Defense leads McClain to victory over rival Hillsboro
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD – The gym was packed Saturday, Dec. 18 to watch the McClain Tigers host the Hillsboro Indians in a game with an important Frontier Athletic Conference win hanging in the balance. Once all of the tough competition came to a close when the final buzzer sounded, it was the Tigers defending their home court and singing their alma mater to the tune of a 49-41 victory.
The win by the Tigers brings them to a 4-1 record in the FAC, putting them in sole possession of first place of the conference after the first round of conference competition. The Indians fall to 3-2 in the FAC, putting them with a tie with Chillicothe in the conference standings. Jackson is 2-2 in the FAC, while Washington is 1-3 and Miami Trace is 1-4 in the standings.
“We are really proud of the play on the defensive end,” McClain head coach Joe B. Stewart said. “Even when Hillsboro put us on the free-throw line at the end, our defense didn’t let us down. That’s a point in time (late in the fourth quarter) if we give threes, if we give twos, if we give fouls, suddenly the game doesn’t feel so good.
“Our defense kept us right there. Offensively we had some good stages, a little up and down, but by and large we got the shots we wanted even when they didn’t go down.”
Getting to the win wasn’t easy for the Tigers against their Highland County counterpart, but it took the Tigers just 30 seconds into the game to score points, as senior Bryson Badgley scored a basket for the 2-0 lead. Badgley led McClain with 22 points, finishing the game with seven two-point baskets, two 3-pointers, and he was 2-of-2 from the free-throw line.
Last season Badgley was injured against the Indians, seeing his junior season cut short due to a knee injury. This season as a senior, Badgley has regained form, and not just on offense, as his defense saw him draw a charge at the 6:14 mark of the first.
Later in the frame, Kendyll Toney was lights out with two points in the paint, and a little over a minute later at the 4:22 mark of the first Hillsboro’s Quintin Captain knocked down a 3-pointer, putting the Indians on the board for the first time in the game.
MHS added to their first-quarter lead with two more points by Toney, only to see Hillsboro add two points of their own off a jumper from Ethan Parry, with HHS eventually ending the frame trailing by one point at 6-5. Toney ended the game with eight points.
The pace of the game picked up a level in the second frame as the Indians opened the frame with a 3-pointer by Parry, giving the Indians their first lead of the game. McClain answered and took back the lead with a basket by Evann Mischal for a 9-7 advantage. Mischal totaled 10 points in the win.
Again it was Parry — who led HHS with 17 points — pushing the Indians back in front with a big-time trey from downtown at the 6:40 mark of the second for a 10-9 Indians lead.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Hillsboro head coach Miles Burton said. “I thought we battled. I thought we executed our game plan and battled to the end, and that’s all we can ask out of these guys.
“Give McClain credit, they’re extremely physical and they forced us into turnovers. We made some mental errors and physical errors, but I’m proud of our guys.”
The two teams continued to exchange the lead with a put-back basket by Badgley, a 3-pointer from Captain and a 3-pointer from Badgley, and eventually a made free throw from Captain left the score tied at 14 with 4:52 on the clock in the second frame. Captain finished the game totaling 16 points.
HHS regained the lead with a 3-pointer by Parry, his third of the quarter, then the lead went to 18-14 following Parry’s made free-throw attempt following a different possession. MHS had an answer, and it was scoring the next six points off baskets by Seth Wise, Mischal and Badgley for a 20-18 Tigers lead with 1:02 left in the quarter.
That 6-0 run turned into a 9-0 run with a trey by Mischal, leaving the score 23-18 in favor of McClain at halftime.
MHS scored 14 points in the third frame, outscoring the Indians by five points, as the visitors at McClain Gym scored nine points in the third putting McClain ahead 37-27 after three quarters. Six of the nine points in the third for HHS were scored by Captain, while Hunter Price sank a 3-pointer, as he totaled eight points for the game.
McClain in the third had eight points from Badgley, four points from Toney and two points by Wesley Potts.
Though HHS outscored the Tigers 14-12 in the fourth, they trailed by as many as 13 points in the final frame following a 3-pointer from Badgley.
McClain’s fourth frame also included five total points by Badgley, three points from Preston Saunders, two free throws made by Mischal and two points by Potts, who also took a charge in the quarter.
For the Indians in the fourth quarter, Parry scored six points (including a 3-pointer), Captain shot a 3-pointer and Price added five points, which included his second trifecta of the half.
The Indians for the game totaled five two-point baskets, eight 3-pointers and they were 7-of-11 from the free-throw line. The Tigers finished with 16 total two-point field goals, four 3-pointers and they were 5-of-12 from the free-throw line.
Other MHS final scoring included Potts with four points, Saunders with three points and Wise with two points. Also for the Tigers, they had just five turnovers in the game.
“I’m tickled to death with our guard play this evening,” Stewart said. “Preston Saunders on the top made a lot of really good decisions getting the ball, getting us into the offense. Evann Mischal came off the bench and did a really nice job from that standpoint too.
“Between your defense and taking care of the basketball you are going to be in it, and our rebounding I felt was our most dominant part of the game. Wesley went up and got us three straight traffic rebounds when we needed the basketball and did a great job.
“Braden Wright did such an excellent job defending one of the best players in our league Hunter Price,” Stewart continued. “The job Braden did on him, with help from his teammates, he had a great game and a big effort defensively.”
McClain is next set to host Unioto on Dec. 21, while Hillsboro travels Dec. 23 to also face Unioto.
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The win by the Tigers brings them to a 4-1 record in the FAC, putting them in sole possession of first place of the conference after the first round of conference competition. The Indians fall to 3-2 in the FAC, putting them with a tie with Chillicothe in the conference standings. Jackson is 2-2 in the FAC, while Washington is 1-3 and Miami Trace is 1-4 in the standings.
“We are really proud of the play on the defensive end,” McClain head coach Joe B. Stewart said. “Even when Hillsboro put us on the free-throw line at the end, our defense didn’t let us down. That’s a point in time (late in the fourth quarter) if we give threes, if we give twos, if we give fouls, suddenly the game doesn’t feel so good.
“Our defense kept us right there. Offensively we had some good stages, a little up and down, but by and large we got the shots we wanted even when they didn’t go down.”
Getting to the win wasn’t easy for the Tigers against their Highland County counterpart, but it took the Tigers just 30 seconds into the game to score points, as senior Bryson Badgley scored a basket for the 2-0 lead. Badgley led McClain with 22 points, finishing the game with seven two-point baskets, two 3-pointers, and he was 2-of-2 from the free-throw line.
Last season Badgley was injured against the Indians, seeing his junior season cut short due to a knee injury. This season as a senior, Badgley has regained form, and not just on offense, as his defense saw him draw a charge at the 6:14 mark of the first.
Later in the frame, Kendyll Toney was lights out with two points in the paint, and a little over a minute later at the 4:22 mark of the first Hillsboro’s Quintin Captain knocked down a 3-pointer, putting the Indians on the board for the first time in the game.
MHS added to their first-quarter lead with two more points by Toney, only to see Hillsboro add two points of their own off a jumper from Ethan Parry, with HHS eventually ending the frame trailing by one point at 6-5. Toney ended the game with eight points.
The pace of the game picked up a level in the second frame as the Indians opened the frame with a 3-pointer by Parry, giving the Indians their first lead of the game. McClain answered and took back the lead with a basket by Evann Mischal for a 9-7 advantage. Mischal totaled 10 points in the win.
Again it was Parry — who led HHS with 17 points — pushing the Indians back in front with a big-time trey from downtown at the 6:40 mark of the second for a 10-9 Indians lead.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Hillsboro head coach Miles Burton said. “I thought we battled. I thought we executed our game plan and battled to the end, and that’s all we can ask out of these guys.
“Give McClain credit, they’re extremely physical and they forced us into turnovers. We made some mental errors and physical errors, but I’m proud of our guys.”
The two teams continued to exchange the lead with a put-back basket by Badgley, a 3-pointer from Captain and a 3-pointer from Badgley, and eventually a made free throw from Captain left the score tied at 14 with 4:52 on the clock in the second frame. Captain finished the game totaling 16 points.
HHS regained the lead with a 3-pointer by Parry, his third of the quarter, then the lead went to 18-14 following Parry’s made free-throw attempt following a different possession. MHS had an answer, and it was scoring the next six points off baskets by Seth Wise, Mischal and Badgley for a 20-18 Tigers lead with 1:02 left in the quarter.
That 6-0 run turned into a 9-0 run with a trey by Mischal, leaving the score 23-18 in favor of McClain at halftime.
MHS scored 14 points in the third frame, outscoring the Indians by five points, as the visitors at McClain Gym scored nine points in the third putting McClain ahead 37-27 after three quarters. Six of the nine points in the third for HHS were scored by Captain, while Hunter Price sank a 3-pointer, as he totaled eight points for the game.
McClain in the third had eight points from Badgley, four points from Toney and two points by Wesley Potts.
Though HHS outscored the Tigers 14-12 in the fourth, they trailed by as many as 13 points in the final frame following a 3-pointer from Badgley.
McClain’s fourth frame also included five total points by Badgley, three points from Preston Saunders, two free throws made by Mischal and two points by Potts, who also took a charge in the quarter.
For the Indians in the fourth quarter, Parry scored six points (including a 3-pointer), Captain shot a 3-pointer and Price added five points, which included his second trifecta of the half.
The Indians for the game totaled five two-point baskets, eight 3-pointers and they were 7-of-11 from the free-throw line. The Tigers finished with 16 total two-point field goals, four 3-pointers and they were 5-of-12 from the free-throw line.
Other MHS final scoring included Potts with four points, Saunders with three points and Wise with two points. Also for the Tigers, they had just five turnovers in the game.
“I’m tickled to death with our guard play this evening,” Stewart said. “Preston Saunders on the top made a lot of really good decisions getting the ball, getting us into the offense. Evann Mischal came off the bench and did a really nice job from that standpoint too.
“Between your defense and taking care of the basketball you are going to be in it, and our rebounding I felt was our most dominant part of the game. Wesley went up and got us three straight traffic rebounds when we needed the basketball and did a great job.
“Braden Wright did such an excellent job defending one of the best players in our league Hunter Price,” Stewart continued. “The job Braden did on him, with help from his teammates, he had a great game and a big effort defensively.”
McClain is next set to host Unioto on Dec. 21, while Hillsboro travels Dec. 23 to also face Unioto.
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