Hillsboro Indians defeat rival McClain
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
HILLSBORO — In what is the first of two meetings of the season between Highland County rivals Hillsboro and McClain, the victory went to the Hillsboro Indians on their home court, as they defeated the McClain Tigers 54-34 on Tuesday.
The win was big for the Indians, improving to 9-2 overall and 4-1 in the Frontier Athletic Conference, while McClain (2-2 , 9-3) had a worse fate than just the loss as junior Bryson Badgley was hurt in the first quarter and didn’t return for the remainder of the game following an leg injury.
Both the Indians and Tigers were tied on the scoreboard early in the contest at 4-4 as Badgley scored the four points for McClain, while Hillsboro’s points came from Ryan Scott and Quintin Captain. Scott ended the game with 20 points, while Captain finished with seven points, including going 3-of-3 from the free-throw line.
After Badgley tied the score at 4-4 with 5:15 on the clock, McClain’s Lyle White took a charge.
Later in the first. Lawton Parry — who collected 10 points in the win — sank a 3-pointer with 3:40 on the clock for a 7-4 HHS advantage. The game-changing moment for McClain came with 2:52 left in the first frame when Badgley landed awkwardly, injuring his leg. Badgley was carried off the court and didn’t return for the rest of the game.
Following the game, McClain head coach Joe B. Stewart talked about Badgley.
“We were here to play a good game and thought we had a good game going with all the ingredients there, and Bryson looked good early,” Stewart said. “It is just one of those things we knew at some point in the season, be it fouls, the flu or whatever, that we were going to have to play without him for a while.
“To have him go down as emotionally as he did, that was a pretty major punch in the gut for our team, and Hillsboro, credit them, they jumped on us at that point in time, and that is where the basketball game was won. That said, we just hope for good health for Bryson moving forward.”
Hillsboro head coach Miles Burton also spoke about Badgley following the game.
“I hate seeing that (Badgley’s injury), and hopefully he’ll be back to go at some point this season,” Burton said. “You hate to see anybody go down, but especially as tough of a competitor as Bryson is. He’s a matchup problem, and we spent all week trying to figure out how we were going to try to slow him down and contain him. He got off to a good start, and I just hate it for him. I hope he returns and can play sooner rather than later.”
After play resumed in the first quarter, Scott swished a 3-pointer for HHS, then Hunter Price equaled the same feat for Hillsboro, leaving them in the lead at 13-4 when the first quarter came to a close.
HHS — who took advantage of some McClain turnovers — outscored the Tigers, 13-9 in the second quarter. HHS had five points from Scott in the frame, along with 3-pointers by Jakwon Clark and Parry, plus a two-point basket by Brad Miller, allowing the Indians to lead 26-13 when halftime arrived.
The Tigers had three points from Braden Wright and two points each from Preston Saunders, Kendyll Toney and Wes Potts in the second. Toney led the Tigers with 10 points.
“Without Bryson in there, Kendyll has a lot of the same attributes, but is just a year younger and left-handed,” Stewart said. “Kendyll had some good moments for us and needed to fill that spot for us, and he did a pretty good job.”
Again, in the third quarter, it was Hillsboro leading the way with a 13-10 scoring differential as they led 39-23 when the quarter came to a close.
“We shot the ball well, but we are tough to match up against in transition, especially when you don’t score and have to get back on defense,” Burton said. “When you’re scrambling and trying to find Ryan Scott, Lawton Parry and Jakwon (Clark), we are tough. I’m super proud of our guys’ effort, and shooting well helps.”
Toney scored first in the frame, cutting the Indians’ lead to 11 points, but Captain sank two baskets from the free-throw line to make it a 13-point lead for the Indians. MHS answered with a free throw made by Toney, plus two points from White, while HHS came back with two points from Scott with 4:00 on the third-quarter clock.
Following a full timeout by the Indians after the aforementioned basket, Potts scored a free throw for the Tigers, but the Indians were there with a jumper from Scott. Toney came back with a two-point basket in the paint for the Tigers, but after being fouled, it was Scott shooting three straight free throws and making all three attempts for an Indians lead of 35-21 with 2:37 remaining in the frame.
The Indians added another two points with a put-back basket by Clark, only to see White answer with a layup. The Indians scored the final two points of the third with a shot made by Price for the 16-point lead going into the fourth and final frame.
Hillsboro scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, while McClain added 11 points to their final total. Hillsboro’s points were from Nick Lewis with a 3-pointer, four points by Parry, three points from Captain, a 3-pointer off a shot by Scott and two points from Miller, as he connected with a jumper.
McClain had two 3-pointers by Isaac Carroll, three points by Toney and a two-point basket by Potts in the fourth frame.
Other Hillsboro final scoring included five points each from Clark and Price, four points by Miller and three points from Lewis.
McClain’s final scoring included Carroll (six), Potts (five), Badgley (four), White (four), Wright (three) and Saunders (two).
“It wasn’t a work of art, but our kids scratched and clawed, and it is under 10 seconds when some teams do the NBA thing where they pull the jersey out, but our guys were guarding the ball and played it our way and got another possession out of it,” Stewart said. “That is who these kids are. We took a punch, but the bottom line is we lost the ball game, but we didn’t go down.”
Miller, Parry and Clark unofficially each had five rebounds for the Indians, while Toney led McClain with nine rebounds. Potts and White each had four rebounds for the Tigers.
Next for McClain are back-to-back home game on Friday and Saturday night. On Friday (Jan. 22), the Tigers will host the Miami Trace Panthers in an FAC contest. Then, on Saturday (Jan. 23), McClain will take on the Circleville Tigers in non-conference action.
Hillsboro is scheduled to play again on Friday, Jan. 22 at home against the Jackson Ironmen. On Saturday, the Indians are scheduled for a non-conference home game against the Unioto Shermans.
The JV and freshmen teams did not play on Tuesday night.
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The win was big for the Indians, improving to 9-2 overall and 4-1 in the Frontier Athletic Conference, while McClain (2-2 , 9-3) had a worse fate than just the loss as junior Bryson Badgley was hurt in the first quarter and didn’t return for the remainder of the game following an leg injury.
Both the Indians and Tigers were tied on the scoreboard early in the contest at 4-4 as Badgley scored the four points for McClain, while Hillsboro’s points came from Ryan Scott and Quintin Captain. Scott ended the game with 20 points, while Captain finished with seven points, including going 3-of-3 from the free-throw line.
After Badgley tied the score at 4-4 with 5:15 on the clock, McClain’s Lyle White took a charge.
Later in the first. Lawton Parry — who collected 10 points in the win — sank a 3-pointer with 3:40 on the clock for a 7-4 HHS advantage. The game-changing moment for McClain came with 2:52 left in the first frame when Badgley landed awkwardly, injuring his leg. Badgley was carried off the court and didn’t return for the rest of the game.
Following the game, McClain head coach Joe B. Stewart talked about Badgley.
“We were here to play a good game and thought we had a good game going with all the ingredients there, and Bryson looked good early,” Stewart said. “It is just one of those things we knew at some point in the season, be it fouls, the flu or whatever, that we were going to have to play without him for a while.
“To have him go down as emotionally as he did, that was a pretty major punch in the gut for our team, and Hillsboro, credit them, they jumped on us at that point in time, and that is where the basketball game was won. That said, we just hope for good health for Bryson moving forward.”
Hillsboro head coach Miles Burton also spoke about Badgley following the game.
“I hate seeing that (Badgley’s injury), and hopefully he’ll be back to go at some point this season,” Burton said. “You hate to see anybody go down, but especially as tough of a competitor as Bryson is. He’s a matchup problem, and we spent all week trying to figure out how we were going to try to slow him down and contain him. He got off to a good start, and I just hate it for him. I hope he returns and can play sooner rather than later.”
After play resumed in the first quarter, Scott swished a 3-pointer for HHS, then Hunter Price equaled the same feat for Hillsboro, leaving them in the lead at 13-4 when the first quarter came to a close.
HHS — who took advantage of some McClain turnovers — outscored the Tigers, 13-9 in the second quarter. HHS had five points from Scott in the frame, along with 3-pointers by Jakwon Clark and Parry, plus a two-point basket by Brad Miller, allowing the Indians to lead 26-13 when halftime arrived.
The Tigers had three points from Braden Wright and two points each from Preston Saunders, Kendyll Toney and Wes Potts in the second. Toney led the Tigers with 10 points.
“Without Bryson in there, Kendyll has a lot of the same attributes, but is just a year younger and left-handed,” Stewart said. “Kendyll had some good moments for us and needed to fill that spot for us, and he did a pretty good job.”
Again, in the third quarter, it was Hillsboro leading the way with a 13-10 scoring differential as they led 39-23 when the quarter came to a close.
“We shot the ball well, but we are tough to match up against in transition, especially when you don’t score and have to get back on defense,” Burton said. “When you’re scrambling and trying to find Ryan Scott, Lawton Parry and Jakwon (Clark), we are tough. I’m super proud of our guys’ effort, and shooting well helps.”
Toney scored first in the frame, cutting the Indians’ lead to 11 points, but Captain sank two baskets from the free-throw line to make it a 13-point lead for the Indians. MHS answered with a free throw made by Toney, plus two points from White, while HHS came back with two points from Scott with 4:00 on the third-quarter clock.
Following a full timeout by the Indians after the aforementioned basket, Potts scored a free throw for the Tigers, but the Indians were there with a jumper from Scott. Toney came back with a two-point basket in the paint for the Tigers, but after being fouled, it was Scott shooting three straight free throws and making all three attempts for an Indians lead of 35-21 with 2:37 remaining in the frame.
The Indians added another two points with a put-back basket by Clark, only to see White answer with a layup. The Indians scored the final two points of the third with a shot made by Price for the 16-point lead going into the fourth and final frame.
Hillsboro scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, while McClain added 11 points to their final total. Hillsboro’s points were from Nick Lewis with a 3-pointer, four points by Parry, three points from Captain, a 3-pointer off a shot by Scott and two points from Miller, as he connected with a jumper.
McClain had two 3-pointers by Isaac Carroll, three points by Toney and a two-point basket by Potts in the fourth frame.
Other Hillsboro final scoring included five points each from Clark and Price, four points by Miller and three points from Lewis.
McClain’s final scoring included Carroll (six), Potts (five), Badgley (four), White (four), Wright (three) and Saunders (two).
“It wasn’t a work of art, but our kids scratched and clawed, and it is under 10 seconds when some teams do the NBA thing where they pull the jersey out, but our guys were guarding the ball and played it our way and got another possession out of it,” Stewart said. “That is who these kids are. We took a punch, but the bottom line is we lost the ball game, but we didn’t go down.”
Miller, Parry and Clark unofficially each had five rebounds for the Indians, while Toney led McClain with nine rebounds. Potts and White each had four rebounds for the Tigers.
Next for McClain are back-to-back home game on Friday and Saturday night. On Friday (Jan. 22), the Tigers will host the Miami Trace Panthers in an FAC contest. Then, on Saturday (Jan. 23), McClain will take on the Circleville Tigers in non-conference action.
Hillsboro is scheduled to play again on Friday, Jan. 22 at home against the Jackson Ironmen. On Saturday, the Indians are scheduled for a non-conference home game against the Unioto Shermans.
The JV and freshmen teams did not play on Tuesday night.
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