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Blue Lions score seven 3-pointers in win over Tigers

The Highland County Press - Staff Photo - Create Article
McClain's Jordan Bell is pictured at Washington Friday night. (HCP Photos/Jim Jones)
By
Jim Jones, The Highland County Press

The McClain Tigers’ offensive and defensive struggles continued Friday night at Washington, where the Blue Lions handed the Tigers a 68-36 loss in a game that the Blue Lions connected on seven long balls from behind the arc.

Senior Isaiah Haithcock led the Washington scoring attack with a game-high 21 points, followed by fellow senior Garrett Rickman, who added 16 that included a pair of dunks.

“We’ve just got to get better,” McClain head coach Michael Noszka said. “We’ve got to get more from more people and it’s going to be a process.

“You’ve got to be dedicated to it, but nobody’s quitting and nobody’s bailing out.”

It was the Tiger’s fourth straight Frontier Athletic Conference loss after a season-opening victory over Paint Valley.

Things started well early for McClain after back-to-back scores by Owen Sykes and Seth Weller, but Washington closed out the quarter on a 14-5 run and led 14-9 after one period.

The second quarter was the game-changer for Washington when they outscored the Tigers 22-8 and took a commanding 36-17 lead into halftime.  Haithcock and Rickman accounted for 25 of those points at the break for the Blue Lions.

“Everything they did tonight hurt us,” Noszka said “Their quickness, the threes, and we continue to let the ball get into the lane, so right now it’s everything.”

Washington continued to run with the basketball and light it up from three-point range in the third frame, and the Tiger deficit grew to 54-27 after another big offensive quarter by the Blue Lions.

The Tigers also struggled against the Washington press most of the game, when they were guilty of several turnovers that led to easy layups.

“We’ve just got to play better defense,” Noszka said “We’re giving up 65 or 70 points a game in these last four, and that’s just not going to cut it.

“We have a good group of kids, but we just have to get better on a daily basis, and that means way better on defense.”

Senior Seth Weller was McClain’s only player to reach double-figures with 11 points. Rounding out the scoring for the Tigers were Andrew Potts 7, Owen Sykes 6, Micah Parks 5, Jordan Bell 4, Michael Noszka Jr. 2 and Jayden Allison 1.

The Tigers also struggled again at the free-throw line where they connected on just 5-of-16 foul shots for a dismal 31 percent, while Washington made 9-of-12 free-throws for 75 percent.

McClain next travels to Lynchburg-Clay on Tuesday, Dec. 19 for a non-conference game against the Mustangs.