Falcons gain season sweep over Tigers
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — Though the McClain Tigers never held the lead Saturday night against the Clinton-Massie Falcons, they played with a different feel in the final two quarters, but it wasn't enough with the Falcons defeating the Tigers, 49-44 at MHS.
The way the Tigers played in the first half was completely opposite of the way they played in the second half, and head coach Brent Eaton talked about the differences.
"I thought we were a little lax in the first half. I was disappointed with the energy and enthusiasm level. At halftime I challenged the seniors to improve, or we were going to go in a different direction. We need to find five guys who want to leave everything on the floor, and if you saw the guys on the floor in the second half, they did that. In the second half, the guys played as hard as they could and didn't quit."
The loss drops the Tigers to 0-8 in the South Central Ohio League and 3-9 overall.
Eaton talked about the Tigers needing to play a full game, as the Tigers were held to four points in the second quarter.
"I want to win. I don't like consolation prizes … I want to win, and the kids want to win. We want to win," Eaton said. "To win we have to play smart, and in the first half we weren't the smart team."
The first half for MHS didn't go as planned with them giving up 18 points in the first quarter and 11 in the second. MHS was held to 18 points in the first 16 minutes.
Massie gained an 8-3 lead at the start of the game, including 3-pointers from Brad Burgess and Tyler Uetrecht.
The Tigers tied the game at nine with points by Zach Matracia and Tanner Vanzant with 2:28 left in the quarter. Matracia finished with 13 points, the game-high.
Burgess put CM back into the lead with another 3-pointer, but a three-point play by Zach Uhl tied the game at 12 with 1:47 left in the opening quarter. CM finished the first quarter by going on a 6-2 run. Uhl ended the game with 10 points.
CM outscored the Tigers 11-4 in the second quarter. Scoring the four MHS points were Uhl and Jared Loftis. For the Falcons, D.J. Jewett scored seven points in the second frame, including a 3-pointer.
"We didn't go back on defense when we needed to, and from day one we have had to go back on defense," Eaton said. "I thought we didn't have guys get back."
The energy the Tigers didn't have in the first half showed in the second half, with MHS outscoring CM 26-20.
Pryor and Matracia brought MHS within six points of tying the game to open the third quarter, but those points were off-set with six straight points by the Falcons' Uetrecht, Taylor Luckett and JD Curtsinger. Pryor stopped the run by MHS with a layup at the 2:01 mark, bringing the Tigers within 10 points of CM's score at 37-27. Thomas Schrader ended the quarter with a basket at the buzzer.
At one point in both the third and fourth quarters, the Tigers didn't score on their first eight possessions.
MHS entered the fourth frame trailing 39-29. Pryor was first to score with a put-back bucket, and with 6:14 left Scott Balzer made a free throw in his return to the court after injuring his ankle last week. Pryor finished the game with eight points.
The Tigers had 3-pointers from Matracia and Uhl (an off-balanced shot) late in the fourth, but Massie connected their free throws to take their 49-44 lead.
"Credit the Clinton-Massie kids, they do things right and played a good game," Eaton said.
The win improves CM to 4-4 in the SCOL and 8-5 in the overall. MHS falls to 0-8 in league play.
MHS will play at Unioto on Tuesday, Jan. 25.
GAME NOTES: MHS was 8-of-13 from the free-throw line … CM was 11-of-16 from the free-throw line … Eight of the 10 CM points in the fourth quarter were from free throws … MHS had 25 rebounds (CM 26) … Pryor and Matracia each had six rebounds … CM tallied 17 turnovers, with MHS having 14 … Loftis led with five assists … Loftis and Matracia each had two steals … Uhl and Pryor each had three offensive rebounds … Pryor had one blocked shot … CM had two blocked shots... CM defeated MHS 51-37 in their first meeting of the season.[[In-content Ad]]
The way the Tigers played in the first half was completely opposite of the way they played in the second half, and head coach Brent Eaton talked about the differences.
"I thought we were a little lax in the first half. I was disappointed with the energy and enthusiasm level. At halftime I challenged the seniors to improve, or we were going to go in a different direction. We need to find five guys who want to leave everything on the floor, and if you saw the guys on the floor in the second half, they did that. In the second half, the guys played as hard as they could and didn't quit."
The loss drops the Tigers to 0-8 in the South Central Ohio League and 3-9 overall.
Eaton talked about the Tigers needing to play a full game, as the Tigers were held to four points in the second quarter.
"I want to win. I don't like consolation prizes … I want to win, and the kids want to win. We want to win," Eaton said. "To win we have to play smart, and in the first half we weren't the smart team."
The first half for MHS didn't go as planned with them giving up 18 points in the first quarter and 11 in the second. MHS was held to 18 points in the first 16 minutes.
Massie gained an 8-3 lead at the start of the game, including 3-pointers from Brad Burgess and Tyler Uetrecht.
The Tigers tied the game at nine with points by Zach Matracia and Tanner Vanzant with 2:28 left in the quarter. Matracia finished with 13 points, the game-high.
Burgess put CM back into the lead with another 3-pointer, but a three-point play by Zach Uhl tied the game at 12 with 1:47 left in the opening quarter. CM finished the first quarter by going on a 6-2 run. Uhl ended the game with 10 points.
CM outscored the Tigers 11-4 in the second quarter. Scoring the four MHS points were Uhl and Jared Loftis. For the Falcons, D.J. Jewett scored seven points in the second frame, including a 3-pointer.
"We didn't go back on defense when we needed to, and from day one we have had to go back on defense," Eaton said. "I thought we didn't have guys get back."
The energy the Tigers didn't have in the first half showed in the second half, with MHS outscoring CM 26-20.
Pryor and Matracia brought MHS within six points of tying the game to open the third quarter, but those points were off-set with six straight points by the Falcons' Uetrecht, Taylor Luckett and JD Curtsinger. Pryor stopped the run by MHS with a layup at the 2:01 mark, bringing the Tigers within 10 points of CM's score at 37-27. Thomas Schrader ended the quarter with a basket at the buzzer.
At one point in both the third and fourth quarters, the Tigers didn't score on their first eight possessions.
MHS entered the fourth frame trailing 39-29. Pryor was first to score with a put-back bucket, and with 6:14 left Scott Balzer made a free throw in his return to the court after injuring his ankle last week. Pryor finished the game with eight points.
The Tigers had 3-pointers from Matracia and Uhl (an off-balanced shot) late in the fourth, but Massie connected their free throws to take their 49-44 lead.
"Credit the Clinton-Massie kids, they do things right and played a good game," Eaton said.
The win improves CM to 4-4 in the SCOL and 8-5 in the overall. MHS falls to 0-8 in league play.
MHS will play at Unioto on Tuesday, Jan. 25.
GAME NOTES: MHS was 8-of-13 from the free-throw line … CM was 11-of-16 from the free-throw line … Eight of the 10 CM points in the fourth quarter were from free throws … MHS had 25 rebounds (CM 26) … Pryor and Matracia each had six rebounds … CM tallied 17 turnovers, with MHS having 14 … Loftis led with five assists … Loftis and Matracia each had two steals … Uhl and Pryor each had three offensive rebounds … Pryor had one blocked shot … CM had two blocked shots... CM defeated MHS 51-37 in their first meeting of the season.[[In-content Ad]]