Defense leads to Hillsboro Indians' road win at Washington
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
WASHINGTON C.H. — The third time was the charm for the Hillsboro Indians, with the team gaining their first win of the 2019-20 season in the third game they played, all the while gaining a victory in the Frontier Athletic Conference over the host Washington Blue Lions, 53-42.
Hillsboro’s success against the Blue Lions also marked the first career win for head coach Miles Burton, as he took over the Hillsboro basketball program this season. Gaining the win wasn’t easy, though, as the Indians had to take their bumps early in the season against the Eastern Warriors and Chillicothe Cavaliers before hitting the road for the first time against Washington on Tuesday (Dec. 10).
Hillsboro (1-1, 1-2) had six players reach the scoring column, and they were led by Jakwon Clark with 15 points, including two 3-pointers, three two-point baskets and he was 3-of-5 from the free-throw line.
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Also in double-figure scoring for the Indians was Brad Miller with 11 points on the night, making three two-point field goals and going 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.
Burton spoke about not only his first win of the season, but his first career win as head coach.
“It is awesome, and a much better feeling talking now than it was Tuesday and Friday night,” he said. “I’m so proud of our guys. That was a hard-fought game, and that is how it will be every night for us.
“We are going to have to battle some adversity, and I thought Court House played extremely well, especially hitting shots early and stretching our D early. We’ve been through it now, and after three games we’ve seen a little bit of everything.”
Getting to the game, the Indians were first to strike in the FAC showdown with Hunter Price knocking down a 3-pointer at the 6:40 mark of the first. They later built a 5-2 advantage with a basket by Ryan Scott, who made his season debut after missing two games with an injury. Scott finished the game with eight points.
After Washington tied the score at 5-5 with a 3-pointer by Tanner Lemaster, the Indians answered with points from Miller. The Blue Lions answered strong with eight straight points off 3-pointers from Mitch Lotz and Lemaster, plus a basket in the paint by Trevor Rarick.
Lotz led Washington with 14 points, and next was Rarick with 10 points, while Lemaster totaled eight points for the game.
After the first frame came to a close, it was Washington holding on to a 16-12 lead over Hillsboro. That wasn’t the case when the second quarter was completed, as scoring was scarce and defense was the key to the frame, with HHS ending the second with a 20-19 lead after outscoring the Blue Lions, 8-3.
“We are going to play a lot of guys, and the way I want us to play, that is what it will require,” Burton said. “I trust my guys, and everybody played their role. It is going to take contributions from 1-12 for us to be successful on a consistent basis.
“I was really happy with our defense, and I challenged our guys we were going to have to win it on that end (defense), and they responded. I have great leadership in the huddle, and they weren’t going to let us loose tonight.”
Burton spoke more about the defense of the Indians.
“One of the mistakes I made against Eastern was trying to scheme too much, and I didn’t trust my guys enough,” he said. “We are a man-to-man team, and it will come down to executing what we do. We talked about we are what we are, and we can’t let teams force us to not be who we are, and tonight exemplified that. They had the will to win tonight.”
Clark scored all eight points in the quarter for the Tribe, making a 3-pointer, two two-point field goals and a free throw. Washington’s three points were off a 3-pointer from Brice Cartwright with one minute left in the frame.
“Jakwon has been working really hard, and every day he gets so much better and has bought into what we do, and I’m just super happy for him. He deserves it, puts in the work day-in and day-out, and he made me look real good tonight,” Burton said.
Washington led HHS, 12-10 in the third and regained a 31-30 lead when the quarter ended. Rarick was the lead scorer in the third for the Blue Lions with five points, including sinking a 3-pointer at the 7:07 mark. Others to add to the Washington score were Cartwright, Karson Runk, Lotz and Ethan Rogers-Wright.
Hillsboro’s third frame saw a 3-pointer from Clark, plus points from Quintin Captain, Price, Crawford and Miller.
The Indians trailed by one point entering the fourth frame — but outscored Washington 23-11 in the frame — quickly taking back the lead with a three-point play to start the quarter, plus two free throws from Crawford. There was a layup next by Price, who went uncontested to the hoop to push the Indians’ lead to 37-31 with 5:49 remaining in the game. Clark followed with a basket at the 4:30 mark for an eight-point HHS lead of 39-31.
Following two points by the Blue Lions, the Indians added to their lead with a 3-pointer by Scott. Later two free throws were made by Miller, and a one-handed basket from Crawford increased the Indians’ lead to 46-36 with 1:57 remaining in the game.
HHS didn’t lose the lead and had final scoring from Clark, Price, Scott and Miller to end the game with the 11-point win.
Washington’s 11 points in the fourth were from Lotz with nine and Runk with two.
“This league is going to be a battle every single night, and I’m just proud of our guys,” Burton said. “They’ve been through a lot with injuries, but we have to be more consistent. We are going to have to get in the trenches and trust ourselves. We still had a couple defensive rotation mistakes we are going to have to clean up, but we buckled down, especially at the beginning of the second quarter.”
For the game, the Blue Lions totaled nine two-point field goals, seven 3-pointers and they were 3-of-7 from the free-throw line. HHS finished with 12 two-point baskets, five 3-pointers and they were 14-of-20 from the free-throw line.
Next for the Indians is a home FAC game on Friday, Dec. 13 against the Jackson Ironmen.
In JV action, the Indians defeated the Blue Lions, 42-30. Ethan Parry and Quintin Captain each scored seven points to lead HHS.
Hillsboro’s success against the Blue Lions also marked the first career win for head coach Miles Burton, as he took over the Hillsboro basketball program this season. Gaining the win wasn’t easy, though, as the Indians had to take their bumps early in the season against the Eastern Warriors and Chillicothe Cavaliers before hitting the road for the first time against Washington on Tuesday (Dec. 10).
Hillsboro (1-1, 1-2) had six players reach the scoring column, and they were led by Jakwon Clark with 15 points, including two 3-pointers, three two-point baskets and he was 3-of-5 from the free-throw line.
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Also in double-figure scoring for the Indians was Brad Miller with 11 points on the night, making three two-point field goals and going 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.
Burton spoke about not only his first win of the season, but his first career win as head coach.
“It is awesome, and a much better feeling talking now than it was Tuesday and Friday night,” he said. “I’m so proud of our guys. That was a hard-fought game, and that is how it will be every night for us.
“We are going to have to battle some adversity, and I thought Court House played extremely well, especially hitting shots early and stretching our D early. We’ve been through it now, and after three games we’ve seen a little bit of everything.”
Getting to the game, the Indians were first to strike in the FAC showdown with Hunter Price knocking down a 3-pointer at the 6:40 mark of the first. They later built a 5-2 advantage with a basket by Ryan Scott, who made his season debut after missing two games with an injury. Scott finished the game with eight points.
After Washington tied the score at 5-5 with a 3-pointer by Tanner Lemaster, the Indians answered with points from Miller. The Blue Lions answered strong with eight straight points off 3-pointers from Mitch Lotz and Lemaster, plus a basket in the paint by Trevor Rarick.
Lotz led Washington with 14 points, and next was Rarick with 10 points, while Lemaster totaled eight points for the game.
After the first frame came to a close, it was Washington holding on to a 16-12 lead over Hillsboro. That wasn’t the case when the second quarter was completed, as scoring was scarce and defense was the key to the frame, with HHS ending the second with a 20-19 lead after outscoring the Blue Lions, 8-3.
“We are going to play a lot of guys, and the way I want us to play, that is what it will require,” Burton said. “I trust my guys, and everybody played their role. It is going to take contributions from 1-12 for us to be successful on a consistent basis.
“I was really happy with our defense, and I challenged our guys we were going to have to win it on that end (defense), and they responded. I have great leadership in the huddle, and they weren’t going to let us loose tonight.”
Burton spoke more about the defense of the Indians.
“One of the mistakes I made against Eastern was trying to scheme too much, and I didn’t trust my guys enough,” he said. “We are a man-to-man team, and it will come down to executing what we do. We talked about we are what we are, and we can’t let teams force us to not be who we are, and tonight exemplified that. They had the will to win tonight.”
Clark scored all eight points in the quarter for the Tribe, making a 3-pointer, two two-point field goals and a free throw. Washington’s three points were off a 3-pointer from Brice Cartwright with one minute left in the frame.
“Jakwon has been working really hard, and every day he gets so much better and has bought into what we do, and I’m just super happy for him. He deserves it, puts in the work day-in and day-out, and he made me look real good tonight,” Burton said.
Washington led HHS, 12-10 in the third and regained a 31-30 lead when the quarter ended. Rarick was the lead scorer in the third for the Blue Lions with five points, including sinking a 3-pointer at the 7:07 mark. Others to add to the Washington score were Cartwright, Karson Runk, Lotz and Ethan Rogers-Wright.
Hillsboro’s third frame saw a 3-pointer from Clark, plus points from Quintin Captain, Price, Crawford and Miller.
The Indians trailed by one point entering the fourth frame — but outscored Washington 23-11 in the frame — quickly taking back the lead with a three-point play to start the quarter, plus two free throws from Crawford. There was a layup next by Price, who went uncontested to the hoop to push the Indians’ lead to 37-31 with 5:49 remaining in the game. Clark followed with a basket at the 4:30 mark for an eight-point HHS lead of 39-31.
Following two points by the Blue Lions, the Indians added to their lead with a 3-pointer by Scott. Later two free throws were made by Miller, and a one-handed basket from Crawford increased the Indians’ lead to 46-36 with 1:57 remaining in the game.
HHS didn’t lose the lead and had final scoring from Clark, Price, Scott and Miller to end the game with the 11-point win.
Washington’s 11 points in the fourth were from Lotz with nine and Runk with two.
“This league is going to be a battle every single night, and I’m just proud of our guys,” Burton said. “They’ve been through a lot with injuries, but we have to be more consistent. We are going to have to get in the trenches and trust ourselves. We still had a couple defensive rotation mistakes we are going to have to clean up, but we buckled down, especially at the beginning of the second quarter.”
For the game, the Blue Lions totaled nine two-point field goals, seven 3-pointers and they were 3-of-7 from the free-throw line. HHS finished with 12 two-point baskets, five 3-pointers and they were 14-of-20 from the free-throw line.
Next for the Indians is a home FAC game on Friday, Dec. 13 against the Jackson Ironmen.
In JV action, the Indians defeated the Blue Lions, 42-30. Ethan Parry and Quintin Captain each scored seven points to lead HHS.