Hillsboro KOs Lions in final quarter
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
HILLSBORO — What looked like a game the Hillsboro Indians were going to be able to run away with by their 11-point first-quarter lead was anything but that … and then some for the latest edition of the Highland County rivalry matchup between the Indians and Lions.
The Lions had different plans, changing the entire scope of the game by taking advantage of the Indians' transition struggles, even taking the lead late in the third. After each team hit each other with their best shot, the Indians came away with their first win of the season, a 59-54 non-league win over the visiting Lions.
"We were expected to win this game, and we did, thankfully," Hillsboro head coach Brett Prince said. "It was kind of a trap game (HHS plays McClain on Friday). I told the kids they were going to come in and punch us in the mouth, and we had to find a way to punch back harder."
If anyone listened to the halftime entertainment, the HHS pep band played "Gonna Fly Now," better known as the theme of Rocky. If anyone has ever seen the boxing matches from the movie series, the second half equaled that, plus more as the nearly full Hillsboro Gymnasium was on their feet for the two teams on the court.
"They knocked us down (in the second half), and I think we knocked them down early … and they had us staggering, but we stayed on the ropes and eventually stood back up," Prince said.
Fairfield talked this offseason, how they were going to play with heart and great effort for their fallen teammate. By the way they rallied back in the final three quarters, making it a closely contested race, it was easy to see that is exactly how they played on Tuesday against one of their Highland County rivals.
"I will never, ever fault the effort of these kids," Fairfield head coach Matt Carson said. "I wouldn't trade them for any other kids in the world. They are gutsy kids, they play hard, but we just had a few breakdowns tonight, and that came back to hurt us."
The quarter that changed the outlook of the game was the third with FHS taking their first and only lead of the matchup with 2:37 left in the quarter when Brad Clay, who totaled 12 points, made inside points for the Lions for a 38-37 advantage. The one-point lead erased what was a 26-8 Indians lead in the second quarter.
"What happened is when you come out hot like that and you start settling for the three-ball … there is a reason teams shoot 30 or 40 percent from that range, and when you make a few to start the game, the percentages will start to level off," Prince said. "I think we needed to go inside more. Our focus is always to go inside-out, and I think we got a little bit away from that.
"When shots weren't falling, it allowed them (FHS) to get back into the game."
The Indians took a deep breath and it was game-on all over again for the Tribe as they took their lead back for what turned out to be for good 25 seconds later when Tyrand Cumberland forced his way to the basket for two points and a 39-38 HHS lead with 2:12 left on the clock. Cumberland finished with a team-high 15 points.
HHS then had points off the bench from Tyiá Cumberland, who became a big-time presence in the paint against the Lions. FHS answered with 37 seconds left in the third when Austin Hildebrant made a layup, making it a 41-40 score in favor of the Indians after three quarters.
"Tyiá came in and was absolutely a spark for us," Prince said. "He's been getting better every week, and his effort has been great. Tyiá has great ball skills. He has great touches and great passes."
Hillsboro slowed down the flow of the game at the start of the fourth with multiple passes, but after each team lost possession of the ball, it was Chase Gilliland who ignited the spark the Indians needed with a wide-open 3-pointer to put HHS up 44-40 with 6:46 remaining on the scoreboard. Gilliland ended the game with 10 points.
FHS (1-2) came back later in the quarter with a steal and layup from Austin May, putting the Lions within two points of tying the game at 44-42.
"Our problem is we just have to figure out a way to start quicker," Carson said. "First quarters have hurt us this year. Luckily we were able to bounce back against Southeastern. It's on me … I have to figure out a way to do that.
"Most teams who press get something started, but we are not a press club. The guys are striving to get better, and they will continue to get better, we know that. I'm going to be excited to see where we are in about a month and a half."
Tyiá Cumberland was there again when his teammates needed him the most with more points in the post, lifting the Indians back to a four-point lead. His basket was followed by a 3-pointer from Jarrod Hart to put HHS up by seven. The lead went back down to three points after consecutive layups from Cole Putnam.
It was Hart who was on the attack for the Indians (1-2) with yet another 3-pointer, this time with 2:21 left in regulation, putting HHS up 54-46. Later in the quarter, Quentin Williams brought FHS within five following a 3-pointer, and then within two points of tying the game with 13.1 after sinking three straight free throws after being fouled.
Williams led all scorers with 18 points, with a 3-of-3 night from the free throw line (FHS was 6-of-7 overall from the line), added with six two-point baskets and the one 3-pointer.
With the Lions fouling Gilliland, he made three of his final four free-throw attempts to put the game out of reach as time expired.
The opening two quarters belonged to the Indians as they led 19-8 after the opening eight minutes, due in large part to when Christian Cundiff began the game with three 3-pointers for the Tribe, putting HHS ahead 9-2 with 3:52 left in the quarter. Cundiff wrapped up the game with 11 points.
Tyrand Cumberland added six points in the first, and Tyiá Cumberland had four points in the same frame for the 19 points. Tyiá Cumberland totaled eight points, as did Hart. Táron Captain also scored for HHS with seven points, going 5-of-10 from the free-throw line.
HHS built a 31-22 lead after two quarters, with Tyrand Cumberland knocking down a 3-pointer to extend the HHS lead to 22-8, which eventually turned into a 26-8 lead with points from Gilliland and Hart.
The Indians, who have five of their first six games at home this season, will host another Highland County rival in South Central Ohio league foe McClain (1-1) this Friday. The Lions are scheduled to host the Eastern Brown Warriors in a Southern Hills League matchup on Friday night at Grandle Gymnasium in Leesburg.
"We have to finish," Prince said in response to what the Indians need to improve on by Friday. "We executed everything we needed to execute (Tuesday), but we just did not finish. I'll watch the film, and I'll bet we missed at least a dozen to 16 shots around the rim.
"When you execute and don't finish … that's frustrating."
In the JV game, which came to the very end, the Lions defeated HHS 43-41. Leading FHS were Gage Montgomery and Joey Wilson with 14 points each. Leading HHS were Latrell Haithcock and Alex Branscome with 10 points each.
In the freshman game, FHS won 36-25. Leading HHS was Jacob Aber with seven points, and leading the Lions was Leach with nine points.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
FHS 08 14 18 14 — 54
HHS 19 12 10 18 — 59
INDIVIDUAL STATS
HHS (59)
T.Cumberland 5 (1) 2-2 15
J.Hart 1 (2) 0-1 8
C.Gilliland 2 (1) 3-5 10
T.Captain 1 (0) 5-10 7
C.Cundiff 1 (3) 0-0 11
Tyi.Cumberland 4 (0) 0-0 8
TOTALS: 14 (7) 10-18 59
FHS (54)
Q.Williams 6 (1) 3-3 18
A.May 1 (1) 0-0 5
B.Hildebrant 3 (0) 1-2 7
B.Clay 5 (0) 2-2 12
A.Hildebrant 3 (0) 0-0 6
C.Putnam 3 (0) 0-0 6
TOTALS: 21 (2) 6-7 54[[In-content Ad]]
The Lions had different plans, changing the entire scope of the game by taking advantage of the Indians' transition struggles, even taking the lead late in the third. After each team hit each other with their best shot, the Indians came away with their first win of the season, a 59-54 non-league win over the visiting Lions.
"We were expected to win this game, and we did, thankfully," Hillsboro head coach Brett Prince said. "It was kind of a trap game (HHS plays McClain on Friday). I told the kids they were going to come in and punch us in the mouth, and we had to find a way to punch back harder."
If anyone listened to the halftime entertainment, the HHS pep band played "Gonna Fly Now," better known as the theme of Rocky. If anyone has ever seen the boxing matches from the movie series, the second half equaled that, plus more as the nearly full Hillsboro Gymnasium was on their feet for the two teams on the court.
"They knocked us down (in the second half), and I think we knocked them down early … and they had us staggering, but we stayed on the ropes and eventually stood back up," Prince said.
Fairfield talked this offseason, how they were going to play with heart and great effort for their fallen teammate. By the way they rallied back in the final three quarters, making it a closely contested race, it was easy to see that is exactly how they played on Tuesday against one of their Highland County rivals.
"I will never, ever fault the effort of these kids," Fairfield head coach Matt Carson said. "I wouldn't trade them for any other kids in the world. They are gutsy kids, they play hard, but we just had a few breakdowns tonight, and that came back to hurt us."
The quarter that changed the outlook of the game was the third with FHS taking their first and only lead of the matchup with 2:37 left in the quarter when Brad Clay, who totaled 12 points, made inside points for the Lions for a 38-37 advantage. The one-point lead erased what was a 26-8 Indians lead in the second quarter.
"What happened is when you come out hot like that and you start settling for the three-ball … there is a reason teams shoot 30 or 40 percent from that range, and when you make a few to start the game, the percentages will start to level off," Prince said. "I think we needed to go inside more. Our focus is always to go inside-out, and I think we got a little bit away from that.
"When shots weren't falling, it allowed them (FHS) to get back into the game."
The Indians took a deep breath and it was game-on all over again for the Tribe as they took their lead back for what turned out to be for good 25 seconds later when Tyrand Cumberland forced his way to the basket for two points and a 39-38 HHS lead with 2:12 left on the clock. Cumberland finished with a team-high 15 points.
HHS then had points off the bench from Tyiá Cumberland, who became a big-time presence in the paint against the Lions. FHS answered with 37 seconds left in the third when Austin Hildebrant made a layup, making it a 41-40 score in favor of the Indians after three quarters.
"Tyiá came in and was absolutely a spark for us," Prince said. "He's been getting better every week, and his effort has been great. Tyiá has great ball skills. He has great touches and great passes."
Hillsboro slowed down the flow of the game at the start of the fourth with multiple passes, but after each team lost possession of the ball, it was Chase Gilliland who ignited the spark the Indians needed with a wide-open 3-pointer to put HHS up 44-40 with 6:46 remaining on the scoreboard. Gilliland ended the game with 10 points.
FHS (1-2) came back later in the quarter with a steal and layup from Austin May, putting the Lions within two points of tying the game at 44-42.
"Our problem is we just have to figure out a way to start quicker," Carson said. "First quarters have hurt us this year. Luckily we were able to bounce back against Southeastern. It's on me … I have to figure out a way to do that.
"Most teams who press get something started, but we are not a press club. The guys are striving to get better, and they will continue to get better, we know that. I'm going to be excited to see where we are in about a month and a half."
Tyiá Cumberland was there again when his teammates needed him the most with more points in the post, lifting the Indians back to a four-point lead. His basket was followed by a 3-pointer from Jarrod Hart to put HHS up by seven. The lead went back down to three points after consecutive layups from Cole Putnam.
It was Hart who was on the attack for the Indians (1-2) with yet another 3-pointer, this time with 2:21 left in regulation, putting HHS up 54-46. Later in the quarter, Quentin Williams brought FHS within five following a 3-pointer, and then within two points of tying the game with 13.1 after sinking three straight free throws after being fouled.
Williams led all scorers with 18 points, with a 3-of-3 night from the free throw line (FHS was 6-of-7 overall from the line), added with six two-point baskets and the one 3-pointer.
With the Lions fouling Gilliland, he made three of his final four free-throw attempts to put the game out of reach as time expired.
The opening two quarters belonged to the Indians as they led 19-8 after the opening eight minutes, due in large part to when Christian Cundiff began the game with three 3-pointers for the Tribe, putting HHS ahead 9-2 with 3:52 left in the quarter. Cundiff wrapped up the game with 11 points.
Tyrand Cumberland added six points in the first, and Tyiá Cumberland had four points in the same frame for the 19 points. Tyiá Cumberland totaled eight points, as did Hart. Táron Captain also scored for HHS with seven points, going 5-of-10 from the free-throw line.
HHS built a 31-22 lead after two quarters, with Tyrand Cumberland knocking down a 3-pointer to extend the HHS lead to 22-8, which eventually turned into a 26-8 lead with points from Gilliland and Hart.
The Indians, who have five of their first six games at home this season, will host another Highland County rival in South Central Ohio league foe McClain (1-1) this Friday. The Lions are scheduled to host the Eastern Brown Warriors in a Southern Hills League matchup on Friday night at Grandle Gymnasium in Leesburg.
"We have to finish," Prince said in response to what the Indians need to improve on by Friday. "We executed everything we needed to execute (Tuesday), but we just did not finish. I'll watch the film, and I'll bet we missed at least a dozen to 16 shots around the rim.
"When you execute and don't finish … that's frustrating."
In the JV game, which came to the very end, the Lions defeated HHS 43-41. Leading FHS were Gage Montgomery and Joey Wilson with 14 points each. Leading HHS were Latrell Haithcock and Alex Branscome with 10 points each.
In the freshman game, FHS won 36-25. Leading HHS was Jacob Aber with seven points, and leading the Lions was Leach with nine points.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
FHS 08 14 18 14 — 54
HHS 19 12 10 18 — 59
INDIVIDUAL STATS
HHS (59)
T.Cumberland 5 (1) 2-2 15
J.Hart 1 (2) 0-1 8
C.Gilliland 2 (1) 3-5 10
T.Captain 1 (0) 5-10 7
C.Cundiff 1 (3) 0-0 11
Tyi.Cumberland 4 (0) 0-0 8
TOTALS: 14 (7) 10-18 59
FHS (54)
Q.Williams 6 (1) 3-3 18
A.May 1 (1) 0-0 5
B.Hildebrant 3 (0) 1-2 7
B.Clay 5 (0) 2-2 12
A.Hildebrant 3 (0) 0-0 6
C.Putnam 3 (0) 0-0 6
TOTALS: 21 (2) 6-7 54[[In-content Ad]]