Indians have 'Hart;' hold on to defeat Wildcats
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
HILLSBORO — The finale of the 2012 SCOL vs. SHAC Challenge was the closest of all three games Saturday, but it was the Hillsboro Indians who completed the sweep for the SCOL as they defeated the Whiteoak Wildcats, 57-55.
All the Indians (5-2) needed to defeat Whiteoak (2-4) in the final seconds was a little "Hart."
HHS senior Jarrod Hart broke what was a 55-55 tie with 3.6 seconds as he shot the ball from just inside the foul line, under pressure, and sank the basket for what proved to be the winning shot, sending the Indians to their fifth win of the year.
Hillsboro head coach Brett Prince said Hart made him look like a genius as Hart not only hit the game-winning shot, but led HHS with 21 points.
"In the huddle during the timeout, we said 'Jarrod, here is the ball, go score,'" Prince said. "He's our best player, and we wanted him taking that shot."
As for the fourth frame, it was the quarter that mattered for each team as the Wildcats trailed by four entering the eight-minute frame but quickly turned it into a two-point deficit with two free throws from Tyler Williams. Hillsboro's Trey Moberly (nine total points) offset those points with two free throws, but WHS senior Luke Taggert made it a one-point game with three free throws of his own with 6:46 on the clock. Taggert finished with 17 points.
Following Williams (who totaled 10 points) taking a charge, Taggert scored on a fast break off a pass by Doc Seip for a WHS lead of 45-44 with 5:37 left in regulation. Seip led all scorers with a game-high 24 points.
Jordan Captain (10 total points) put the Indians back in front with a put-back bucket, but Seip answered with two free throws to put the Wildcats back on top at 47-46 with 4:57 on the clock.
Hart tied the score at 47 with a free throw as the fourth frame totaled 26 free-throw attempts between both teams.
Zach Young eventually put the Tribe ahead 49-47 with two free throws, and Hart added to the advantage with a jumper with 4:02 left in the game.
Later in the quarter, the Wildcats didn't back down as they scored the next four points, tying the score at 53 with points by Seip and Williams with 2:03 remaining.
From there, the score went to 55-55 with Young and Seip exchanging points. Both teams had opportunities as WHS regained possession followed by Seip taking a charge, but it was HHS who eventually took the final lead and win as WHS had one last opportunity to take the lead or to tie the score, but the shot wasn't able to fall through the hoop.
[[In-content Ad]]
"We sped up the game … that was our idea because Hillsboro plays a slug-it-out style," WHS head coach Tom Wessner said. "We wanted a quick pace, and in the third, we finally pushed the ball and got some life, and that worked for a little while."
Wessner spoke about what his team needs to do to break over the hump to gain wins.
"We have the resolve to get there, but we are lacking the resolve to get the lead, or after we get the lead, we can't keep it," Wessner said.
Following the first quarter, there was just a two-point difference with WHS leading Hillsboro 12-10 as the score was tied three times in the quarter and a total of nine times.
For HHS in the first, Hart connected from beyond the arc with 2:35 on the clock to put the Indians ahead 8-6, but two points from Taggert tied the score at 8-8. Taggert eventually put WHS ahead 10-8, and that was followed by points from Seip to put WHS ahead by four points.
HHS led the second at 15-10 with seven of the points coming from the free-throw line. Of the 15 points by HHS, Hart had eight of the points in the quarter, while Latrell Haithcock, Captain, Moberly and Young also contributed to the second-frame scoring.
As for WHS in the second, Williams, Gage Carraher and Seip combined for the 10 points.
HHS outscored WHS 17-16 in the third with Reese Leibreich leading HHS with eight points in the third (two 3-pointers). For WHS in the third, Seip led with seven.
"We got up and I relaxed, the guys relaxed and that was a big mistake," Prince said. "Whiteoak is well-coached, and they weren't going to give up."
The Indians will play again on Jan. 4 at Madison-Plains. WHS will play on Dec. 28 at Lynchburg-Clay.
All the Indians (5-2) needed to defeat Whiteoak (2-4) in the final seconds was a little "Hart."
HHS senior Jarrod Hart broke what was a 55-55 tie with 3.6 seconds as he shot the ball from just inside the foul line, under pressure, and sank the basket for what proved to be the winning shot, sending the Indians to their fifth win of the year.
Hillsboro head coach Brett Prince said Hart made him look like a genius as Hart not only hit the game-winning shot, but led HHS with 21 points.
"In the huddle during the timeout, we said 'Jarrod, here is the ball, go score,'" Prince said. "He's our best player, and we wanted him taking that shot."
As for the fourth frame, it was the quarter that mattered for each team as the Wildcats trailed by four entering the eight-minute frame but quickly turned it into a two-point deficit with two free throws from Tyler Williams. Hillsboro's Trey Moberly (nine total points) offset those points with two free throws, but WHS senior Luke Taggert made it a one-point game with three free throws of his own with 6:46 on the clock. Taggert finished with 17 points.
Following Williams (who totaled 10 points) taking a charge, Taggert scored on a fast break off a pass by Doc Seip for a WHS lead of 45-44 with 5:37 left in regulation. Seip led all scorers with a game-high 24 points.
Jordan Captain (10 total points) put the Indians back in front with a put-back bucket, but Seip answered with two free throws to put the Wildcats back on top at 47-46 with 4:57 on the clock.
Hart tied the score at 47 with a free throw as the fourth frame totaled 26 free-throw attempts between both teams.
Zach Young eventually put the Tribe ahead 49-47 with two free throws, and Hart added to the advantage with a jumper with 4:02 left in the game.
Later in the quarter, the Wildcats didn't back down as they scored the next four points, tying the score at 53 with points by Seip and Williams with 2:03 remaining.
From there, the score went to 55-55 with Young and Seip exchanging points. Both teams had opportunities as WHS regained possession followed by Seip taking a charge, but it was HHS who eventually took the final lead and win as WHS had one last opportunity to take the lead or to tie the score, but the shot wasn't able to fall through the hoop.
[[In-content Ad]]
"We sped up the game … that was our idea because Hillsboro plays a slug-it-out style," WHS head coach Tom Wessner said. "We wanted a quick pace, and in the third, we finally pushed the ball and got some life, and that worked for a little while."
Wessner spoke about what his team needs to do to break over the hump to gain wins.
"We have the resolve to get there, but we are lacking the resolve to get the lead, or after we get the lead, we can't keep it," Wessner said.
Following the first quarter, there was just a two-point difference with WHS leading Hillsboro 12-10 as the score was tied three times in the quarter and a total of nine times.
For HHS in the first, Hart connected from beyond the arc with 2:35 on the clock to put the Indians ahead 8-6, but two points from Taggert tied the score at 8-8. Taggert eventually put WHS ahead 10-8, and that was followed by points from Seip to put WHS ahead by four points.
HHS led the second at 15-10 with seven of the points coming from the free-throw line. Of the 15 points by HHS, Hart had eight of the points in the quarter, while Latrell Haithcock, Captain, Moberly and Young also contributed to the second-frame scoring.
As for WHS in the second, Williams, Gage Carraher and Seip combined for the 10 points.
HHS outscored WHS 17-16 in the third with Reese Leibreich leading HHS with eight points in the third (two 3-pointers). For WHS in the third, Seip led with seven.
"We got up and I relaxed, the guys relaxed and that was a big mistake," Prince said. "Whiteoak is well-coached, and they weren't going to give up."
The Indians will play again on Jan. 4 at Madison-Plains. WHS will play on Dec. 28 at Lynchburg-Clay.