Tournament Preview: Indians one win away from districts WATCH THE VIDEO
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
HILLSBORO — There isn't much time for the Hillsboro Indians to rest after their Division II SE District Sectional semifinal victory, as the red-hot Waverly Tigers stand in the way of the Tribe, with a sectional title on the line, this Friday night at 7 p.m. at Southeastern High School.
The winner Friday night will not only win their sectional bracket of four teams (McClain, Hillsboro, Miami Trace and Waverly), but advance to the district tournament at the Convocation Center, in Athens, on the campus of Ohio University, which will be played on Friday, March 4 at 8 p.m.
First things first.
Both the Indians, who are co-champions of the South Central Ohio League and the Tigers are coming off big wins Tuesday night at SEHS.
HHS (14-7) defeated cross-county rival McClain 51-39, winning their fifth straight game in the process. HHS was led by Aric Carroll with 13 points, along with Tyrand Cumberland and Jarrod Hart scoring 10 points each in their sectional opener.
The Tigers of Waverly defeated the other co-champion of the SCOL (Miami Trace) Tuesday night, controlling the 15-win Panthers from the second quarter on, winning 59-34. In that game, Waverly outscored MT, 50-27 in the final three quarters, including a 21-point second quarter and 20-point fourth quarter.
In their game against MT, Waverly was led by Jake Kertzer with a game-high 26 points, making two 3-pointers and four free throws to go with his eight two-point field goals.
"Waverly has length," HHS head coach Tim Davis said. "They have shooting guards who are 6-5, 6-6 and a post player that about 6-4. Their height can be an issue, and we are going to have to figure out a way to keep them in front of us.
"We have to box out and rebound … that's no secret. All year long that has been our focus. We just have to do a good job, and limit them to one shot per trip."
Also against the Panthers, WHS made 21 two-point baskets due in large part to Harrison Martin and Taylor Ward. Martin finished with 15 points and Ward scored 11, with both players combing for 11 two-point baskets and four free throws. The Tigers' overall shooting percentage was 67-percent (against MT), finishing 24-of-36. At the free-throw line, they were 8-of-12 for 67-percent.
Though HHS did win their game Tuesday, there was one point that possibly could use improvement … free-throw shooting.
On Tuesday, the Indians were 5-of-14 (36 percent) from the charity stripe, going 0-of-5 from the free-throw line in the first half. They rallied in the fourth quarter by making four free throws at timely moments of the game.
In their regular season finale (against London), the Indians were 8-of-17 (47 percent) in free-throw shooting. The game before that, against the Fairfield Lions, they went 8-of-15 (53 percent).
"I'm not very pleased with that (free-throw shooting), but we were able to knock down some free throws late," Davis said following the game against MHS on Tuesday. "A majority of those were in the first half, but we started to make some late, and that was the key. In a tight game like we had, you have to step up to the free-throw line with confidence, and knock those shots down."
Both teams have common opponents this season in Miami Trace and Logan Elm. HHS split their season series with MT, defeating them 78-70 at HHS but falling to the Panthers 79-71 on Feb. 4 at MTHS. Against LE, HHS lost 67-43 in the season opener. Waverly lost 52-34 in their second game of the year to Logan Elm.
Waverly is a part of the Southern Ohio Conference (Division II), which is the large school division. In Division II of the SOC, they play against Minford, Oak Hill, Portsmouth West, Northwest, South Webster, Valley and Wheelersburg. They have also played Piketon (68-67, loss) and Ironton (71-70, loss) this season. Their conference record this year was 7-6, with a current overall mark of 10-11.
Another fact about this game … it will have brothers-in-law on each sideline, as Davis is the Indians' coach and Travis Robertson is the head coach of the Tigers. This will be the first time they have coached against each other in an actual game other than a scrimmage. Robertson is a graduate of Washington Senior High School, in Washington C.H.
Last season, HHS lost in the sectional finals to the Washington Blue Lions, 58-41. Waverly won their sectional final game (last season) defeating Chillicothe, 45-43. Waverly was knocked out of the tournament in the district semifinals against Logan Elm, 52-40.
Fans can buy tickets for the HHS-WHS game this week at Hillsboro High School. HHS will get 25 percent of the proceeds if purchased from HHS. Tickets can be purchased during school hours from the athletic dept.[[In-content Ad]]
The winner Friday night will not only win their sectional bracket of four teams (McClain, Hillsboro, Miami Trace and Waverly), but advance to the district tournament at the Convocation Center, in Athens, on the campus of Ohio University, which will be played on Friday, March 4 at 8 p.m.
First things first.
Both the Indians, who are co-champions of the South Central Ohio League and the Tigers are coming off big wins Tuesday night at SEHS.
HHS (14-7) defeated cross-county rival McClain 51-39, winning their fifth straight game in the process. HHS was led by Aric Carroll with 13 points, along with Tyrand Cumberland and Jarrod Hart scoring 10 points each in their sectional opener.
The Tigers of Waverly defeated the other co-champion of the SCOL (Miami Trace) Tuesday night, controlling the 15-win Panthers from the second quarter on, winning 59-34. In that game, Waverly outscored MT, 50-27 in the final three quarters, including a 21-point second quarter and 20-point fourth quarter.
In their game against MT, Waverly was led by Jake Kertzer with a game-high 26 points, making two 3-pointers and four free throws to go with his eight two-point field goals.
"Waverly has length," HHS head coach Tim Davis said. "They have shooting guards who are 6-5, 6-6 and a post player that about 6-4. Their height can be an issue, and we are going to have to figure out a way to keep them in front of us.
"We have to box out and rebound … that's no secret. All year long that has been our focus. We just have to do a good job, and limit them to one shot per trip."
Also against the Panthers, WHS made 21 two-point baskets due in large part to Harrison Martin and Taylor Ward. Martin finished with 15 points and Ward scored 11, with both players combing for 11 two-point baskets and four free throws. The Tigers' overall shooting percentage was 67-percent (against MT), finishing 24-of-36. At the free-throw line, they were 8-of-12 for 67-percent.
Though HHS did win their game Tuesday, there was one point that possibly could use improvement … free-throw shooting.
On Tuesday, the Indians were 5-of-14 (36 percent) from the charity stripe, going 0-of-5 from the free-throw line in the first half. They rallied in the fourth quarter by making four free throws at timely moments of the game.
In their regular season finale (against London), the Indians were 8-of-17 (47 percent) in free-throw shooting. The game before that, against the Fairfield Lions, they went 8-of-15 (53 percent).
"I'm not very pleased with that (free-throw shooting), but we were able to knock down some free throws late," Davis said following the game against MHS on Tuesday. "A majority of those were in the first half, but we started to make some late, and that was the key. In a tight game like we had, you have to step up to the free-throw line with confidence, and knock those shots down."
Both teams have common opponents this season in Miami Trace and Logan Elm. HHS split their season series with MT, defeating them 78-70 at HHS but falling to the Panthers 79-71 on Feb. 4 at MTHS. Against LE, HHS lost 67-43 in the season opener. Waverly lost 52-34 in their second game of the year to Logan Elm.
Waverly is a part of the Southern Ohio Conference (Division II), which is the large school division. In Division II of the SOC, they play against Minford, Oak Hill, Portsmouth West, Northwest, South Webster, Valley and Wheelersburg. They have also played Piketon (68-67, loss) and Ironton (71-70, loss) this season. Their conference record this year was 7-6, with a current overall mark of 10-11.
Another fact about this game … it will have brothers-in-law on each sideline, as Davis is the Indians' coach and Travis Robertson is the head coach of the Tigers. This will be the first time they have coached against each other in an actual game other than a scrimmage. Robertson is a graduate of Washington Senior High School, in Washington C.H.
Last season, HHS lost in the sectional finals to the Washington Blue Lions, 58-41. Waverly won their sectional final game (last season) defeating Chillicothe, 45-43. Waverly was knocked out of the tournament in the district semifinals against Logan Elm, 52-40.
Fans can buy tickets for the HHS-WHS game this week at Hillsboro High School. HHS will get 25 percent of the proceeds if purchased from HHS. Tickets can be purchased during school hours from the athletic dept.[[In-content Ad]]