The Irish freshmen fell 49-33 to Chillicothe in Ohio Capital Conference Cardinal Division action on Thursday.

This may be the last group of freshmen to make the scenic trip down U.S. 23 South for quite some time as Chillicothe is leaving the OCC for a new league affiliation in the South East Ohio Athletic League (SEOAL) next year. They'll also break in a new gymnasium.

In the meantime, the freshman team is taking a step back in time by playing home games in a small middle school gym. It was nearly impossible for players from either team to spot up for a three pointer from the corners and a zone defense played at regular depth extended out almost to half court.

It took the Irish a while to get accustomed to their surroundings and the Cavs broke out to an 8-2 first quarter lead. They used deliberate ball movement and back cuts to secure three of the buckets. Ryan Adams got the Irish on the board with a pair of free throws.

Halfway through the quarter, Nate Innis entered the lineup and almost immediately drained a long trey to cut the lead to 8-5. The Irish closed the first quarter scoring on a lay-in by Rahim Wasim on a great feed by Bradley McDougald, but the Cavs still led 14-7.

The Irish rallied and closed the gap to 14-13 midway through the second quarter on an offensive rebound and put back by Jerod Nawrocki. Wasim gathered four boards in the second quarter and the Irish took a 17-16 lead on a McDougald steal and lay-up with less than 50 seconds to go. The Cavs split a pair of free throws to send the teams to the locker rooms tied at 17-17.

A McDougald bucket to start the second half gave the Irish the lead for a final time at 19-17. Shortly thereafter, the Irish went cold from the field and the Cavs began to heat up again. A trapping defense also yielded a couple of transition baskets.

A 13-2 run gave Chillicothe a 30-21 lead as the clock ran down in the third quarter. McDougald took a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast to cut the lead to 30-23.

Innis split a pair of free throws one minute into the fourth quarter to cut the lead to six at 30-24 and the Irish appeared poised to make a run on the Cavs. An 11-0 run over the next three minutes, though, sealed the victory for the home team.

Although the final scored ended up 49-33, the Irish battled to the final buzzer. In the final 30 seconds, Wasim blocked a Cavs shot that drew oohs and ahhs from the home crowd. And, in the last 10 seconds, Mike Henderson jumped in the passing lane and drove to the bucket for a contested shot.

Despite heavy contact by two Cavs, no foul was called. Henderson simply grabbed the board and went back up with the ball. There was more contact, but no whistle. As the ball came down again, he grabbed it and shot a pass out top for a final shot that rimmed out at the buzzer.

McDougald scored a game high 14 points and was the only player for either team in double figures. Wasim chalked up six points, including a nice mid-range jumper in the fourth quarter, and had at least 10 rebounds.

All four of the other Irish players scored -- Nawrocki (4), Innis (4), Henderson (3) and Adams (2). A balanced Chillicothe attack saw 10 of 12 players score with a team high of 8 points by two Cavaliers.

Coach Schwering and the team appreciated the support provided by the freshman cheerleaders who also made the trip.