoulder injury while diving for a loose ball.

The breakneck pace continued into the second half and Chillicothe was able to stretch its lead to 15 midway through the third quarter at 44-29.

Poland Seminary fought its way back, however, and used a 9-0 run midway through the quarter to pull within six. Sophomore guard Niko Fatimus drained a three-pointer from the left wing and Ben Umbel, who returned from injury, scored on an easy lay-in to make the score 44-38 with 2:12 left in the period.

Hitchens was able to curtail the Bulldogs' momentum with a fade-away three-pointer from the corner at the third quarter buzzer, pushing the Chillicothe lead back to double-digits at 51-40.

Poland Seminary, which shot an uninspiring 9-of-35 from 3-point range, wasn't able to get back to within striking distance as a result and Chillicothe rode out the clock to secure the impressive win.

Umbel finished his outstanding career with a gritty performance. He scored 28 points (10-22 FG, 5-10 3PT) and contributed eight rebounds, five assists, and six steals.

Poland Seminary (25-1) lost for the first time all season. The Bulldogs were making their fourth overall appearance in the final four and second in as many years.

Chillicothe (24-2), on the other hand, was making its first state tournament appearance since 1930, the longest drought in Ohio history. They will now play in the first state final in school history.

The Cavaliers will face Toledo Libbey on Saturday for the Division II title.