Hillsboro Indians fend off Blanchester for non-conference win
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
HILLSBORO – Tuesday night for the Hillsboro Indians saw them win by 18 points over the visiting Blanchester Wildcats, but at times in the second quarter that wasn’t the case. After being ahead by as many as 12 points, the Indians saw Blanchester take the lead away, only for Hillsboro to settle down and defend their home court for a 69-51 advantage.
Hillsboro’s non-conference win began with Ethan Parry showcasing his shooting abilities as he scored the first seven points of the game for the Indians, including sinking two 3-pointers to energize the Tribe, putting the Indians ahead 7-1 less than a minute into the game.
“I was really happy with how we played offensively, especially with the fact that we hadn’t seen that much zone all year long, so I was proud of the way we executed offensively,” HHS head coach Miles Burton said. “That was our focus (Monday) when we prepared, and I think it showed we didn’t focus enough on the defensive end. Give Blanchester credit, they executed well offensively, but we definitely have some things we need to pick up on that side of the floor if we want to stay in contention for an FAC championship.”
After four points by Blanchester’s Bryce Sipple, the Indians responded by scoring seven of the next nine points on the scoreboard, with Quintin Captain sinking a 3-pointer and a two-point basket, plus Parry scoring two points in the paint for a 14-7 Indians advantage with 4:31 left in the opening frame.
Parry finished as the co-leading scorer with 19 points, totaling four 3-pointers for the game (all in the first half), along with finishing 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. He also collected two two-point baskets in the win.
“Ethan works on improving his game, and he’s scoring north of 15 points per game, and for someone who has never played any meaningful varsity before this season, that’s a pretty drastic jump to me,” Burton said. “He works at it … and I don’t just mean he works hard at practice, but he shows up an hour and a half before practice, is drenched in sweat before practice starts and is the last one to leave the gym after practice.
“He’s a one-of-one. I’ve never coached another Ethan Parry, and he works incredibly hard. This is just the tip of the iceberg for him, and he’s poised for a big second half.”
Hillsboro continued to add to their lead with two made free throws by Hunter Price, a bucket by Bryce Parsons and a third 3-pointer in the quarter by Parry at the 2:24 mark of the quarter, increasing the HHS advantage to 12 points.
Price was the other co-leader in scoring for the Indians with 19 points for the game, collecting four two-point baskets, one 3-pointer and he was 8-of-9 in his attempts from the free-throw line.
“What Hunter is doing this year is not easy. It is not something I’ve really seen done at other places with a lot of success,” Burton said. “Hunter as a freshman was a starting forward, and even last year played in the post for us, and he was hurt all summer, except for one game on June 3rd, and I didn’t see him play again until October.
“He was still in the gym getting shots up, and to make that transformation to be in charge of playmaking like he has is hard to do, plus doing everything he does, and he’s at the top of every scouting report. Hunter Price is a heck of a basketball player.”
Parsons finished with 16 points for the Indians, ending with five two-point baskets, and he was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
“I’m super happy for Bryce, and talk about a thankless job, guarding guys stronger than him on a nightly basis, being asked execute specific game plans, to switch out on guards,” Burton said. “He’s really improved, and he’s grown up as a basketball player and a young adult. I’m very happy with the progressions made by Bryce, and it is just the beginning, and like with Ethan, I’m very excited to see what his second half entails.”
The Wildcats scored four more points in the quarter, while HHS added two free-throw conversions from Parsons for a 23-13 first-quarter score.
Both teams scored 23 points each in the second quarter, including the Wildcats battling back from trailing by 12 points to taking a short lead with 3:32 left in the second frame off a jumper from Gabe McVay for a 32-30 Blanchester lead.
From that point on, the Indians tied the score at 34 with two shots made from the free-throw line by Price, followed by regaining the lead with 2:35 left in the frame following a 3-pointer by Price for a 37-34 advantage.
From there, HHS outscored Blanchester, 9-2 for a halftime lead of 46-36. In that 9-2 run for HHS, Parsons scored a basket, and Price followed with two points of his own with 1:02 on the clock. Price continued to score points, as the first half concluded with two more free-throw conversions and a three-point play with six seconds left in the quarter, pushing the Indians’ lead to 10 points at halftime. Price was 5-of-5 from the free-throw line in the second quarter.
In the second half, HHS took control of the game by outscoring the Wildcats 11-6 in the third quarter and 12-9 in the fourth frame.
HHS in the third had two points from Parry, and Captain (who totaled nine points in the win) also scored two points in the same quarter. Jayse Middleton also sank a basket in the third for the Indians, while Parsons made two free throws and Price had three points in the frame.
In the fourth quarter for Hillsboro, their 12 points were scored by a basket from Tate Davis, a bucket in the paint by Canaan Griffith, two free throws by Captain and six points from Parsons, as he made two baskets and two free throws.
As for Blanchester, they were led in scoring for the game by Brison Lucas with 21 points, while McVay finished with 11 points. The rest of the final scoring for the Wildcats included Sipple (eight), Zach West (two), Nolan Wood (three) and Andrew Osburn (six).
For the game, Blanchester was 11-of-14 from the free-throw line with 17 two-point baskets and two 3-pointers, as they were made by McVay and Wood.
HHS finished 19-of-22 from the free-throw line with 16 two-point baskets and six 3-pointers.
In JV action, the Wildcats defeated Hillsboro 36-35. For the Indians, they were led in scoring by Nic Burns with 17 points. Next for HHS were Garrett Thompson and Tate Davis with four points each. Scoring three points each were Brogen Priest and Nick Turner. The rest of the JV scoring included Steven Kibler with two points and Deegan Bloomfield with two points.
In the freshman game, Blanchester won by a 20-12 score in a two-quarter game. Brayden Hunter and Dylan Dixon each finished with six points for Hillsboro.
Next for Hillsboro is an away Frontier Athletic Conference (FAC) game on the road on Friday, Jan. 7 at Miami Trace. Earlier this season the Indians defeated the MT Panthers, 66-48 at HHS on Dec. 3.
The win moves the Indians to 6-5 overall, as they are 3-2 in the FAC.
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Hillsboro’s non-conference win began with Ethan Parry showcasing his shooting abilities as he scored the first seven points of the game for the Indians, including sinking two 3-pointers to energize the Tribe, putting the Indians ahead 7-1 less than a minute into the game.
“I was really happy with how we played offensively, especially with the fact that we hadn’t seen that much zone all year long, so I was proud of the way we executed offensively,” HHS head coach Miles Burton said. “That was our focus (Monday) when we prepared, and I think it showed we didn’t focus enough on the defensive end. Give Blanchester credit, they executed well offensively, but we definitely have some things we need to pick up on that side of the floor if we want to stay in contention for an FAC championship.”
After four points by Blanchester’s Bryce Sipple, the Indians responded by scoring seven of the next nine points on the scoreboard, with Quintin Captain sinking a 3-pointer and a two-point basket, plus Parry scoring two points in the paint for a 14-7 Indians advantage with 4:31 left in the opening frame.
Parry finished as the co-leading scorer with 19 points, totaling four 3-pointers for the game (all in the first half), along with finishing 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. He also collected two two-point baskets in the win.
“Ethan works on improving his game, and he’s scoring north of 15 points per game, and for someone who has never played any meaningful varsity before this season, that’s a pretty drastic jump to me,” Burton said. “He works at it … and I don’t just mean he works hard at practice, but he shows up an hour and a half before practice, is drenched in sweat before practice starts and is the last one to leave the gym after practice.
“He’s a one-of-one. I’ve never coached another Ethan Parry, and he works incredibly hard. This is just the tip of the iceberg for him, and he’s poised for a big second half.”
Hillsboro continued to add to their lead with two made free throws by Hunter Price, a bucket by Bryce Parsons and a third 3-pointer in the quarter by Parry at the 2:24 mark of the quarter, increasing the HHS advantage to 12 points.
Price was the other co-leader in scoring for the Indians with 19 points for the game, collecting four two-point baskets, one 3-pointer and he was 8-of-9 in his attempts from the free-throw line.
“What Hunter is doing this year is not easy. It is not something I’ve really seen done at other places with a lot of success,” Burton said. “Hunter as a freshman was a starting forward, and even last year played in the post for us, and he was hurt all summer, except for one game on June 3rd, and I didn’t see him play again until October.
“He was still in the gym getting shots up, and to make that transformation to be in charge of playmaking like he has is hard to do, plus doing everything he does, and he’s at the top of every scouting report. Hunter Price is a heck of a basketball player.”
Parsons finished with 16 points for the Indians, ending with five two-point baskets, and he was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
“I’m super happy for Bryce, and talk about a thankless job, guarding guys stronger than him on a nightly basis, being asked execute specific game plans, to switch out on guards,” Burton said. “He’s really improved, and he’s grown up as a basketball player and a young adult. I’m very happy with the progressions made by Bryce, and it is just the beginning, and like with Ethan, I’m very excited to see what his second half entails.”
The Wildcats scored four more points in the quarter, while HHS added two free-throw conversions from Parsons for a 23-13 first-quarter score.
Both teams scored 23 points each in the second quarter, including the Wildcats battling back from trailing by 12 points to taking a short lead with 3:32 left in the second frame off a jumper from Gabe McVay for a 32-30 Blanchester lead.
From that point on, the Indians tied the score at 34 with two shots made from the free-throw line by Price, followed by regaining the lead with 2:35 left in the frame following a 3-pointer by Price for a 37-34 advantage.
From there, HHS outscored Blanchester, 9-2 for a halftime lead of 46-36. In that 9-2 run for HHS, Parsons scored a basket, and Price followed with two points of his own with 1:02 on the clock. Price continued to score points, as the first half concluded with two more free-throw conversions and a three-point play with six seconds left in the quarter, pushing the Indians’ lead to 10 points at halftime. Price was 5-of-5 from the free-throw line in the second quarter.
In the second half, HHS took control of the game by outscoring the Wildcats 11-6 in the third quarter and 12-9 in the fourth frame.
HHS in the third had two points from Parry, and Captain (who totaled nine points in the win) also scored two points in the same quarter. Jayse Middleton also sank a basket in the third for the Indians, while Parsons made two free throws and Price had three points in the frame.
In the fourth quarter for Hillsboro, their 12 points were scored by a basket from Tate Davis, a bucket in the paint by Canaan Griffith, two free throws by Captain and six points from Parsons, as he made two baskets and two free throws.
As for Blanchester, they were led in scoring for the game by Brison Lucas with 21 points, while McVay finished with 11 points. The rest of the final scoring for the Wildcats included Sipple (eight), Zach West (two), Nolan Wood (three) and Andrew Osburn (six).
For the game, Blanchester was 11-of-14 from the free-throw line with 17 two-point baskets and two 3-pointers, as they were made by McVay and Wood.
HHS finished 19-of-22 from the free-throw line with 16 two-point baskets and six 3-pointers.
In JV action, the Wildcats defeated Hillsboro 36-35. For the Indians, they were led in scoring by Nic Burns with 17 points. Next for HHS were Garrett Thompson and Tate Davis with four points each. Scoring three points each were Brogen Priest and Nick Turner. The rest of the JV scoring included Steven Kibler with two points and Deegan Bloomfield with two points.
In the freshman game, Blanchester won by a 20-12 score in a two-quarter game. Brayden Hunter and Dylan Dixon each finished with six points for Hillsboro.
Next for Hillsboro is an away Frontier Athletic Conference (FAC) game on the road on Friday, Jan. 7 at Miami Trace. Earlier this season the Indians defeated the MT Panthers, 66-48 at HHS on Dec. 3.
The win moves the Indians to 6-5 overall, as they are 3-2 in the FAC.
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