Clinton-Massie uses strength to defeat Indians

The Clinton-Massie Falcons used their strength in the post to grab rebounds and force their way to the hoop against the Hillsboro Indians Tuesday night in South Central Ohio League play. Add that with the ability to sink shots from the perimeter, and that was the case for success for the visiting team.

The Falcons held the Indians to under 50 points for the game, eventually giving them a 67-49 SCOL victory over Hillsboro.

HHS (1-5, 2-6) trailed 5-0 early in the first frame, forcing HHS head coach Bruce Miles to call a timeout with just under 7:00 left in the opening quarter. The Indians responded with two free throw conversions from Phillip Mycroft.

“We talked about energy, and for whatever reason, I didn’t feel like our kids had it,” Miles said. “In the pregame, I could just see it. There was no energy there, and I told them we have to come out strong the first two minutes and we didn’t do that.

“Credit to Clinton-Massie for jumping out early. We just didn’t have it early and throughout the game.”

CM (1-4, 2-5) came back with a 3-pointer from Nick Chowning with 5:35 left in the first, only to see Matthew Ryan of the Indians sink a jumper and later a 3-pointer of his own to make it a 10-7 score, bringing HHS to within three points of the Falcons with 4:37 on the clock. Ryan totaled 12 points in the loss.

As the quarter continued, Logan Kibler brought the Indians to within six points of CM with 3:25 left in the first, only to see CM end the frame with four straight points. Neither team scored a point in the the final 2:05 of the first quarter, leaving CM in front, 22-11. Kibler ended the game with a team-high 17 points.

By the time the second frame ended, the Indians still trailed by 11 points at 36-25, but HHS was first to strike in the quarter with a jumper by Josh Keets. The closest the Indians got to the lead of CM in the second was eight points with 4:35 left in the quarter following a three-point play by Ryan, making the score 28-20.

CM rallied back to later build a 13-point advantage with a 3-pointer from Trey Uetrecht with 39.1 left in the first half. HHS made it another 11-point deficit at the end of the quarter with two free throws converted by Kibler.

Uetrecht totaled 24 points for the Falcons, and Noah Greathouse finished with 16 points.

“Uetrecht is a tough, strong kid,” Miles said. “I wasn’t surprised by his play, and his strength was key. He did a lot of things off the bounce that really hurt us. He’s a tough matchup for us, and he’s going to be a really good one as he’s just a sophomore.”

HHS cut the CM lead down one point once the third frame concluded, trailing 47-37 when the eight minutes ticked off the clock. For the Indians in the third, Kibler scored seven of the 12 points totaled by HHS, as the Indians won the third at 12-11. The Indians got to within eight points of CM on two separate occasions in the quarter.

CM led by 14 points with two early buckets to start the fourth frame, but with 3:49 left in regulation, Kibler sank a 3-pointer. Again, CM answered with four straight points for a 16-point advantage at 58-42.

In the fourth, the Indians got no closer than 12 points to the Falcons’ lead, with that final time being at the 1:33 mark of the fourth.

“It felt like there was a lid on the basket,” Miles said. “We missed layups, and when you play teams in our league … if you miss 10 layups, that’s going to get you defeated a lot of times. We did not do a good job of finishing at the rim, and credit to their (CM) physicality, because we didn’t finish through on plays, and it was a tough night around the basket.”

For the game, CM was 13-of-22 from the free-throw line, and HHS went 18-of-26. CM made six 3-pointers against the Indians, while HHS totaled three.

The freshman game saw HHS defeat the Falcons, 35-33. Leading the Indians was Reece Bloomfield with 10 points. Cameron Stern was the leading scorer for CM with 18 points.

In the JV game, HHS won, 41-18. The Indians were led by Ethan Watson with 15 points. Stern was also CM’s leading JV scorer with five points.

The Indians will play again on Dec. 29 vs. Fairfield in a Highland County rivalry showdown at HHS.