Tigers pick up big non-conference win over Piketon
McClain senior Andrew Potts is pictured defending a Piketon player Saturday at MHS. Potts led all scorers with 21 points in the game. (HCP Photos/Jim Jones)
The McClain boys varsity basketball team played probably their best all-around ballgame of the season with a convincing 53-38 victory over Piketon Saturday night in Greenfield.
Senior post player Andrew Potts played great on both ends of the floor and led the Tigers with a game-high 21 points that included a couple of threes. Freshman Michael Noszka Jr. was also sizzling hot in the contest from long range, where he connected on four shots from behind the arc and reached double-figure scoring with 14 points.
“I thought we played great tonight, and my three seniors Jayden Allison, Seth Weller and Andrew Potts all did a great job of distributing and taking care of the basketball,” said McClain head coach Michael Noszka. “I’m just really happy with our kids right now.”
The Tigers led from start to finish for the first time all year, and McClain set the tone offensively early by winning the opening quarter 11-8 when they made three trifectas, two by Noszka and another by Potts. Owen Sykes accounted for the other basket for the Tigers in the first period.
Sophomore 6-6 post-player Bo Henry scored all eight points in the frame for the Redstreaks and finished the game with a team-high 13 points.
Senior Jayden Allison was another big bright spot in the game for McClain, coming in off the bench and scoring a season-high eight points and playing some solid defense on the much taller Henry, especially in the second half, holding Henry to just five points.
“Jayden (Allison) did a nice job defensively on the big kid for Piketon, even though he was giving up a lot of height difference,” Noszka said. “We rewarded him for his effort by starting him in the second half because he really earned it.”
The second quarter was the big difference in the game when McClain outscored Piketon 14-7 and took a double-digit lead 25-15 into the locker room at halftime.
Potts had an outstanding offensive effort in the period, scoring nine of the Tigers’ 14 points. Noszka connected on his third long ball of the game in the frame, giving him nine points at the half on three made 3-pointers.
“We work a lot in practice on shooting, and I think you’re finally starting to see some of that hard work paying off now with a lot of kids knocking down some shots,” Noszka said.
McClain continued to play well on both ends of the floor in the third stanza and increased their advantage to 39-27 after outscoring Piketon 14-12.
Allison and Potts had four points each in the third, and Noszka hit his fourth trifecta, giving him four for the game.
The Tigers’ offense continued to click in the fourth when they put 14 points on the scoreboard for a third straight quarter and rolled to the big 53-38 non-conference victory, giving them two wins in a row after defeating East Clinton last Tuesday 46-43 on a last-second three-point shot at the buzzer by Noszka.
McClain also shot very well from the free-throw line on the night, especially in the final quarter, where they made 9-of-12 attempted.
“It was a great team effort tonight, “ Noszka said. “We won all four quarters and were very consistent on offense, and when we did make mistakes, I thought we made up for them on the defensive end where we did a great job of guarding the threes.
“We want to keep this going now, and confidence is something you have to earn, and our kids are doing that right now.”
Potts and Noszka were the only double-digit scorers in the game for McClain with 21 and 14, respectively, and Allison just missed by scoring eight. Rounding out the scoring for the Tigers were Owen Sykes (four), Jordan Bell (four) and Seth Weller (two).
McClain will be back in action Tuesday, Jan. 23 when they host undefeated county rival Fairfield before hosting conference foe Washington on Friday, Jan. 26.