AMANDA — Circleville turned up the defense to take down Amanda-Clearcreek and lock up second place in the Mid-State League Buckeye Division Friday night.

The Tigers (18-4, 12-2) held the Aces (14-7, 10-4) scoreless for the first seven minutes of the game on the way to a 38-26 win. It was the lowest offensive output by the Aces since scoring 24 points in a loss to Teays Valley in 2015.

The first period ended with the Tigers up 7-2 and they led 18-9 at halftime. Circleville was up 26-17 entering the final period.

Kenzie McConnell led the Tigers with 13 points while Peyton Perini put in seven, Tori Bircher had six and Brie Kendrick had five.

Circleville held Amanda-Clearcreek’s Alyssa Evans to a pair of free throws until late in the third quarter. Evans hit her first field goal with 1:20 to go in the third and finished with 11 points — tieing her lowest output of the season. Riley Stoneburner had six points for the Aces.

Circleville 38, Amanda-Clearcreek 26

Circleville — Perini 3-0-7, Bircher 2-1-6, Davis 1-0-2, Gray 1-0-3, Hoop 1-0-2, Kendrick 2-0-5, McConnell 5-3-13. Three-point goals — Perini, Bircher, Gray, Kendrick. Totals — 15-4-38.

Amanda-Clearcreek— Guiler 1-0-3, Hyme 1-0-2, Stoneburner 3-0-6, Connell 2-0-4, Evans 4-2-11. Three-point goals — Guiler, Evans. Totals — 11-2-26.

Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F

Circleville 7 11 8 12 38

Am-Clearcreek 2 7 10 7 26