Indians push Blue Lions to limit in sectional semifinal loss
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
WASHINGTON C.H. — The Hillsboro Indians gave the Washington Blue Lions some scary moments Wednesday night in their Division II SE District Sectional Semifinal game, as HHS led the No. 1 seeded Blue Lions after the first quarter came to a close.
Even at halftime, the Indians — a No. 17 seed — trailed by just five points to the top-ranked team, who also happened to be the reigning Frontier Athletic Conference champions. After three quarters, the scrappy Hillsboro squad was down by only four points — even tying the score in the third frame — but the game is four quarters, and it was the Blue Lions who were triumphant on their home court, defeating the Indians, 60-54.
Hillsboro (6-18) led 11-7 at the end of the first quarter, with Bryce Parsons scoring first in the game, and after Washington took a 4-2 lead, Parsons tied the score with a layup with the assist from Tate Davis at the 4:45 mark of the opening quarter.
The next three points were also scored by the Indians with two points by Steven Kibler, with the assist by Dorian Stewart, and a free throw made by Parsons with 3:36 on the clock, giving the Indians a 7-4 lead.
Washington quickly tied the score with a 3-pointer by Garrett Rickman, only to see Parsons continue his hot hand with two baskets in the final 2:11 of the first quarter, including the final basket being assisted by Deegan Bloomfield.
Even with the Indians being outscored 18-9 in the second frame against the Blue Lions, they still had just a five-point deficit at halftime by a 25-20 score.
Hillsboro in the second stated with two points by Bloomfield, but Washington’s John Wall sank a 3-pointer and Tanner Lemaster connected with a jumper to get back to within one point of the Hillsboro squad.
Parsons answered with more points with a put back bucket, but then both teams continued to answer each other's points until the Blue Lions scored five straight points from Isaiah Haithcock with 2:03 left on the clock for a 19-17 lead.
HHS trailed from the remainder of the second quarter from one to five points, as the Blue Lions scored six of the final nine points of the quarter for the aforementioned 25-20 lead.
Hillsboro in the third kept the score close with Kibler scoring the first points of the quarter, followed by Tate Davis making two free throws for a 25-24 Washington lead 32 seconds into the third frame.
Washington’s Wall answered those four points with a 3-pointer, but the Indians came back to tie the score at 28 with a jumper by Davis and a two-point basket from Kibler with 5:13 left in the quarter.
Again, Washington took a three-point lead with a trey from Wall, and with 4:41 left in the third Bloomfield drove to the lane for two points, putting the Indians back to within one point of tying the score, as HHS trailed 31-30.
The Blue Lions called a timeout with 3:24 left in the third, and following the timeout they scored five straight points with a basket by Lemaster and a 3-pointer from Rickman for a Hillsboro deficit of 36-30 with 2:10 left in the quarter. HHS answered with two points by Nic Burns, and the quarter ended with a 3-pointer by the Blue Lions’ Brayden May, only to be equaled with a 3-pointer by Parsons at the buzzer, bringing the Indians to within four points of Washington’s 39-35 lead.
HHS trailed by as many as eight points on three occasions in the fourth frame, and by as few as two points twice in the same quarter, starting with a put-back basket by Stewart with 7:26 left in the final frame for a 39-37 score.
Washington scored the next six points, and later that lead went back to eight points again with 4:04 on the clock. HHS battled with two made free throws by Davis and two free-throw conversions from Parsons to make it a four-point differential on the scoreboard with 3:22 left in regulation.
Later the Indians — after trailing by six points — got back to within two points of tying the score with two free throws made by Davis and once again, two made free throws by Parsons, for a 51-49 score.
Washington’s Wall scored the next five points, but Hillsboro’s Brayden Hunter answered with a 3-pointer with 40.7 seconds remaining in regulation. The Blue Lions answered by making four free throws, as they eventually won the game by six points, with HHS scoring the final points of the game with a basket by Brogen Priest.
After the game, head coach Josh Howland said he wanted to recognize the program’s four seniors, Bloomfield, Parsons, Priest and Garet Thompson.
“I want to thank our seniors,” he said. “They're great dudes. They really are. They bought in and practice hard. Even the guys who didn't get it off the bench a whole lot, Garet Thompson and Brogen Priest, they practice hard every day, they go hard and they push the others. That's what it takes.
“But Deegan Bloomfield and Bryce Parsons I thought stepped up big tonight and played their guts out. We talked about how defense has been one of our weak points this year, and we felt like they were the leaders in practice and here in the game today.
“All of our guys and even our underclassmen — Kibler stepped up and played big for us, Dorian came in and definitely filled a big role for us, so I couldn't be more proud of the effort,” Howland continued. “We’ve got to get in work in the offseason. We got six wins this year, and we know we’ve got to do better than that, so the offseason is where it starts.”
HHS was led in scoring by Parsons with 21 points, followed by Davis with 12 points and Kibler with six points. Scoring four points was Burns, while Hunter finished with three points in the game. Also for HHS, Bloomfield scored three points, Stewart had three points and Priest scored two points.
As a team, the Indians totaled 18 two-point baskets, two 3-pointers and they were 12-of-14 from the free-throw line, as Davis was 6-of-6 and Parsons was 4-of-4.
Howland thanked Hillsboro’s parents and fans for supporting the team Wednesday and throughout the season.
“I would like to thank the support of the community,” Howland said. “I thought we had a good turnout tonight for a sectional semifinal game. I was pleased to see that, pleased to see all the parents cheer and kind of especially there at the end.
“It was a fun environment for us, and hopefully they'll get these boys to understand that this is what you're playing for.”
Washington was led by Wall with 25 points, Rickman with 15 points and Lemaster with 12 points. As a team, Washington totaled 15 two-point baskets, six 3-pointers and they were 12-of-17 from the free-throw line.
Next for Washington is a sectional final game on Saturday, Feb. 25 at home against Warren at 7 p.m.
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Even at halftime, the Indians — a No. 17 seed — trailed by just five points to the top-ranked team, who also happened to be the reigning Frontier Athletic Conference champions. After three quarters, the scrappy Hillsboro squad was down by only four points — even tying the score in the third frame — but the game is four quarters, and it was the Blue Lions who were triumphant on their home court, defeating the Indians, 60-54.
Hillsboro (6-18) led 11-7 at the end of the first quarter, with Bryce Parsons scoring first in the game, and after Washington took a 4-2 lead, Parsons tied the score with a layup with the assist from Tate Davis at the 4:45 mark of the opening quarter.
The next three points were also scored by the Indians with two points by Steven Kibler, with the assist by Dorian Stewart, and a free throw made by Parsons with 3:36 on the clock, giving the Indians a 7-4 lead.
Washington quickly tied the score with a 3-pointer by Garrett Rickman, only to see Parsons continue his hot hand with two baskets in the final 2:11 of the first quarter, including the final basket being assisted by Deegan Bloomfield.
Even with the Indians being outscored 18-9 in the second frame against the Blue Lions, they still had just a five-point deficit at halftime by a 25-20 score.
Hillsboro in the second stated with two points by Bloomfield, but Washington’s John Wall sank a 3-pointer and Tanner Lemaster connected with a jumper to get back to within one point of the Hillsboro squad.
Parsons answered with more points with a put back bucket, but then both teams continued to answer each other's points until the Blue Lions scored five straight points from Isaiah Haithcock with 2:03 left on the clock for a 19-17 lead.
HHS trailed from the remainder of the second quarter from one to five points, as the Blue Lions scored six of the final nine points of the quarter for the aforementioned 25-20 lead.
Hillsboro in the third kept the score close with Kibler scoring the first points of the quarter, followed by Tate Davis making two free throws for a 25-24 Washington lead 32 seconds into the third frame.
Washington’s Wall answered those four points with a 3-pointer, but the Indians came back to tie the score at 28 with a jumper by Davis and a two-point basket from Kibler with 5:13 left in the quarter.
Again, Washington took a three-point lead with a trey from Wall, and with 4:41 left in the third Bloomfield drove to the lane for two points, putting the Indians back to within one point of tying the score, as HHS trailed 31-30.
The Blue Lions called a timeout with 3:24 left in the third, and following the timeout they scored five straight points with a basket by Lemaster and a 3-pointer from Rickman for a Hillsboro deficit of 36-30 with 2:10 left in the quarter. HHS answered with two points by Nic Burns, and the quarter ended with a 3-pointer by the Blue Lions’ Brayden May, only to be equaled with a 3-pointer by Parsons at the buzzer, bringing the Indians to within four points of Washington’s 39-35 lead.
HHS trailed by as many as eight points on three occasions in the fourth frame, and by as few as two points twice in the same quarter, starting with a put-back basket by Stewart with 7:26 left in the final frame for a 39-37 score.
Washington scored the next six points, and later that lead went back to eight points again with 4:04 on the clock. HHS battled with two made free throws by Davis and two free-throw conversions from Parsons to make it a four-point differential on the scoreboard with 3:22 left in regulation.
Later the Indians — after trailing by six points — got back to within two points of tying the score with two free throws made by Davis and once again, two made free throws by Parsons, for a 51-49 score.
Washington’s Wall scored the next five points, but Hillsboro’s Brayden Hunter answered with a 3-pointer with 40.7 seconds remaining in regulation. The Blue Lions answered by making four free throws, as they eventually won the game by six points, with HHS scoring the final points of the game with a basket by Brogen Priest.
After the game, head coach Josh Howland said he wanted to recognize the program’s four seniors, Bloomfield, Parsons, Priest and Garet Thompson.
“I want to thank our seniors,” he said. “They're great dudes. They really are. They bought in and practice hard. Even the guys who didn't get it off the bench a whole lot, Garet Thompson and Brogen Priest, they practice hard every day, they go hard and they push the others. That's what it takes.
“But Deegan Bloomfield and Bryce Parsons I thought stepped up big tonight and played their guts out. We talked about how defense has been one of our weak points this year, and we felt like they were the leaders in practice and here in the game today.
“All of our guys and even our underclassmen — Kibler stepped up and played big for us, Dorian came in and definitely filled a big role for us, so I couldn't be more proud of the effort,” Howland continued. “We’ve got to get in work in the offseason. We got six wins this year, and we know we’ve got to do better than that, so the offseason is where it starts.”
HHS was led in scoring by Parsons with 21 points, followed by Davis with 12 points and Kibler with six points. Scoring four points was Burns, while Hunter finished with three points in the game. Also for HHS, Bloomfield scored three points, Stewart had three points and Priest scored two points.
As a team, the Indians totaled 18 two-point baskets, two 3-pointers and they were 12-of-14 from the free-throw line, as Davis was 6-of-6 and Parsons was 4-of-4.
Howland thanked Hillsboro’s parents and fans for supporting the team Wednesday and throughout the season.
“I would like to thank the support of the community,” Howland said. “I thought we had a good turnout tonight for a sectional semifinal game. I was pleased to see that, pleased to see all the parents cheer and kind of especially there at the end.
“It was a fun environment for us, and hopefully they'll get these boys to understand that this is what you're playing for.”
Washington was led by Wall with 25 points, Rickman with 15 points and Lemaster with 12 points. As a team, Washington totaled 15 two-point baskets, six 3-pointers and they were 12-of-17 from the free-throw line.
Next for Washington is a sectional final game on Saturday, Feb. 25 at home against Warren at 7 p.m.
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