Hillsboro wins physical game over Fairfield in OT
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — The game was physical and it wasn't a pretty sight to watch, but in the Highland County battle between the visiting Hillsboro Indians and the Fairfield Lions, there were no points awarded for finesse.
It was a good thing, too, because the two Highland County foes didn't settle the score after 32 minutes of play and decided to add four more minutes to the fun, where it was the Indians of HHS who left with the bragging rights this season, defeating the Lions, 54-50 in overtime.
For the Indians (2-0) in the OT period, they outscored the Lions, 5-1, with all their points coming via the free-throw line from three different players.
"I'm extremely pleased with the outcome of the game," HHS head coach Bruce Miles said. "It was a physical, tough environment over here being a county rivalry. (Fairfield) played extremely hard, but even though we're happy with the outcome, we aren't happy with the way we played and executed in the half-court offense."
It was Logan Kibler who got the OT scoring finally rolling with under 2:00 on the clock, putting HHS out front with two conversions from the stripe. The Lions answered with what was their lone point of the OT with Wyatt Evans sinking one of two shots.
From there, the Indians held onto the lead, making three of their next six free-throw attempts with Alex Van Zant, Trey Moberly and Kibler each making one free throw in the final 53.4 seconds of the non-conference game.
"We made some free throws late in overtime, which was key for us, but throughout the game we shot 34 or 35 percent … we didn't have our best shooting night," Miles said. "Offensively, we just didn't have our best night.
"The first half, we got some easy baskets in transition, which was good. In the second half, and part of this was what (Fairfield) did defensively, we just didn't have any flow to the game offensively. We didn't shoot the ball with very much confidence (Tuesday)."
Van Zant finished with 10 points, as did teammates Latrell Haithcock and D.J. Brown. The Indians were led in scoring by Zach Young with a game-high 16.
For the Lions (0-2), they were led in scoring by Matthew Leach with 14, while Jensen Daulton scored 12 and Wyatt Evans totaled 10 points.
Before the free throw fest of OT, the first four quarters of action resembled the physicality of a hockey match without the ice with both teams playing a fast style of play, but with a lot of bumping and battling like rivals of the same county should play.
Though the Lions ended up committing 25 turnovers on the night, they did end the first quarter with an 11-7 lead, including a 3-pointer from Klay Walker with 6:19 on the clock that put the Lions up 7-2. Walker ended the night with six points.
"We played hard, but there were times where we didn't play smart," FHS head coach Everett Snyder said. "We had way too many turnovers. We aren't going to use the excuse that we are young. These kids have played long enough that they know they have to take care of the basketball.
"These unforced turnovers … we have to realize what mistakes we are making and correct it real quick. We had the game in our hand two times, but we made mistakes that gave the ball right back to (Hillsboro) and gave them the advantage."
Hillsboro led the second-quarter scoring with a 13-9 advantage, leaving the score all tied up at 20-20. The Indians scored the first nine points of the second with Haithcock scoring points in the paint with 7:35 on the clock, followed with a layup by Young on a fast break to tie the score at 13.
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Haithcock came back with a free throw for the Indians, and Brown sank a jumper for a 14-11 HHS lead with 5:45 left in the second. The final points of the scoring run came with fast break points by Trey Captain with 5:25 remaining in the first half.
The Lions ended the run with a 3-pointer by Daulton, then two points by Evans and Ethan Putnam also made a 3-pointer for a 19-16 FHS lead with 2:28 left in the quarter. Putnam finished with eight points.
Eventually the Lions scored their 20th point, but the Indians ended the first half with Haithcock scoring four points in the final 1:25 for the tied halftime score of 20-20.
The Indians ended the third by holding onto a 39-35 lead by adding 19 points to their side, while the Lions scored 15 points. At one point in the third, the Indians led 31-23, but FHS came back with a Leach 3-pointer.
Young later answered for HHS with his second 3-pointer of the quarter at the 2:42 mark to increase the Indians' lead to 36-29. FHS outscored the Indians, 6-3 in the final 2:22 to set up the fourth-quarter showdown.
That fourth frame saw FHS cut the Indians' lead to two points with 6:15 left in regulation, and with 5:28 left on the clock, Daulton sank a 3-pointer for a Lions lead of 41-40.
HHS eventually tied the score at 42 with a free throw by Haithcock. With 3:49 remaining, Kibler (who totaled five points) sank a clutch 3-pointer for a 45-42 HHS lead. Later, Leach scored four straight points for Fairfield, including stealing the ball and taking the ball to the hoop on a fast break to, again, put the Lions in the lead at 46-45 with 2:04 on the clock.
HHS regained the lead with a layup by Haithcock, but the Lions were there with yet another 3-pointer, this one by Putnam for a 49-47 Lions advantage with 1:13 left on the Grandle Gymnasium scoreboard.
The Indians tied the game, eventually forcing overtime with Brown making a layup while being fouled with 15.4 seconds left in regulation.
In JV play, the Indians defeated the Lions, 58-54. Marshall Ward led HHS with 18 points, and Cameron Reed followed with 16. For the Lions, Lamme scored 20 points, and Lamb collected 18 points.
The freshman game saw the Indians defeat the Lions, 40-36. Phillip Mycroft led HHS with 18 points, and the Lions were led in scoring by Cody Gragg with 12.
It was a good thing, too, because the two Highland County foes didn't settle the score after 32 minutes of play and decided to add four more minutes to the fun, where it was the Indians of HHS who left with the bragging rights this season, defeating the Lions, 54-50 in overtime.
For the Indians (2-0) in the OT period, they outscored the Lions, 5-1, with all their points coming via the free-throw line from three different players.
"I'm extremely pleased with the outcome of the game," HHS head coach Bruce Miles said. "It was a physical, tough environment over here being a county rivalry. (Fairfield) played extremely hard, but even though we're happy with the outcome, we aren't happy with the way we played and executed in the half-court offense."
It was Logan Kibler who got the OT scoring finally rolling with under 2:00 on the clock, putting HHS out front with two conversions from the stripe. The Lions answered with what was their lone point of the OT with Wyatt Evans sinking one of two shots.
From there, the Indians held onto the lead, making three of their next six free-throw attempts with Alex Van Zant, Trey Moberly and Kibler each making one free throw in the final 53.4 seconds of the non-conference game.
"We made some free throws late in overtime, which was key for us, but throughout the game we shot 34 or 35 percent … we didn't have our best shooting night," Miles said. "Offensively, we just didn't have our best night.
"The first half, we got some easy baskets in transition, which was good. In the second half, and part of this was what (Fairfield) did defensively, we just didn't have any flow to the game offensively. We didn't shoot the ball with very much confidence (Tuesday)."
Van Zant finished with 10 points, as did teammates Latrell Haithcock and D.J. Brown. The Indians were led in scoring by Zach Young with a game-high 16.
For the Lions (0-2), they were led in scoring by Matthew Leach with 14, while Jensen Daulton scored 12 and Wyatt Evans totaled 10 points.
Before the free throw fest of OT, the first four quarters of action resembled the physicality of a hockey match without the ice with both teams playing a fast style of play, but with a lot of bumping and battling like rivals of the same county should play.
Though the Lions ended up committing 25 turnovers on the night, they did end the first quarter with an 11-7 lead, including a 3-pointer from Klay Walker with 6:19 on the clock that put the Lions up 7-2. Walker ended the night with six points.
"We played hard, but there were times where we didn't play smart," FHS head coach Everett Snyder said. "We had way too many turnovers. We aren't going to use the excuse that we are young. These kids have played long enough that they know they have to take care of the basketball.
"These unforced turnovers … we have to realize what mistakes we are making and correct it real quick. We had the game in our hand two times, but we made mistakes that gave the ball right back to (Hillsboro) and gave them the advantage."
Hillsboro led the second-quarter scoring with a 13-9 advantage, leaving the score all tied up at 20-20. The Indians scored the first nine points of the second with Haithcock scoring points in the paint with 7:35 on the clock, followed with a layup by Young on a fast break to tie the score at 13.
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Haithcock came back with a free throw for the Indians, and Brown sank a jumper for a 14-11 HHS lead with 5:45 left in the second. The final points of the scoring run came with fast break points by Trey Captain with 5:25 remaining in the first half.
The Lions ended the run with a 3-pointer by Daulton, then two points by Evans and Ethan Putnam also made a 3-pointer for a 19-16 FHS lead with 2:28 left in the quarter. Putnam finished with eight points.
Eventually the Lions scored their 20th point, but the Indians ended the first half with Haithcock scoring four points in the final 1:25 for the tied halftime score of 20-20.
The Indians ended the third by holding onto a 39-35 lead by adding 19 points to their side, while the Lions scored 15 points. At one point in the third, the Indians led 31-23, but FHS came back with a Leach 3-pointer.
Young later answered for HHS with his second 3-pointer of the quarter at the 2:42 mark to increase the Indians' lead to 36-29. FHS outscored the Indians, 6-3 in the final 2:22 to set up the fourth-quarter showdown.
That fourth frame saw FHS cut the Indians' lead to two points with 6:15 left in regulation, and with 5:28 left on the clock, Daulton sank a 3-pointer for a Lions lead of 41-40.
HHS eventually tied the score at 42 with a free throw by Haithcock. With 3:49 remaining, Kibler (who totaled five points) sank a clutch 3-pointer for a 45-42 HHS lead. Later, Leach scored four straight points for Fairfield, including stealing the ball and taking the ball to the hoop on a fast break to, again, put the Lions in the lead at 46-45 with 2:04 on the clock.
HHS regained the lead with a layup by Haithcock, but the Lions were there with yet another 3-pointer, this one by Putnam for a 49-47 Lions advantage with 1:13 left on the Grandle Gymnasium scoreboard.
The Indians tied the game, eventually forcing overtime with Brown making a layup while being fouled with 15.4 seconds left in regulation.
In JV play, the Indians defeated the Lions, 58-54. Marshall Ward led HHS with 18 points, and Cameron Reed followed with 16. For the Lions, Lamme scored 20 points, and Lamb collected 18 points.
The freshman game saw the Indians defeat the Lions, 40-36. Phillip Mycroft led HHS with 18 points, and the Lions were led in scoring by Cody Gragg with 12.