Hillsboro passes test by Tigers; stays undefeated in SCOL
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — The old adage "throw the records out the window" when two rivals play one another rang true Wednesday evening at McClain High School when the McClain Tigers and Hillsboro Indians stepped onto the court.
Though both teams stood at opposite ends in the South Central Ohio League standings, both teams fought until the final buzzer sounded, as the Indians took advantage of McClain miscues, defeating the Tigers, 49-43, and staying undefeated in the SCOL.
"Any time you come to Greenfield-McClain, you know you have to bring your 'A' game," HHS head coach Tim Davis said. "They are very physical, they play extremely hard, and they are going execute on the offensive end, and that is what happened (Wednesday)."
The win was the fifth straight victory for the Tribe after starting the season at 0-2.
Though the Tigers are winless on the season at 0-7 (0-5 in the SCOL), they held the lead in the final quarter until the 6:16 mark, when Hillsboro overtook the lead for good, but not without a fight.
"I just thought we got tired at the end," MHS head coach Brent Eaton said. "We made some mistakes defensively that we didn't make in the first three and a half quarters, then it came down to fatigue. We knew that's what they were going to do … wear us down, and it worked. But on the same token, I don't think anybody gave us a chance, and we had the lead in the fourth."
With the Indians trailing by three at the start of the final frame, they came out swinging in the cross-county rivalry, wearing down the Tigers in the latter stages of the game, scoring the first seven points of the fourth and taking a 41-37 lead. The seven-point stretch run was tallied by Jarrod Hart and Tyrand Cumberland, with Cumberland, who finished with 11 points, sinking a 3-pointer with 5:31 left on the clock.
McClain senior Zach Matracia worked the inside lane, scoring two points to break the run by HHS with just over five minutes left in regulation.
Matracia led all scorers with 15 points. This was the second straight game Matracia led in scoring, putting up 24 points against the Miami Trace Panthers, last Saturday.
Both teams answered each other with basket after basket as time winded down, but with under a minute left in the game, Chase Gilliland and Devonte Ames, who finished with a team-high 14 points, each added two points to the HHS lead, which turned out to be the final points of the SCOL battle.
McClain High School honored Ernie Blankenship with a framed photo and a No. 52 jersey (for his years broadcasting high school sports) prior to tip-off Wednesday.
The entire game was close with little scoring in the first, as the Indians led 10-9 after the opening frame, one game removed from scoring 30 points in the first quarter against Lynchburg-Clay last Saturday at HHS. Before Wednesday, the Indians were averaging 21.3 points in the first quarter during a four-game stretch.
"They got up in us (Wednesday) and we didn't like that very well … it took us out of our mind-set," Davis said. "I'm just very pleased with how our kids responded late because Greenfield came out and played us extremely hard.
"I'm pleased with our effort. There late, I think our full-court pressure got to them, created a few turnovers, we made some free throws down the stretch. We just never got rolling on offense, and that was because of Greenfield's defense."
Hillsboro (4-0, 5-2) trailed 50 seconds into the game after Matracia was
first to score in front of a nearly-full gym in Greenfield. After two points by Ames, the Tigers added five more points for a 7-2 advantage. HHS took the lead with 29 seconds left in the first with a streak and fast break points by senior Eli Hogsett. HHS regained the lead with the final two points of the first on a layup by Hart at the buzzer.
Tanner Vanzant started off the second with points, followed with Matracia adding a jumper to put MHS up 13-10 with 6:25 left in the frame.
Hillsboro answered with consecutive points from Colt Coates, Hogsett and Ames to jump back into the lead at 18-13.
Though HHS ended the second by outscoring the host Tigers 12-9, they led by just four at the half, 22-18. Jeremiah Savage scored the final two points of the half for MHS with free throws.
McClain looked like a different team offensively once the third quarter was underway, scoring 19 points, more in the quarter than they did in the entire 16-minute first half. While scoring 19 points, their defense held the undefeated Indians to 12.
In the third, Zach Uhl made his second 3-pointer of the game, and Scott Balzer added five points, including a trey with 1:09 left in the quarter. Uhl finished the game with eight points.
For the game, HHS was 10-of-19 from the free-throw line, with MHS going 4-of-11. In the fourth quarter, MHS was 0-of-3.
"I'm interested in progression. I'm interested in player and team progression, and I see both happening," Eaton said. "It comes down to tired legs, hitting the front of the rim, and I know our kids are supremely disappointed they didn't come out with a 'W.' We have to get back tomorrow and play with the same intensity."
Neither team has much time to rest as they play Thursday in the 2nd Annual SHL-SCOL Shootout at Hillsboro. The first game starts at 4 p.m., with Fairfield (SHL) facing Washington C.H. (SCOL). At 6 p.m. McClain is scheduled to take on the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs (SHL), and at 8 p.m. Hillsboro (SCOL) will host the Whiteoak Wildcats (SHL).[[In-content Ad]]
Though both teams stood at opposite ends in the South Central Ohio League standings, both teams fought until the final buzzer sounded, as the Indians took advantage of McClain miscues, defeating the Tigers, 49-43, and staying undefeated in the SCOL.
"Any time you come to Greenfield-McClain, you know you have to bring your 'A' game," HHS head coach Tim Davis said. "They are very physical, they play extremely hard, and they are going execute on the offensive end, and that is what happened (Wednesday)."
The win was the fifth straight victory for the Tribe after starting the season at 0-2.
Though the Tigers are winless on the season at 0-7 (0-5 in the SCOL), they held the lead in the final quarter until the 6:16 mark, when Hillsboro overtook the lead for good, but not without a fight.
"I just thought we got tired at the end," MHS head coach Brent Eaton said. "We made some mistakes defensively that we didn't make in the first three and a half quarters, then it came down to fatigue. We knew that's what they were going to do … wear us down, and it worked. But on the same token, I don't think anybody gave us a chance, and we had the lead in the fourth."
With the Indians trailing by three at the start of the final frame, they came out swinging in the cross-county rivalry, wearing down the Tigers in the latter stages of the game, scoring the first seven points of the fourth and taking a 41-37 lead. The seven-point stretch run was tallied by Jarrod Hart and Tyrand Cumberland, with Cumberland, who finished with 11 points, sinking a 3-pointer with 5:31 left on the clock.
McClain senior Zach Matracia worked the inside lane, scoring two points to break the run by HHS with just over five minutes left in regulation.
Matracia led all scorers with 15 points. This was the second straight game Matracia led in scoring, putting up 24 points against the Miami Trace Panthers, last Saturday.
Both teams answered each other with basket after basket as time winded down, but with under a minute left in the game, Chase Gilliland and Devonte Ames, who finished with a team-high 14 points, each added two points to the HHS lead, which turned out to be the final points of the SCOL battle.
McClain High School honored Ernie Blankenship with a framed photo and a No. 52 jersey (for his years broadcasting high school sports) prior to tip-off Wednesday.
The entire game was close with little scoring in the first, as the Indians led 10-9 after the opening frame, one game removed from scoring 30 points in the first quarter against Lynchburg-Clay last Saturday at HHS. Before Wednesday, the Indians were averaging 21.3 points in the first quarter during a four-game stretch.
"They got up in us (Wednesday) and we didn't like that very well … it took us out of our mind-set," Davis said. "I'm just very pleased with how our kids responded late because Greenfield came out and played us extremely hard.
"I'm pleased with our effort. There late, I think our full-court pressure got to them, created a few turnovers, we made some free throws down the stretch. We just never got rolling on offense, and that was because of Greenfield's defense."
Hillsboro (4-0, 5-2) trailed 50 seconds into the game after Matracia was
first to score in front of a nearly-full gym in Greenfield. After two points by Ames, the Tigers added five more points for a 7-2 advantage. HHS took the lead with 29 seconds left in the first with a streak and fast break points by senior Eli Hogsett. HHS regained the lead with the final two points of the first on a layup by Hart at the buzzer.
Tanner Vanzant started off the second with points, followed with Matracia adding a jumper to put MHS up 13-10 with 6:25 left in the frame.
Hillsboro answered with consecutive points from Colt Coates, Hogsett and Ames to jump back into the lead at 18-13.
Though HHS ended the second by outscoring the host Tigers 12-9, they led by just four at the half, 22-18. Jeremiah Savage scored the final two points of the half for MHS with free throws.
McClain looked like a different team offensively once the third quarter was underway, scoring 19 points, more in the quarter than they did in the entire 16-minute first half. While scoring 19 points, their defense held the undefeated Indians to 12.
In the third, Zach Uhl made his second 3-pointer of the game, and Scott Balzer added five points, including a trey with 1:09 left in the quarter. Uhl finished the game with eight points.
For the game, HHS was 10-of-19 from the free-throw line, with MHS going 4-of-11. In the fourth quarter, MHS was 0-of-3.
"I'm interested in progression. I'm interested in player and team progression, and I see both happening," Eaton said. "It comes down to tired legs, hitting the front of the rim, and I know our kids are supremely disappointed they didn't come out with a 'W.' We have to get back tomorrow and play with the same intensity."
Neither team has much time to rest as they play Thursday in the 2nd Annual SHL-SCOL Shootout at Hillsboro. The first game starts at 4 p.m., with Fairfield (SHL) facing Washington C.H. (SCOL). At 6 p.m. McClain is scheduled to take on the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs (SHL), and at 8 p.m. Hillsboro (SCOL) will host the Whiteoak Wildcats (SHL).[[In-content Ad]]