Energized Indians breeze past Blue Lions

     With a nine-point deficit staring the in the face Tuesday night against the Washington Blue Lions, the Hillsboro Indians didn’t give up, but gained their second wind and breezed past the Blue Lions in the final eight minutes for a 76-63 South Central Ohio League victory at Hillsboro High School.

     The Indians (1-1, 2-2) outscored the Blue Lions 28-15 in the fourth quarter.

     But it was in the third quarter at the 4:01 mark when things became more energized for the Tribe, when HHS head coach Tim Davis allowed his team to regroup and refocus with a timeout after the Blue Lions led 46-37, going on a 14-6 run to begin the quarter.

     “Washington went on a run and we called a timeout to regain our energy,” Davis said. “When we went back onto the court we played in full force, went back in transition and we attacked the glass. It was a different game after that.”

     Davis was excited how his team rebounded after a tough loss last Friday night against Madison-Plains. The Indians also played without starting junior guard Aric Carroll who missed the game due to injury.

     “I am extremely proud of the effort from our five starters tonight,” the HHS coach said. “Dawson Barreras came off the bench and played well, and Colt (Coates) played well in the starting role. We knew without (Aric) Carroll it was going to be a total team effort. The team played extremely hard.”

     After the timeout the Indians proceeded to cut into the Blue Lion lead with senior Emanuel Turner knocking down a 3-pointer, followed with put back points from Dawson Barreras with 2:35 left in the third.

     Steagall pressured the Blue Lion offense with a steal, and took the ball to the basket for two points while being fouled. Steagall missed the free throw opportunity, but Barreras grabbed the rebound and put the ball through the hoop to tie the game, with 2:06 left in the third. Steagall finished with a game-high 26 points. He sank four 3-pointers and was 4 of 6 from the foul line.

     The final quarter started off tied at 48 as Steagall tied the game near the end of the third with inside points. In the fourth, Coates gave the Indians the lead at 50-48. Barreras forced a turnover and made a layup on a fast break. Coates made it a 6-0 run with more inside points, giving HHS a 54-48 advantage with 6:43 left in the SCOL contest. Barreras finished with 14 points.

     After the Tribe scored their eighth consecutive point with Coates netting yet another inside shot, Washington’s Casey Shaw came back with two points.

     But it was the Indians who continued to use their energy to wear down the Blue Lions with points by Turner and Barreras as HHS built a 64-51 lead with 4:14 left in the fourth.

     With a quick layup by Washington junior Kyle Slone, Steagall nailed a 3-point basket and Coates maneuvered around Washington defenders for a 69-53 lead. Coates finished with 23 points. The junior made 11 shots from the field and was 1 of 1 from the free-throw line.

      “We can’t give up 17 offensive rebounds and win games,” Washington head coach Gary Shaffer said. “We gave up 28 points in the fourth, Hillsboro was aggressive and we just stood around.

     “Hillsboro played physical and forced us into nine turnovers in the second half. With the ball handlers we have, we should average six or seven a game. Most of the turnovers were at half court and they capitalized on them. We didn’t match their energy.”

     The loss kept the Washington coach at 599 wins. This game was his first shot at No. 600.

     The game gives the Indians their first SCOL win of the year, but things didn’t start out well for the Tribe in the opening quarter as they trailed 18-11 after eight minutes ticked off the clock.

     Washington’s Matt Stringfield scored 10 points in the first quarter, making two 3-pointers, but HHS held the senior to a total of two points for the next three quarters combined. Stringfield finished with 12 points. Steagall made one 3-pointer in the first quarter.

     Trailing by five points in the early stages of the second, Steagall banked in a trifecta to cut the Blue Lion lead down to 20-18.

     HHS senior Will McKenna made a layup to put HHS down by one point to end the first half at 32-21.

     Shaw and Slone each scored a team-high 17 point for WSHS.

     The loss drops Washington to 2-2 overall, 1-1 in the SCOL.

     HHS will play again Saturday as they travel to face the Miami Trace Panthers in SCOL play.

BOX SCORE

SCORE BY QUARTERS

WSHS – 18 14 16 15 – 63

HHS – 11 20 17 28 – 76

INDIVIDUAL STATS

HHS (76)

Da.Barreras 7 0-3 14, C.Coates 11 1-1 23, E.Turner 2 (1) 2-2 9, Dy.Barreras 1 2, A.Steagall 5 (4) 4-6 26, W.McKenna 1 2. TOTALS: 27 (5) 7-12 76.

WSHS (63)

M.Stringfield 3 (2) 12, J.Wyatt 8 1-3 9, M.McKinney 1 2, C.Shaw 7 3-5 17, C.Johnson 2 4, K.Slone 5 (2) 1-1 17, L.Rankin 1 2. TOTALS: 27 (4) 5-9 63.