Indians lose lead in 4th; game to Eastern Brown
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
For all but the final five minutes against the Eastern Brown Warriors, the Hillsboro Indians didn't trail on the scoreboard. By the time they lost the lead in the fourth, it sent them to a loss.
Riley Prine of Eastern put the visiting Warriors ahead of the Indians with 4:59 on the clock. The Indians didn't lead again, sending Hillsboro to a 47-44 loss Monday night at HHS in a non-league contest.
The loss moves HHS to 3-11 overall, with Eastern improving to 11-3 on the season.
For the Indians, who played the game without two of their top five players, they played with determination on defense and made the shots when they needed to in the first half. Their momentum wasn't as great in the second half, but they still put forth a good effort, according to head coach Brett Prince.
"The difference in the game was in the first half, we made our shots, and we didn't make those shots in the second half," Prince said. "I told our coaches at halftime that we shot it so well in the first half, it is going to be hard to keep up that same pace.
"(Eastern) started to get the ball up in the post and Day took over a little bit, but that third quarter … they pounded it in the post and cut the lead down. In the second half, we just didn't make shots. We can't squander opportunities against good teams, but our guys played hard, and I'm proud of them."
[[In-content Ad]]The Indians built their three-plus quarter lead starting in the opening eight minutes with Zach Young knocking down a two-point basket, followed by Young breaking a 2-2 tie with a 3-pointer at the 4:15 mark of the first.
EB tied the game at 5-5 with a 3-pointer by Burns, but again, the Indians went to Young with another three-point basket and back in the lead.
From there, HHS held onto the top spot until the aforementioned final five minutes of the game. The Indians finished the first with points from Latrell Haithcock and D.J. Brown for a 12-7 advantage.
The Indians ended the second frame with a 10-point lead at 27-17.
In the second quarter, Austin Bagshaw swished two 3-pointers at the 4:02 mark for a 21-11 lead, and one with two seconds left in the first half for the 10-point halftime advantage. Bagshaw led the Indians with 13 points.
Haithcock also made a 3-pointer in the second frame, which put HHS ahead by 13 points. Haithcock finished the game with 10 points.
For the first half, the Indians made five three pointers. In the second half, they didn't stay as hot from beyond the arc, making three treys in the final 16 minutes.
Another big factor in the second half was the Indians' free-throw shooting, finishing 4-for-8 in the third and fourth quarters combined. HHS was 4-for-10 in the entire game.
"We were 4-for-10 from the line, and a couple of those were one-and-one," Prince said. "I don't know … it is kind of like a broken record. We get these leads and we speed ourselves up."
In the second half, the Indians were outscored 30-17, including a third frame of 13-6.
For Eastern in the third, Nathan Scott broke loose first by draining a 3-pointer and followed that with six more points in the quarter. Scott led all scorers with 19 points.
As for the Indians in the third, they had three turnovers on their first three possessions, resulting in the 3-pointer by Scott and two more points by Day.
HHS answered with a layup by Haithcock and a 3-pointer from Trey Moberly. EB came back by finishing the third with an 8-1 run in the final 3:29.
The Indians were outscored 17-11 in the final eight minutes, holding a five-point lead with 7:25 left in regulation following two free throws from Haithcock.
"Defensively, we were really good ... they (EB) just got some isolation opportunities in the second half and didn't miss," Prince said. "We absolutely dominated the boards, and they were bigger than us."
EB cut the HHS lead to a single point with a layup by Day and took the lead off the layup from Prine for the 36-35 advantage.
Later, HHS responded to trailing by four points with a 3-pointer at the top of the key by Bagshaw with 2:27 left on the clock.
The Indians, again, trailed by five points, and it was Bagshaw who shot the basketball with fearless aggression. It paid off as he sank a 3-pointer while being fouled in front of the HHS student section.
The turn of events ended up as a four-point play with the junior sinking a free throw with 43.1 left on the scoreboard, with HHS trailing by one-point at 43-42.
HHS was forced to foul, with EB going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final 18.7 seconds. The Indians had one final opportunity to force OT but was unable to take a shot at the hoop in the final 3.1 seconds as they lost possession of the basketball.
The Indians are scheduled to face the McClain Tigers Tuesday evening at HHS in a South Central Ohio League matchup.
Riley Prine of Eastern put the visiting Warriors ahead of the Indians with 4:59 on the clock. The Indians didn't lead again, sending Hillsboro to a 47-44 loss Monday night at HHS in a non-league contest.
The loss moves HHS to 3-11 overall, with Eastern improving to 11-3 on the season.
For the Indians, who played the game without two of their top five players, they played with determination on defense and made the shots when they needed to in the first half. Their momentum wasn't as great in the second half, but they still put forth a good effort, according to head coach Brett Prince.
"The difference in the game was in the first half, we made our shots, and we didn't make those shots in the second half," Prince said. "I told our coaches at halftime that we shot it so well in the first half, it is going to be hard to keep up that same pace.
"(Eastern) started to get the ball up in the post and Day took over a little bit, but that third quarter … they pounded it in the post and cut the lead down. In the second half, we just didn't make shots. We can't squander opportunities against good teams, but our guys played hard, and I'm proud of them."
[[In-content Ad]]The Indians built their three-plus quarter lead starting in the opening eight minutes with Zach Young knocking down a two-point basket, followed by Young breaking a 2-2 tie with a 3-pointer at the 4:15 mark of the first.
EB tied the game at 5-5 with a 3-pointer by Burns, but again, the Indians went to Young with another three-point basket and back in the lead.
From there, HHS held onto the top spot until the aforementioned final five minutes of the game. The Indians finished the first with points from Latrell Haithcock and D.J. Brown for a 12-7 advantage.
The Indians ended the second frame with a 10-point lead at 27-17.
In the second quarter, Austin Bagshaw swished two 3-pointers at the 4:02 mark for a 21-11 lead, and one with two seconds left in the first half for the 10-point halftime advantage. Bagshaw led the Indians with 13 points.
Haithcock also made a 3-pointer in the second frame, which put HHS ahead by 13 points. Haithcock finished the game with 10 points.
For the first half, the Indians made five three pointers. In the second half, they didn't stay as hot from beyond the arc, making three treys in the final 16 minutes.
Another big factor in the second half was the Indians' free-throw shooting, finishing 4-for-8 in the third and fourth quarters combined. HHS was 4-for-10 in the entire game.
"We were 4-for-10 from the line, and a couple of those were one-and-one," Prince said. "I don't know … it is kind of like a broken record. We get these leads and we speed ourselves up."
In the second half, the Indians were outscored 30-17, including a third frame of 13-6.
For Eastern in the third, Nathan Scott broke loose first by draining a 3-pointer and followed that with six more points in the quarter. Scott led all scorers with 19 points.
As for the Indians in the third, they had three turnovers on their first three possessions, resulting in the 3-pointer by Scott and two more points by Day.
HHS answered with a layup by Haithcock and a 3-pointer from Trey Moberly. EB came back by finishing the third with an 8-1 run in the final 3:29.
The Indians were outscored 17-11 in the final eight minutes, holding a five-point lead with 7:25 left in regulation following two free throws from Haithcock.
"Defensively, we were really good ... they (EB) just got some isolation opportunities in the second half and didn't miss," Prince said. "We absolutely dominated the boards, and they were bigger than us."
EB cut the HHS lead to a single point with a layup by Day and took the lead off the layup from Prine for the 36-35 advantage.
Later, HHS responded to trailing by four points with a 3-pointer at the top of the key by Bagshaw with 2:27 left on the clock.
The Indians, again, trailed by five points, and it was Bagshaw who shot the basketball with fearless aggression. It paid off as he sank a 3-pointer while being fouled in front of the HHS student section.
The turn of events ended up as a four-point play with the junior sinking a free throw with 43.1 left on the scoreboard, with HHS trailing by one-point at 43-42.
HHS was forced to foul, with EB going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final 18.7 seconds. The Indians had one final opportunity to force OT but was unable to take a shot at the hoop in the final 3.1 seconds as they lost possession of the basketball.
The Indians are scheduled to face the McClain Tigers Tuesday evening at HHS in a South Central Ohio League matchup.