Hillsboro Indians earn 12th consecutive win by defeating rival McClain
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — From the opening eight minutes until the final buzzer sounded, the Hillsboro Indians were lights-out with their shooting, and the 17-point first frame by the Indians on the road not only helped lead them to a 24-point win over rival McClain, but the Indians continued to stay in the driver’s seat for a Frontier Athletic Conference championship.
Hillsboro defeated the host McClain Tigers, 71-47 on Saturday night at McClain High School, sweeping the regular season series, and in the process earned their 12th consecutive win, moving their overall record to 16-2 overall on the season, with an 8-1 record in the FAC.
The Indians have one conference game remaining this regular season, as they are scheduled to play in a makeup game on Saturday, Feb. 13 at Miami Trace. A win guarantees the Indians no less than a co-FAC championship. The last conference championship the Indians won was during the 2011-12 season as members of the now-defunct South Central Ohio League.
“Our guys are playing excellent right now, and I think top to bottom that might have been our most complete basketball game,” Hillsboro head coach Miles Burton said. “There are still things we can clean up, but what we are talking about is we are beginning to peak, at close to the right time. We aren’t there yet. Early on in this run of 12 games we had good quarters, more recently we had good halves, and tonight we came closer and closer to putting together a complete game.
“I’m super proud of these guys … they are tired. It is three games a week for five straight weeks, playing a ton of minutes, and they battled though. I’m proud of the way our guys came out of both halves, and it is encouraging moving forward because we have a big week coming up. Credit McClain too, they are a good team.”
Getting to that point for next Saturday meant this Saturday the Indians needed to come out strong and play at a very high standard against their Highland County and conference rival. The Indians did just that and more, as they led 17-4 at the end of the first quarter.
The Indians’ strong start saw them jump out to a 7-0 lead less than 2:00 into the game as Ryan Scott sank a basket in the paint, and after a McClain turnover, Jakwon Clark knocked down a 3-pointer at the 6:57 mark for a five-point lead. The Indians regained possession of the ball as Scott had a steal and fast break to the hoop for the seven-point lead with 6:45 still on the clock.
For the game, the Indians totaled 14 3-pointers, and Scott was the leading scorer with 23 points as he made five 3-pointers and four two-point baskets.
“Ryan is an animal and had an excellent game,” Burton said. “You should see what he does in practice, and he still has another level that I’m confident we’ll see at some point this season.”
McClain broke up the scoring spree by Hillsboro with a jumper from Camden Closson, but the Indians responded with a jumper by Brad Miller after he grabbed a rebound, plus another two points by Miller at the 4:20 mark for a 11-2 lead, forcing McClain to call a timeout.
As the first frame continued, the Indians saw Scott pick up the loose basketball and shoot a 3-pointer at the top of the key for a 14-2 Hillsboro lead with 3:31 left in the opening frame. McClain scored two points off a basket by Braden Wright — who finished with eight points and eight rebounds — but HHS closed out the first-quarter scoring with another 3-pointer by Scott for a 17-4 lead.
For the game, the Indians totaled 14 3-pointers, and Scott was the leading scorer with 23 points as he made five 3-pointers and four two-point baskets.
“Obviously a start like that not only discourages us in that moment, but also the fact that preparation went into it, but (Hillsboro) just owned the first quarter, and that pretty much set the tone for it,” McClain head coach Joe B. Stewart said. “Long story short, I believe we may have well had teams come in here and play better, but we haven’t come in here and shot quite like Hillsboro did tonight. Their misses even bounced in.
“They are playing free and easy, and they were in the flow. We tried some things to try and get them out of that flow, and everything did in a positive nature and answer for. It was Hillsboro’s night, they have a great team and will probably win the league, and they are a very representative league champion that has a chance to keep playing for a while.”
McClain scored the first four points of the second frame with baskets by Wright and Wesley Potts, but HHS added to their lead for a 19-8 score after Hunter Price sank a bucket with the assist off a pass by Quintin Captain. Price finished the game with 13 points, while Captain scored seven points for the Indians.
Closson answered with a basket for the Tigers, but the Indians responded with a 3-pointer by Lawton Parry with 4:37 on the scoreboard for a 22-10 Indians advantage. Parry finished with nine points. Closson led the Tigers with 17 points for the game. The senior totaled six two-point baskets, one 3-pointer and was 2-of-4 from the free-throw line.
“Camden had a career-high in scoring, and I told the kids it wasn’t about just the shots Camden had go in, it was he had a focus throughout the entire game,” Stewart said. “He struggled early, and after he sat down a little bit he came back in and just played super. He brought the eye of a Tiger with him. In the midst of a night that didn’t go our way, it wasn’t without effort.”
McClain — who had 18 first-half turnovers — came back with two points by Wright, but the Indians again were on point from beyond the arc as Price made a 3-pointer with the clock reading 3:46 for a 25-12 HHS lead. The Indians then added two points from Captain, while MHS responded with a layup by Potts, still leaving the Indians in front by 13 points. Potts totaled nine points in the game, while also having five rebounds.
At the 1:31 mark of the second it was Coltin Hunter sinking a 3-pointer for HHS, but Potts had a trey of his own for the Tigers, as Hillsboro led 30-17 with 1:16 left in the first half. Price scored two more points, while Preston Saunders of McClain equaled the feat late in the second frame. The final three points of the first half came when Hunter sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 35-19 lead for the Indians when halftime arrived. Hunter totaled six points in the victory for HHS.
“Quintin is tough, and a tough matchup across the board, and our size inside,” Burton said. “I thought Brad Miller was excellent, and Coltin Hunter played huge minutes and dominated the glass. He hit a couple big shots. Also, Hunter Price was an animal as well. He is a matchup nightmare across the board.
“We also had Lawton Parry and Jakwon Clark, who are X-factors for us. They can explode for 20 points for us at any given night, and the defense was excellent from them (Saturday). We are tough, and when we are getting stops and pitching the ball out on the floor in transition with all the skill players have, we are a tough matchup.”
McClain’s Coach Stewart spoke about having too many turnovers. For the game, the Tigers totaled 22 turnovers, while Hillsboro had 14 turnovers.
“We had 18 turnovers in the first half and far too much. That’s not who we are,” Stewart said. “The goal is 18-percent turnovers, and when we are under that we win 90 percent of the time. This is a night when we were not under that number, so as a result it was Hillsboro’s game and they played awfully well. They deserved it tonight.”
HHS outscored the Tigers 20-17 in the third quarter, as for HHS they had a three 3-pointer from Scott in the frame, while Captain sank a 3-pointer and two-point basket. Also in the third quarter for HHS, Miller scored two points, and Price hit a free throw. McClain had a 3-pointer by Saunders, five points by Closson (including a 3-pointer) and seven points were scored by Kendyll Toney in the third quarter.
Toney had his points off two two-point baskets and a 3-pointer in the third, and for the game he also collected seven rebounds. Also in the third for the Tigers was two points from Potts.
HHS won the fourth frame at 19-11, with the Indians having two 3-pointer by Parry, a 3-pointer and two made free throws by Price, four points off two baskets by Scott, and scoring two points each in the fourth frame were Miller and Jayse Middleton. Miller totaled eight points in the win, while also having six rebounds.
McClain had eight of their 11 points from Closson, while Wright made two free throws and Chris Starkey made one free throw in the fourth quarter.
For the game, the Indians totaled 13 two-point baskets, the aforementioned 14 3-pointers, and they were 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. McClain as a team totaled 15 two-point baskets, four 3-pointers, and they were 5-of-13 from the free-throw line.
Next for McClain is another FAC game on Feb. 9 at Chillicothe.
In the JV game on Saturday, McClain defeated Hillsboro, 47-39. MHS was led by Evann Mischal with 23 points. HHS was led by Bryce Parsons with 15 points.
In the freshman game, the MHS Tigers won by a 48–22 score over Hillsboro. McClain was led by Stapleton with 17 points, while for Hillsboro, their leading scorer was Jordan Keets with eight points.
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Hillsboro defeated the host McClain Tigers, 71-47 on Saturday night at McClain High School, sweeping the regular season series, and in the process earned their 12th consecutive win, moving their overall record to 16-2 overall on the season, with an 8-1 record in the FAC.
The Indians have one conference game remaining this regular season, as they are scheduled to play in a makeup game on Saturday, Feb. 13 at Miami Trace. A win guarantees the Indians no less than a co-FAC championship. The last conference championship the Indians won was during the 2011-12 season as members of the now-defunct South Central Ohio League.
“Our guys are playing excellent right now, and I think top to bottom that might have been our most complete basketball game,” Hillsboro head coach Miles Burton said. “There are still things we can clean up, but what we are talking about is we are beginning to peak, at close to the right time. We aren’t there yet. Early on in this run of 12 games we had good quarters, more recently we had good halves, and tonight we came closer and closer to putting together a complete game.
“I’m super proud of these guys … they are tired. It is three games a week for five straight weeks, playing a ton of minutes, and they battled though. I’m proud of the way our guys came out of both halves, and it is encouraging moving forward because we have a big week coming up. Credit McClain too, they are a good team.”
Getting to that point for next Saturday meant this Saturday the Indians needed to come out strong and play at a very high standard against their Highland County and conference rival. The Indians did just that and more, as they led 17-4 at the end of the first quarter.
The Indians’ strong start saw them jump out to a 7-0 lead less than 2:00 into the game as Ryan Scott sank a basket in the paint, and after a McClain turnover, Jakwon Clark knocked down a 3-pointer at the 6:57 mark for a five-point lead. The Indians regained possession of the ball as Scott had a steal and fast break to the hoop for the seven-point lead with 6:45 still on the clock.
For the game, the Indians totaled 14 3-pointers, and Scott was the leading scorer with 23 points as he made five 3-pointers and four two-point baskets.
“Ryan is an animal and had an excellent game,” Burton said. “You should see what he does in practice, and he still has another level that I’m confident we’ll see at some point this season.”
McClain broke up the scoring spree by Hillsboro with a jumper from Camden Closson, but the Indians responded with a jumper by Brad Miller after he grabbed a rebound, plus another two points by Miller at the 4:20 mark for a 11-2 lead, forcing McClain to call a timeout.
As the first frame continued, the Indians saw Scott pick up the loose basketball and shoot a 3-pointer at the top of the key for a 14-2 Hillsboro lead with 3:31 left in the opening frame. McClain scored two points off a basket by Braden Wright — who finished with eight points and eight rebounds — but HHS closed out the first-quarter scoring with another 3-pointer by Scott for a 17-4 lead.
For the game, the Indians totaled 14 3-pointers, and Scott was the leading scorer with 23 points as he made five 3-pointers and four two-point baskets.
“Obviously a start like that not only discourages us in that moment, but also the fact that preparation went into it, but (Hillsboro) just owned the first quarter, and that pretty much set the tone for it,” McClain head coach Joe B. Stewart said. “Long story short, I believe we may have well had teams come in here and play better, but we haven’t come in here and shot quite like Hillsboro did tonight. Their misses even bounced in.
“They are playing free and easy, and they were in the flow. We tried some things to try and get them out of that flow, and everything did in a positive nature and answer for. It was Hillsboro’s night, they have a great team and will probably win the league, and they are a very representative league champion that has a chance to keep playing for a while.”
McClain scored the first four points of the second frame with baskets by Wright and Wesley Potts, but HHS added to their lead for a 19-8 score after Hunter Price sank a bucket with the assist off a pass by Quintin Captain. Price finished the game with 13 points, while Captain scored seven points for the Indians.
Closson answered with a basket for the Tigers, but the Indians responded with a 3-pointer by Lawton Parry with 4:37 on the scoreboard for a 22-10 Indians advantage. Parry finished with nine points. Closson led the Tigers with 17 points for the game. The senior totaled six two-point baskets, one 3-pointer and was 2-of-4 from the free-throw line.
“Camden had a career-high in scoring, and I told the kids it wasn’t about just the shots Camden had go in, it was he had a focus throughout the entire game,” Stewart said. “He struggled early, and after he sat down a little bit he came back in and just played super. He brought the eye of a Tiger with him. In the midst of a night that didn’t go our way, it wasn’t without effort.”
McClain — who had 18 first-half turnovers — came back with two points by Wright, but the Indians again were on point from beyond the arc as Price made a 3-pointer with the clock reading 3:46 for a 25-12 HHS lead. The Indians then added two points from Captain, while MHS responded with a layup by Potts, still leaving the Indians in front by 13 points. Potts totaled nine points in the game, while also having five rebounds.
At the 1:31 mark of the second it was Coltin Hunter sinking a 3-pointer for HHS, but Potts had a trey of his own for the Tigers, as Hillsboro led 30-17 with 1:16 left in the first half. Price scored two more points, while Preston Saunders of McClain equaled the feat late in the second frame. The final three points of the first half came when Hunter sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 35-19 lead for the Indians when halftime arrived. Hunter totaled six points in the victory for HHS.
“Quintin is tough, and a tough matchup across the board, and our size inside,” Burton said. “I thought Brad Miller was excellent, and Coltin Hunter played huge minutes and dominated the glass. He hit a couple big shots. Also, Hunter Price was an animal as well. He is a matchup nightmare across the board.
“We also had Lawton Parry and Jakwon Clark, who are X-factors for us. They can explode for 20 points for us at any given night, and the defense was excellent from them (Saturday). We are tough, and when we are getting stops and pitching the ball out on the floor in transition with all the skill players have, we are a tough matchup.”
McClain’s Coach Stewart spoke about having too many turnovers. For the game, the Tigers totaled 22 turnovers, while Hillsboro had 14 turnovers.
“We had 18 turnovers in the first half and far too much. That’s not who we are,” Stewart said. “The goal is 18-percent turnovers, and when we are under that we win 90 percent of the time. This is a night when we were not under that number, so as a result it was Hillsboro’s game and they played awfully well. They deserved it tonight.”
HHS outscored the Tigers 20-17 in the third quarter, as for HHS they had a three 3-pointer from Scott in the frame, while Captain sank a 3-pointer and two-point basket. Also in the third quarter for HHS, Miller scored two points, and Price hit a free throw. McClain had a 3-pointer by Saunders, five points by Closson (including a 3-pointer) and seven points were scored by Kendyll Toney in the third quarter.
Toney had his points off two two-point baskets and a 3-pointer in the third, and for the game he also collected seven rebounds. Also in the third for the Tigers was two points from Potts.
HHS won the fourth frame at 19-11, with the Indians having two 3-pointer by Parry, a 3-pointer and two made free throws by Price, four points off two baskets by Scott, and scoring two points each in the fourth frame were Miller and Jayse Middleton. Miller totaled eight points in the win, while also having six rebounds.
McClain had eight of their 11 points from Closson, while Wright made two free throws and Chris Starkey made one free throw in the fourth quarter.
For the game, the Indians totaled 13 two-point baskets, the aforementioned 14 3-pointers, and they were 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. McClain as a team totaled 15 two-point baskets, four 3-pointers, and they were 5-of-13 from the free-throw line.
Next for McClain is another FAC game on Feb. 9 at Chillicothe.
In the JV game on Saturday, McClain defeated Hillsboro, 47-39. MHS was led by Evann Mischal with 23 points. HHS was led by Bryce Parsons with 15 points.
In the freshman game, the MHS Tigers won by a 48–22 score over Hillsboro. McClain was led by Stapleton with 17 points, while for Hillsboro, their leading scorer was Jordan Keets with eight points.
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