Tigers lose to Chillicothe in regular-season finale

After suffering a hard-fought non-conference 35-33 loss at Zane Trace on Friday night in overtime, the McClain Tigers had to come back and play Saturday afternoon against Chillicothe to finish up the regular season.

Looking both emotionally and physically drained from the heartbreaking loss to the Pioneers, McClain closed out the regular-season and Frontier Athletic Conference slate with another disappointing 42-29 defeat.

“I thought our kids lacked some legs tonight and were really tired after losing in overtime at Zane Trace last night,” McClain head coach Michael Noszka said. “They looked physically and mentally drained coming into this one.”

Jordan Bell got things going for McClain to start the game by draining a long-three, but Chillicothe’s Daniel Scissum answered with a trifecta and another bucket for a 5-3 Cavalier lead.

Senior Seth Weller tied the game, and Michael Noszka Jr. drilled a long ball at the 2:40 mark to put the Tigers back on top, 8-5. Chillicothe scored the next five points and took a 10-8 advantage until Andrew Potts scored inside just before the horn sounded, tying the game at 10-10.

The second period was a struggle for both teams to score points, but the Cavaliers were able to outscore McClain 9-5 in the frame to lead slightly at the half, 19-15.

The Tigers’ only points in the second period were by Potts, who had an old-fashioned three-point play, and Weller’s second basket of the game.

Fatigue seemed to play into McClain being outscored 10-4 at the start of the third quarter when Chillicothe opened up a double-digit advantage, 29-19. The Tigers clawed back late in the period after another nice bucket inside by Potts and a long three from Weller cut the deficit back to five points, 29-24.

Cam Badger ended the McClain run by hitting a long trifecta just before the third-period horn sounded to give the Cavaliers a 32-24 lead and a little breathing room heading to the fourth.

Things started well for the Tigers in the fourth when Bell, just like at the start of the game, connected on his second long ball of the contest to pull McClain back to within five points at 32-27. But unfortunately for the Tigers, the Cavaliers finished the game on a 10-2 run and pulled away at the end, winning 42-29.

“We had a lot of open shots there in the second half but just couldn’t get them to fall,” Noszka said. “We got it down to 34-27 at the beginning of the fourth quarter but just couldn’t finish.

“You have to start quarters strong and finish quarters strong, and that’s what really hurt us tonight, especially at the beginning of the second half, and we never really recovered from that.”

Noszka also spoke about the team’s three seniors.

“I take my hat off to all of our kids, but our three seniors Seth Weller, Jayden Allison and Andrew Potts have put four years into this program with a lot of commitment, dedication and sacrifice,” Noszka said. “They are very unselfish and are all multi-sport athletes who gave everything they had to McClain High School. 

“Jayden came in from football with a really bad ankle and jumped right in to practice, Andrew looks like he’s been in a street fight after each and every game, and Seth playing with two younger guards all year showed great leadership.

“I can’t thank those three kids enough, just wish we could have gotten them a few more wins in the regular season,” Noszka continued.

The Tigers open up tournament play Saturday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. when they travel to Gallipolis and play Gallia Academy.

“We’re guarding pretty well right now,” Noszka said. “We gave up 35 points last night in overtime at Zane Trace and only 42 tonight against Chillicothe, who I think scored almost 70 points the first time we played them.

“We’ve got a whole week to practice now and get ready for the tournament next Saturday, so we’ll recover from this and prepare as well as we can and get ready to go.”

Potts led McClain with nine points in the contest, followed by Weller, who scored seven.  Rounding out the scoring for the Tigers were Jordan Bell six, Owen Sykes four and Michael Noszka Jr. three. 3-point goals for McClain: Weller 2 and Bell 2.

The Tigers attempted just two free throws in the game, converting one for 50 percent.

Chillicothe was led in scoring by Daniel Scissum with a game-high 14 points. The Cavaliers made all five foul shots they attempted for 100 percent.