4th quarter strikes again for Indians; lose SCOL game to Blue Lions
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
For the second consecutive game, the fourth quarter was unkind to the Hillsboro Indians, seeing a three-point deficit turn into a seven-point loss, this time against the visiting Washington Blue Lions, 51-44.
The Indians were outscored 13-9 in the final eight minutes, including a 9-0 run in the final three minutes, sending them to their third loss in the South Central Ohio League and to an overall record of 1-4.
“For whatever reason, we’ve gone stagnant. I thought we had good looks tonight, but we just didn’t make anything in the fourth quarter,” HHS head coach Bruce Miles said. “I told the kids after the game, we had open shots and didn’t make them and they did.
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“That was the difference. They (WCH) made shots, and they made some key free throws down the stretch. I can’t say enough about it. We had open looks, and we didn’t make anything.”
In the first quarter, the Indians were red-hot, beginning the game with a 5-0 start as Ethan Watson swished a 3-pointer 36 seconds into the game, followed by a put-back by Philip Mycroft at the 6:24 mark of the quarter.
Watson led the Indians with 20 points, including two 3-pointers, six two-point baskets and a 2-of-2 night from the free-throw line.
“(Ethan) just continues every day in practice getting better, and you see it out here,” Miles said. “If he’s going to commit to the weight room, getting stronger, getting shots up and just working on his game, he has a bright future. There’s no doubt about it.”
Washington responded with a 3-pointer of their own from Jarett Patton, who totaled nine points. Later, following a layup by Hillsboro’s Matthew Ryan, the Blue Lions sank a second 3-pointer, this time by Dillon Steward, to get to within one point of the host.
The one-point deficit didn’t last. In fact, the Indians increased it by seven points in the final 3:11 of the first frame with a layup from Mycroft, a layup from Watson and a 3-pointer by Kelton Anderson for the 14-6 lead after the first frame. Mycroft finished with six points, and Anderson totaled six points for the game.
The Indians increased their lead to 10 points to start the second quarter with two free throw conversions from Cameron Reed. The Blue Lions followed with a trey by Evan Upthegrove, but the Indians were right there, answering with a two-point basket by Marshall Ward with 6:25 left in the quarter for an 18-9 advantage. Ward finished the game with nine points.
From the 5:55 mark to the 3:28 mark of the second frame, the Indians let the nine-point lead slip away as the Blue Lions went on a 9-0 run, tying the score at 18-18 with points from Kenneth Upthegrove, Evan Upthegrove, Steward and Richard Burns.
Evan Upthegrove was Washington’s leading scorer with 11 points, while Burns finished with 10 points.
Watson pushed the Indians back ahead with a three-point play at the 2:59 mark of the second, but in the final 2:16 of the first half the Blue Lions outscored the Tribe, 8-2 for a halftime lead of 26-23.
That lead increased quickly in the third frame with the Blue Lions scoring four points in around 1:20 for a 30-23 lead with 6:39 on the clock, forcing the Indians to call a timeout. HHS never regained the lead in the third quarter, as they and the Blue Lions each scored 12 points in the quarter with HHS having 10 of the 12 HHS points in the third.
HHS was outscored 13-9 in the final quarter, but in the early stages of the fourth, they tied the score at 41 with Anderson beginning the fourth-quarter rally with a put-back bucket at the 6:58 mark, followed by Ward stealing the ball and taking it to the hoop on a fast break to get the Tribe to within one point of the Blue Lions at 39-38.
Washington tacked on two more points, but the Indians had five straight points from Ward, not only tying the score at 41, but putting the Indians back in front for the first time since the second quarter by a 44-41 score.
“We knew that we had to stay active. We have a couple guys out front that have some length, and we knew that they had some shooters and they run some nice sets. We had to stay active to get hands on balls, so we didn’t stay kind of stationary in one position,” Miles said. “That was a point of emphasis in practice where we just keep moving on the defensive end in our zone and being active. The kids did a great job. I’m proud of their effort the entire night.”
The Blue Lions stopped the momentum of the Indians with two free throws from Kory Proby, beginning what was a 7-0 run in the final 2:52 to end the game. Proby finished with 10 points in the win over the Indians.
Hillsboro ended the game 7-of-8 from the free-throw line, while the Blue Lions were 6-of-8 in their free throw attempts while also totaling five 3-pointers. HHS finished with three 3-pointers. The Indians also were without Josh Keets Friday night, who is averaging 11 points per game this season.
The Indians play again on Tuesday, Dec. 20 at Paint Valley in a non-conference game.
In JV play, HHS defeated the Blue Lions, 44-41 with the Indians led by Garrison Banks with 14 points and Mason Swayne with 10. WCH was led by Ross Matthews with 16 points.
The Indians were outscored 13-9 in the final eight minutes, including a 9-0 run in the final three minutes, sending them to their third loss in the South Central Ohio League and to an overall record of 1-4.
“For whatever reason, we’ve gone stagnant. I thought we had good looks tonight, but we just didn’t make anything in the fourth quarter,” HHS head coach Bruce Miles said. “I told the kids after the game, we had open shots and didn’t make them and they did.
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“That was the difference. They (WCH) made shots, and they made some key free throws down the stretch. I can’t say enough about it. We had open looks, and we didn’t make anything.”
In the first quarter, the Indians were red-hot, beginning the game with a 5-0 start as Ethan Watson swished a 3-pointer 36 seconds into the game, followed by a put-back by Philip Mycroft at the 6:24 mark of the quarter.
Watson led the Indians with 20 points, including two 3-pointers, six two-point baskets and a 2-of-2 night from the free-throw line.
“(Ethan) just continues every day in practice getting better, and you see it out here,” Miles said. “If he’s going to commit to the weight room, getting stronger, getting shots up and just working on his game, he has a bright future. There’s no doubt about it.”
Washington responded with a 3-pointer of their own from Jarett Patton, who totaled nine points. Later, following a layup by Hillsboro’s Matthew Ryan, the Blue Lions sank a second 3-pointer, this time by Dillon Steward, to get to within one point of the host.
The one-point deficit didn’t last. In fact, the Indians increased it by seven points in the final 3:11 of the first frame with a layup from Mycroft, a layup from Watson and a 3-pointer by Kelton Anderson for the 14-6 lead after the first frame. Mycroft finished with six points, and Anderson totaled six points for the game.
The Indians increased their lead to 10 points to start the second quarter with two free throw conversions from Cameron Reed. The Blue Lions followed with a trey by Evan Upthegrove, but the Indians were right there, answering with a two-point basket by Marshall Ward with 6:25 left in the quarter for an 18-9 advantage. Ward finished the game with nine points.
From the 5:55 mark to the 3:28 mark of the second frame, the Indians let the nine-point lead slip away as the Blue Lions went on a 9-0 run, tying the score at 18-18 with points from Kenneth Upthegrove, Evan Upthegrove, Steward and Richard Burns.
Evan Upthegrove was Washington’s leading scorer with 11 points, while Burns finished with 10 points.
Watson pushed the Indians back ahead with a three-point play at the 2:59 mark of the second, but in the final 2:16 of the first half the Blue Lions outscored the Tribe, 8-2 for a halftime lead of 26-23.
That lead increased quickly in the third frame with the Blue Lions scoring four points in around 1:20 for a 30-23 lead with 6:39 on the clock, forcing the Indians to call a timeout. HHS never regained the lead in the third quarter, as they and the Blue Lions each scored 12 points in the quarter with HHS having 10 of the 12 HHS points in the third.
HHS was outscored 13-9 in the final quarter, but in the early stages of the fourth, they tied the score at 41 with Anderson beginning the fourth-quarter rally with a put-back bucket at the 6:58 mark, followed by Ward stealing the ball and taking it to the hoop on a fast break to get the Tribe to within one point of the Blue Lions at 39-38.
Washington tacked on two more points, but the Indians had five straight points from Ward, not only tying the score at 41, but putting the Indians back in front for the first time since the second quarter by a 44-41 score.
“We knew that we had to stay active. We have a couple guys out front that have some length, and we knew that they had some shooters and they run some nice sets. We had to stay active to get hands on balls, so we didn’t stay kind of stationary in one position,” Miles said. “That was a point of emphasis in practice where we just keep moving on the defensive end in our zone and being active. The kids did a great job. I’m proud of their effort the entire night.”
The Blue Lions stopped the momentum of the Indians with two free throws from Kory Proby, beginning what was a 7-0 run in the final 2:52 to end the game. Proby finished with 10 points in the win over the Indians.
Hillsboro ended the game 7-of-8 from the free-throw line, while the Blue Lions were 6-of-8 in their free throw attempts while also totaling five 3-pointers. HHS finished with three 3-pointers. The Indians also were without Josh Keets Friday night, who is averaging 11 points per game this season.
The Indians play again on Tuesday, Dec. 20 at Paint Valley in a non-conference game.
In JV play, HHS defeated the Blue Lions, 44-41 with the Indians led by Garrison Banks with 14 points and Mason Swayne with 10. WCH was led by Ross Matthews with 16 points.