Tigers win over rival Hillsboro
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
McClain head coach Joe Wisecup described the physical Highland County rivalry matchup perfectly Friday night by saying, "This was a game of mental toughness."
The mental toughness displayed by the McClain Tigers sent them to their fourth win of the season, and with that victory, the Tigers snapped a 12-game losing streak to their cross-county rival by a 42-37 score at McClain High School in front of an energized crowd.
The rivalry game was closely contested throughout the entire 32 minutes, but it was the fourth quarter which propelled the Tigers to the South Central Ohio League victory.
MHS (2-0, 4-1) then celebrated their cross-county win with their classmates in a role-reversal, rushing the student section in victory.
"The first thing the kids said in the locker room was how much fun this game was," Wisecup said. "This is the first time they've realized how much fun the county rivalry games can be. The atmosphere here (Friday) was great."
Hillsboro (0-3, 2-4) entered the fourth frame with a three-point lead at 35-32, but the game went to a tied 35 points for each team when Tiger senior captain Thomas Schrader converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 6:51 left in regulation.
The Tigers then took the lead 30 seconds later off points in the paint by junior Ryan Faulconer, bringing the Tiger fans to their feet. Faulconer led the Tigers with a game-high 15 points.
With defense of both teams continuing to be the story of the game, the Indians tied the score at 37 points apiece at the 3:22 mark of the fourth of a layup by Alex Van Zant. Van Zant led HHS with 11 points, tied with teammate Austin Bagshaw.
HHS had a chance to take the lead but missed a shot at the 2:27 mark, and the Tigers took advantage of a turnaround jumper 15 seconds later by Schrader, with the captain putting the hosts ahead, 39-37. Schrader ended the game with 13 points.
Faulconer, also an MHS captain, put the Tigers ahead by four points with 1:50 on the scoreboard, and following an Indians turnover, the junior sank the front end of a one-and-one foul line trip, increasing the Tigers' lead to five points.
"Our kids played such great defense," Wisecup said. "We played more zone than we usually do, but this was a tremendous effort by our kids."
Faulconer then stole the ball with 52 seconds remaining, but HHS had a couple more chances to make the score closer with two 3-pointer attempts that were just short of falling through the hoop.
Hillsboro head coach Brett Prince spoke about the game.
"This was a game of two teams that I thought played hard defensively, and the difference was them beating us on the boards, especially offensive rebounding," he said. "They had to win 85 to 90 percent of the offensive rebound battles … they extended so many offensive possessions."
The game of defense was evident in the first quarter where the two teams combined for 19 points, with the Tigers leading 12-7 after eight minutes.
MHS built a lead of 8-2 with 5:03 left in the quarter off points for senior captain Evan Mustard (10 points total), Schrader and Faulconer, but Bagshaw returned to the court after missing the previous game with a 3-pointer and by scoring the first five HHS points of the game.
The 3-pointer came with 4:21 left in the first, as he was left wide-open for a clear shot at the hoop.
Mikel Pritchard scored the final points of the first for MHS for a five-point advantage.
"Mikel made some nice baskets for us, but his defense (Friday) … it was his best defensive effort of the season," Wisecup said.
[[In-content Ad]]
The second frame ended with the Tigers holding onto a one-point lead at 21-20.
MHS at one point held a 15-9 lead in the quarter, but a 3-pointer by Van Zant at the 5:16 mark and two more points by the Indians made it a 15-14 score with 3:50 left in the first half.
Later, HHS took an 18-17 lead with 1:59 left in the quarter following a 3-pointer by Zach Young. Eventually, the quarter ended with two free throws by Mustard for the one-point halftime lead.
Then came a hostile third quarter where in one sequence of physical events, the officials handed out three technicals, including two to one MHS player, who was forced to leave the game following an altercation that had coaches and officials separating players from one another.
But before the altercation, the game was tied three times in the quarter at 23, 25 and 27.
Even after the score was tied for the final time in the third at the 5:25 mark, the lead exchanged hands two more times in the frame with HHS eventually leading at the conclusion of the third by three points.
MHS finished the game with just four turnovers, while the Indians committed 17.
"Instead of increasing our lead late in the third, we didn't make the shots, and it gave them the momentum," Price said. "We had too many mental mistakes, and you can't win games when you make that many mistakes."
Wisecup summed up the win.
"This game was two good teams playing tough," he said. "Coach Prince does such a great job with his players. They guard you, and this was an old-fashioned game."
HHS won't have much time to rest as they travel Saturday for another Highland County matchup, this time to Mowrystown, to take on the Whiteoak Wildcats.
MHS will play again on Friday, Dec. 27 vs. Adena in non-league play.
McClain swept the night by winning the freshman game, 23-8 and the JV game, 25-24.
The mental toughness displayed by the McClain Tigers sent them to their fourth win of the season, and with that victory, the Tigers snapped a 12-game losing streak to their cross-county rival by a 42-37 score at McClain High School in front of an energized crowd.
The rivalry game was closely contested throughout the entire 32 minutes, but it was the fourth quarter which propelled the Tigers to the South Central Ohio League victory.
MHS (2-0, 4-1) then celebrated their cross-county win with their classmates in a role-reversal, rushing the student section in victory.
"The first thing the kids said in the locker room was how much fun this game was," Wisecup said. "This is the first time they've realized how much fun the county rivalry games can be. The atmosphere here (Friday) was great."
Hillsboro (0-3, 2-4) entered the fourth frame with a three-point lead at 35-32, but the game went to a tied 35 points for each team when Tiger senior captain Thomas Schrader converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 6:51 left in regulation.
The Tigers then took the lead 30 seconds later off points in the paint by junior Ryan Faulconer, bringing the Tiger fans to their feet. Faulconer led the Tigers with a game-high 15 points.
With defense of both teams continuing to be the story of the game, the Indians tied the score at 37 points apiece at the 3:22 mark of the fourth of a layup by Alex Van Zant. Van Zant led HHS with 11 points, tied with teammate Austin Bagshaw.
HHS had a chance to take the lead but missed a shot at the 2:27 mark, and the Tigers took advantage of a turnaround jumper 15 seconds later by Schrader, with the captain putting the hosts ahead, 39-37. Schrader ended the game with 13 points.
Faulconer, also an MHS captain, put the Tigers ahead by four points with 1:50 on the scoreboard, and following an Indians turnover, the junior sank the front end of a one-and-one foul line trip, increasing the Tigers' lead to five points.
"Our kids played such great defense," Wisecup said. "We played more zone than we usually do, but this was a tremendous effort by our kids."
Faulconer then stole the ball with 52 seconds remaining, but HHS had a couple more chances to make the score closer with two 3-pointer attempts that were just short of falling through the hoop.
Hillsboro head coach Brett Prince spoke about the game.
"This was a game of two teams that I thought played hard defensively, and the difference was them beating us on the boards, especially offensive rebounding," he said. "They had to win 85 to 90 percent of the offensive rebound battles … they extended so many offensive possessions."
The game of defense was evident in the first quarter where the two teams combined for 19 points, with the Tigers leading 12-7 after eight minutes.
MHS built a lead of 8-2 with 5:03 left in the quarter off points for senior captain Evan Mustard (10 points total), Schrader and Faulconer, but Bagshaw returned to the court after missing the previous game with a 3-pointer and by scoring the first five HHS points of the game.
The 3-pointer came with 4:21 left in the first, as he was left wide-open for a clear shot at the hoop.
Mikel Pritchard scored the final points of the first for MHS for a five-point advantage.
"Mikel made some nice baskets for us, but his defense (Friday) … it was his best defensive effort of the season," Wisecup said.
[[In-content Ad]]
The second frame ended with the Tigers holding onto a one-point lead at 21-20.
MHS at one point held a 15-9 lead in the quarter, but a 3-pointer by Van Zant at the 5:16 mark and two more points by the Indians made it a 15-14 score with 3:50 left in the first half.
Later, HHS took an 18-17 lead with 1:59 left in the quarter following a 3-pointer by Zach Young. Eventually, the quarter ended with two free throws by Mustard for the one-point halftime lead.
Then came a hostile third quarter where in one sequence of physical events, the officials handed out three technicals, including two to one MHS player, who was forced to leave the game following an altercation that had coaches and officials separating players from one another.
But before the altercation, the game was tied three times in the quarter at 23, 25 and 27.
Even after the score was tied for the final time in the third at the 5:25 mark, the lead exchanged hands two more times in the frame with HHS eventually leading at the conclusion of the third by three points.
MHS finished the game with just four turnovers, while the Indians committed 17.
"Instead of increasing our lead late in the third, we didn't make the shots, and it gave them the momentum," Price said. "We had too many mental mistakes, and you can't win games when you make that many mistakes."
Wisecup summed up the win.
"This game was two good teams playing tough," he said. "Coach Prince does such a great job with his players. They guard you, and this was an old-fashioned game."
HHS won't have much time to rest as they travel Saturday for another Highland County matchup, this time to Mowrystown, to take on the Whiteoak Wildcats.
MHS will play again on Friday, Dec. 27 vs. Adena in non-league play.
McClain swept the night by winning the freshman game, 23-8 and the JV game, 25-24.