Balanced scoring leads Hillsboro Indians past Fairfield Lions

LEESBURG — Balanced scoring and top-notch rebounding were the keys to success for the Hillsboro Indians on Tuesday night. Playing what might be their most complete game of the season, the Indians had a strong first quarter and never let up as they scored points in transition, and with power under the hoop with strong rebounding, for a 64-43 road non-conference win over Highland County counterpart Fairfield at Grandle Gymnasium.

Hillsboro (5-9) scored no less than 12 points each quarter, including duplicate 16-point quarters in the first half for a halftime lead of 32-20 over the host Lions. From there, HHS doubled up the Lions, 12-6 in the third and then outscored the Lions, 20-17 in the fourth for the 21-point win.

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“I absolutely think that was our best effort on the season,” Hillsboro head coach Bruce Miles said. “We won that game defensively. I thought we did a great job of stopping their kids down low, and we rebounded well. It was all five guys, because we ball-pressured really well.”

As for how the Indians scored their points, they had four players scoring in double figures with Brad Miller totaling 16 points to lead the Indians, followed by Mason Swayne with 14 points and Gavin Temple and Ryan Scott with 12 points each.

The rest of the Indians’ scoring included Ethan Watson with eight points and Reece Bloomfield with two points.

“Ryan Scott got in some passing lanes, got some easy shots for us,” Miles said. “Gavin Temple played great on both ends. He’s our defensive stopper and plays so hard, but tonight he shot the ball extremely well.

“[Reece Bloomfield] took care of the basketball, got us some good rebounds and just calms us down. When they were trying to speed us up, Reece came in, took care of it and was strong with the ball.”

Fairfield (5-7) was led by Sam Buddelmeyer with 18 points (he was 8-of-8 from the free-throw line), while James Bentley totaled 11 points and Wyatt Willey scored 10 points. The remainder of the Lions' points came with two points apiece from Bryson Simmons and Conner Priest. 

Playing in front of a jam-packed gymnasium in the first half, the Indians were first to score points with Watson and Miller putting the Indians ahead 3-0, and following two points by Bentley of Fairfield, the Indians took a 5-2 lead with a jumper from Scott.

The first continued with Buddelmeyer answering with points in the paint, but Swayne connected with a jumper from the corner of the court at the 4:25 mark for a 7-4 advantage. HHS added to their lead with a 3-pointer from Watson, which was quickly answered by Willey of Fairfield with a 3-pointer of his own for a 10-7 score.

With the Indians in the lead, they scored the next four points as Temple, Watson and Miller added to the Indians’ lead at 16-7 with 1:35 left in the first frame. Fairfield scored the final points of the first as Buddelmeyer made it a 16-9 score after one complete frame.

Hillsboro opened the second frame with six straight points as they had a two-point basket by Temple, followed by consecutive steals and drives to the hoop by Scott for a 22-9 advantage with 5:43 left in the second, forcing the Lions to call a timeout.

The Lions got back to the scoring side of the game with a rebound and layup from Bentley, followed by two made free throws by Ethan Saunders.

Miller came back strong with back-to-back layups to push the Indians ahead at 26-14 with 2:16 left in the quarter. Buddelmeyer answered with two made free throws, but the Indians equaled those points with Temple continuing his strong game with a field goal for a 28-16 advantage, leaving 1:09 left in the first half.

Buddelmeyer made it a 10-point deficit for the Lions with a basket with 53 seconds on the scoreboard, but Swayne scored two points for the Indians, only to see the Indians and Lions exchange points by Willey and Swayne to end the frame for a 32-20 score in favor of the Indians at halftime.

To start the second half, the Indians began the third with six straight points to increase their lead to 38-20 with 4:26 left in the frame. For HHS, Swayne scored six points in the third, while Miller had four points and Scott had two points in the third.

For the third frame itself, the Lions’ six points came from Buddelmeyer.

Having a 44-26 lead at the end of the third, the Indians outscored the host Lions, 20-17. For the Indians in the fourth, Temple sank two 3-pointers. Also scoring in the frame for HHS were Swayne, Scott, Watson, Miller and Reece Bloomfield.

“It was a total team effort, without a doubt,” Miles said. “The gym was packed. It’s a great rival and our county rival, so I was extremely pleased with the way our guys handled themselves tonight, took care of the basketball, executed our game plan and we were able to come out on top. I’m extremely proud of our guys and the effort we had tonight.”

Fairfield’s fourth-quarter scoring consisted of points by Buddelmeyer, Willey, Priest and Bentley.

For the game, the Lions were 18-of-19 from the free-throw line, while Hillsboro was 7-of-8.

Next for the Indians is a home game on Friday, Jan. 18 when they host the Jackson Ironmen in Frontier Athletic Conference play.

The Lions will play again also on Friday, Jan. 18 when they host the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs in Southern Hills Athletic Conference play.