Hillsboro breaks away from LC Mustangs in 2nd half for rivalry win
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
DODSONVILLE — Playing full of energy and having nine players in the scoring column, the Hillsboro Indians showed up to the home of the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs and left with a non-conference win by a 63-42 score, Saturday.
Both teams were coming off tough games played the previous night, where the Indians lost to the Jackson Ironmen and the Mustangs defeated the Fayetteville Rockets. On Saturday night, though, following a competitive first frame where the Indians led by a 12-11 score after eight minutes, the middle of the game went to the Indians, and that led to their second victory of the season.
From there, the halftime score was 27-20 in favor of the Indians, but the second half was where the Indians (2-3) took over the game with a 19-8 third frame and a 17-14 fourth frame, though the difference of the game was that aforementioned third quarter.
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“It is no excuse, but we were tired coming off a hard-fought battle Friday night, and they were too, though. At halftime, I challenged the guys because we had to pick up defensively. Our rotations were slow, and we were going through the motions,” Hillsboro head coach Miles Burton said. “The second half, I challenged the guys that we had to pick it up and put them away early because I know Matt (Carson) does an excellent job, and if we would let them hang around, we weren’t going to like the results.
“I reminded of them of the result from last year, and we aren’t good enough to coast. We are working on building habits right now, and we have to have good habits for 32 minutes. We aren’t the Golden State Warriors, so we can’t take possessions off. Credit our guys, they decided they weren’t going to lose, and they decided they wanted to put them away in the third quarter, and they did.”
The first frame for the Indians and the Mustangs (1-3) opened with LC’s David Giordano scoring two points within the first five seconds of the game. Next, the Indians answered around a minute later with a put-back bucket by Jakwon Clark. The Mustangs tied the score with a free throw by Noah Miller, but the Indians went back in front with a basket in the paint by Brad Miller.
LC went on maybe their best run of the game in the middle stages of the first quarter with four points by Raymond Conner, plus a basket by Giordano left them ahead by a 9-4 lead with 4:30 on the scoreboard.
The Indians answered with six straight points of their own as Hunter Price, Miller and Deavin Cumberland each sank a basket to put the Tribe in front at 10-9 with 3:09 left in the opening frame.
The two teams each exchanged baskets to end the first-quarter scoring with a jumper by LC’s Brady Chisman putting LC in front at 11-10, but less then 30 seconds later, the Indians were ahead again, this time with the final points of the first quarter being scored by Caleb Crawford off a one-handed basket for the 12-11 advantage.
The second frame was close for around six of the eight minutes played as the Indians led by two points with 2:45 on the clock, but in the final two minutes or so played in the second frame the Indians built a seven-point lead for a halftime advantage of 27-20.
LC was first to score points in the second with a basket by Giordano, and the Indians answered with a jumper by Miller to put the Indians ahead by one point at 14-13. Next came free throws by each team by Noah Miller and Brad Miller for their respective teams, only to see Conner and Crawford exchange baskets in the paint for a 17-16 HHS lead with 3:44 left in the opening half.
Brad Miller led the Indians with 14 points, making seven two-point buckets, with his points coming with three quarters off four-point scoring and one quarter with a two-point basket.
Noah Miller was the leading scorer for the Mustangs with 13 points, making one two-point basket, one 3-pointer and he was 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. Noah Miller scored seven of his points in the fourth frame.
Lynchburg-Clay’s Miller swished two free-throw attempts through the hoop for a 18-17 Mustangs advantage with 3:42 left in the quarter. From that point on, the Indians took over the second frame, beginning with Crawford taking a charge with 3:12 on the clock.
Next for the Indians, it was a 3-pointer going through the basket off a shot by Quintin Captain, followed by two points off a put-back basket by Price for a 22-18 Indians lead. Next was another trey by Captain with 27 seconds remaining in the quarter, and Mustangs had a basket from Conner.
The price was right for the Indians at the end of the second, with Price sinking a jumper as the buzzer sounded to end the first half with the Indians ahead seven points.
“I thought Hillsboro played hard and beat us on the glass, which that was going to worry us coming into the game, and they out-executed us,” Lynchburg-Clay head coach Matt Carson said. “Credit them, they did a better job of finding our weakness than we did finding theirs, and we are going to have to come in — we have a short turnaround — and we play Tuesday and Friday next week.”
Hillsboro outscored the host Mustangs, 19-8 in the third, with the Indians having two 3-pointers, six two-point baskets, plus a made free throw for a 46-28 lead. In the third for the Indians, Ryan Scott scored five points (including a 3-pointer), Brad Miller had four points and Lawton Parry sank a 3-pointer with 6:02 left in the quarter for a 33-22 lead.
Also in the second, points were scored for Hillsboro by Captain, Price, Clark and Cumberland. LC had four players contribute to their eight-point third frame, and they were Ian Waits, Noah Miller, Giordano and Chisman.
The game never got close in the final frame, with the Indians leading by no fewer than 16 points in the final eight minutes. Hillsboro’s fourth frame included baskets by Scott, Colton Hunter, Clark, Cumberland and Brad Miller.
Clark and Scott each ended the game with nine points, while teammate Captain had eight points. Price followed with seven points, and Cumberland totaled six points for the Indians.
“I’m super proud of this team. It is the culture we are trying to build where we never get too high or too low, and it is a credit to the guys because I have an upperclassmen locker room and they are learning,” Burton said. “They have a ‘refuse to lose’ mentality.
“Ryan carried us down the stretch, and Jakwon is doing a great job on both ends of the floor. Hunter Price plays a lot of minutes, and we ask him to play 1-5. He’s a beast on the glass and getting offensive rebounds, and Brad Miller is the same way. Unofficially, we had 16 offensive rebounds, and that has to be a constant for us, and that started last Friday at Chillicothe. We have 12 good guys in that locker room, and this win was everybody doing their job and refusing to lose down the stretch.”
The Mustangs in the fourth quarter had seven points from Noah Miller, five points by Chisman and two points from Conner. Miller and Chisman each sank a 3-pointer in the final frame, while Miller was 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in the fourth.
For the game, the Mustangs totaled 13 two-point baskets, two 3-pointers and they were 10-of-12 from the free-throw line. On the other side, the Indians had 23 field goals as a team, plus four 3-pointers and they were 5-of-10 from the free-throw line.
HHS also committed 15 turnovers, while the Mustangs totaled 13 turnovers.
Next for Hillsboro is a home Frontier Athletic Conference game Tuesday, Dec. 17 against the Miami Trace Panthers. The Mustangs play again Tuesday, Dec. 17 at home against the West Union Dragons in Southern Hills Athletic Conference action.
Both teams were coming off tough games played the previous night, where the Indians lost to the Jackson Ironmen and the Mustangs defeated the Fayetteville Rockets. On Saturday night, though, following a competitive first frame where the Indians led by a 12-11 score after eight minutes, the middle of the game went to the Indians, and that led to their second victory of the season.
From there, the halftime score was 27-20 in favor of the Indians, but the second half was where the Indians (2-3) took over the game with a 19-8 third frame and a 17-14 fourth frame, though the difference of the game was that aforementioned third quarter.
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“It is no excuse, but we were tired coming off a hard-fought battle Friday night, and they were too, though. At halftime, I challenged the guys because we had to pick up defensively. Our rotations were slow, and we were going through the motions,” Hillsboro head coach Miles Burton said. “The second half, I challenged the guys that we had to pick it up and put them away early because I know Matt (Carson) does an excellent job, and if we would let them hang around, we weren’t going to like the results.
“I reminded of them of the result from last year, and we aren’t good enough to coast. We are working on building habits right now, and we have to have good habits for 32 minutes. We aren’t the Golden State Warriors, so we can’t take possessions off. Credit our guys, they decided they weren’t going to lose, and they decided they wanted to put them away in the third quarter, and they did.”
The first frame for the Indians and the Mustangs (1-3) opened with LC’s David Giordano scoring two points within the first five seconds of the game. Next, the Indians answered around a minute later with a put-back bucket by Jakwon Clark. The Mustangs tied the score with a free throw by Noah Miller, but the Indians went back in front with a basket in the paint by Brad Miller.
LC went on maybe their best run of the game in the middle stages of the first quarter with four points by Raymond Conner, plus a basket by Giordano left them ahead by a 9-4 lead with 4:30 on the scoreboard.
The Indians answered with six straight points of their own as Hunter Price, Miller and Deavin Cumberland each sank a basket to put the Tribe in front at 10-9 with 3:09 left in the opening frame.
The two teams each exchanged baskets to end the first-quarter scoring with a jumper by LC’s Brady Chisman putting LC in front at 11-10, but less then 30 seconds later, the Indians were ahead again, this time with the final points of the first quarter being scored by Caleb Crawford off a one-handed basket for the 12-11 advantage.
The second frame was close for around six of the eight minutes played as the Indians led by two points with 2:45 on the clock, but in the final two minutes or so played in the second frame the Indians built a seven-point lead for a halftime advantage of 27-20.
LC was first to score points in the second with a basket by Giordano, and the Indians answered with a jumper by Miller to put the Indians ahead by one point at 14-13. Next came free throws by each team by Noah Miller and Brad Miller for their respective teams, only to see Conner and Crawford exchange baskets in the paint for a 17-16 HHS lead with 3:44 left in the opening half.
Brad Miller led the Indians with 14 points, making seven two-point buckets, with his points coming with three quarters off four-point scoring and one quarter with a two-point basket.
Noah Miller was the leading scorer for the Mustangs with 13 points, making one two-point basket, one 3-pointer and he was 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. Noah Miller scored seven of his points in the fourth frame.
Lynchburg-Clay’s Miller swished two free-throw attempts through the hoop for a 18-17 Mustangs advantage with 3:42 left in the quarter. From that point on, the Indians took over the second frame, beginning with Crawford taking a charge with 3:12 on the clock.
Next for the Indians, it was a 3-pointer going through the basket off a shot by Quintin Captain, followed by two points off a put-back basket by Price for a 22-18 Indians lead. Next was another trey by Captain with 27 seconds remaining in the quarter, and Mustangs had a basket from Conner.
The price was right for the Indians at the end of the second, with Price sinking a jumper as the buzzer sounded to end the first half with the Indians ahead seven points.
“I thought Hillsboro played hard and beat us on the glass, which that was going to worry us coming into the game, and they out-executed us,” Lynchburg-Clay head coach Matt Carson said. “Credit them, they did a better job of finding our weakness than we did finding theirs, and we are going to have to come in — we have a short turnaround — and we play Tuesday and Friday next week.”
Hillsboro outscored the host Mustangs, 19-8 in the third, with the Indians having two 3-pointers, six two-point baskets, plus a made free throw for a 46-28 lead. In the third for the Indians, Ryan Scott scored five points (including a 3-pointer), Brad Miller had four points and Lawton Parry sank a 3-pointer with 6:02 left in the quarter for a 33-22 lead.
Also in the second, points were scored for Hillsboro by Captain, Price, Clark and Cumberland. LC had four players contribute to their eight-point third frame, and they were Ian Waits, Noah Miller, Giordano and Chisman.
The game never got close in the final frame, with the Indians leading by no fewer than 16 points in the final eight minutes. Hillsboro’s fourth frame included baskets by Scott, Colton Hunter, Clark, Cumberland and Brad Miller.
Clark and Scott each ended the game with nine points, while teammate Captain had eight points. Price followed with seven points, and Cumberland totaled six points for the Indians.
“I’m super proud of this team. It is the culture we are trying to build where we never get too high or too low, and it is a credit to the guys because I have an upperclassmen locker room and they are learning,” Burton said. “They have a ‘refuse to lose’ mentality.
“Ryan carried us down the stretch, and Jakwon is doing a great job on both ends of the floor. Hunter Price plays a lot of minutes, and we ask him to play 1-5. He’s a beast on the glass and getting offensive rebounds, and Brad Miller is the same way. Unofficially, we had 16 offensive rebounds, and that has to be a constant for us, and that started last Friday at Chillicothe. We have 12 good guys in that locker room, and this win was everybody doing their job and refusing to lose down the stretch.”
The Mustangs in the fourth quarter had seven points from Noah Miller, five points by Chisman and two points from Conner. Miller and Chisman each sank a 3-pointer in the final frame, while Miller was 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in the fourth.
For the game, the Mustangs totaled 13 two-point baskets, two 3-pointers and they were 10-of-12 from the free-throw line. On the other side, the Indians had 23 field goals as a team, plus four 3-pointers and they were 5-of-10 from the free-throw line.
HHS also committed 15 turnovers, while the Mustangs totaled 13 turnovers.
Next for Hillsboro is a home Frontier Athletic Conference game Tuesday, Dec. 17 against the Miami Trace Panthers. The Mustangs play again Tuesday, Dec. 17 at home against the West Union Dragons in Southern Hills Athletic Conference action.