Indians 'Chase' away Mustangs for upset win
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The word "resilient" and the Hillsboro Indians went hand in hand on Saturday night.
Why, you ask?
With 4:41 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Indians trailed by 17 points to the visiting Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs. By the time the final buzzer sounded, the Indians were celebrating with a victory.
The Indians (5-3) could have easily closed shop and gone on to the next game, but this team showed their potential on Saturday at HHS with an unbelievable rally that fans are sure to be talking about for years to come.
Don't think so? The Indians outscored the Mustangs, 31-14 in the fourth, and the final three points of those 31 came from Chase Reed, but more on that in a bit.
"'Resilience' is the word that comes to mind," HHS head coach Bruce Miles said. "Being down 17 with four minutes to go, it is a testament to their fight, their heart and their desire.
"They never got down. The shots weren't falling early, and they (LC) were making everything. I told the guys at halftime they were going to turn, and the shots would eventually would fall for us … and they did."
After a free throw by the Mustangs (6-4) with 4:41 left in the fourth, the Indians trailed 57-40.
Then something unexplainable happened, and the momentum began to swing for the Indians. The swing began with a 3-pointer from Marshall Ward, and those points were followed by a layup from Zach Young and a free throw by Alex Van Zant for a 57-46 deficit.
Van Zant led the Indians with 22 points, and Young followed with 15 points.
LC came back with a free throw from Devin Pierson (who led all scorers with 31 points), but the Indians were there to keep the momentum and get the crowd on their feet with a free throw following a technical on the Mustangs, and then a steal by Young near half court and pass to Van Zant, who slammed the ball through the hoop with great authority with 2:49 left in regulation.
That series of events left the Indians down by just six points, and they weren't finished, as Latrell Haithcock stole the ball and scored two points on a fast break for a 58-54 score.
Then it looked as though the Mustangs took control again with a 3-pointer from freshman Eric McLaughlin at the 2:18 mark of the fourth, which was answered by a three-point play from Young to make the Indians' deficit four points once again with 1:19 on the scoreboard.
McLaughlin, who finished with 10 points, made a layup with 55 seconds remaining, but Chase Reed began what was the final comeback by the Indians with a 3-pointer with 46.5 left in regulation for a 63-60 deficit.
Van Zant added a jumper at 30 seconds, and Pierson gave LC one point on a free throw with 17.7 on the clock. That was equaled by Haithcock with a conversion from the free-throw line for a one-point deficit, and LC's Zach Blankenship made it a two-point LC lead with a free throw with 9.1 left.
No sweat for Reed, as he came off the bench and sank another 3-pointer with the game on the line, having pressure in front of him, releasing the ball from the corner of the court for a 3-pointer just in front of the Indians' bench with 1.2 left on the clock to a deafening ovation from the Indians' fateful.
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"Chase hit one three ball earlier that sparked us and the game winner, but about Chase … last year on the JV team for me, he made a big shot over at East Clinton. He's done this before, but not quite like this at this level," Miles said. "I had all the confidence in the world, and he knocked it down for us."
Reed finished with 11 points.
The story for the Indians in that final quarter was they kept fighting.
"During timeouts, I just told them to keep fighting, to keep playing hard and they did that," Miles said. "Alex Van Zant did a great job on the press. Marshall Ward hit that big three for us. We just did a great job of getting to the basket under control. We started finishing shots and making free throws."
LC had one last opportunity for a basket, but the the inbounds pass was deflected by Van Zant to seal the win.
"This is probably the highlight for me as a coach," Miles said. "The fans were tremendous in that comeback, raising the level of our kids, but once again, I can't say enough about the heart, desire and determination they showed (Saturday)."
The first three quarters were all LC, with them leading 24-10 after the first quarter and 36-22 at halftime. Even after three quarters, LC led by 16 points at 51-35.
"Credit Hillsboro," LC head coach Matt Carson said. "It would have been very easy for them to throw the towel in when they were down 17, but we knew they weren't going to do that. They just kept chipping away, but for us, it is just mental toughness and poise.
"I thought we showed great mental toughness and poise for 27 minutes, but those last five minutes got away. I have to find a better way for our team to finish. As a coach, those end-of-the-game situations … that's on me. I have to find a way to not hang our heads and be confident.
"This will be a game where we can learn something from it. The only time something is negative is when you don't learn from it … we are going to learn from this."
Why, you ask?
With 4:41 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Indians trailed by 17 points to the visiting Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs. By the time the final buzzer sounded, the Indians were celebrating with a victory.
The Indians (5-3) could have easily closed shop and gone on to the next game, but this team showed their potential on Saturday at HHS with an unbelievable rally that fans are sure to be talking about for years to come.
Don't think so? The Indians outscored the Mustangs, 31-14 in the fourth, and the final three points of those 31 came from Chase Reed, but more on that in a bit.
"'Resilience' is the word that comes to mind," HHS head coach Bruce Miles said. "Being down 17 with four minutes to go, it is a testament to their fight, their heart and their desire.
"They never got down. The shots weren't falling early, and they (LC) were making everything. I told the guys at halftime they were going to turn, and the shots would eventually would fall for us … and they did."
After a free throw by the Mustangs (6-4) with 4:41 left in the fourth, the Indians trailed 57-40.
Then something unexplainable happened, and the momentum began to swing for the Indians. The swing began with a 3-pointer from Marshall Ward, and those points were followed by a layup from Zach Young and a free throw by Alex Van Zant for a 57-46 deficit.
Van Zant led the Indians with 22 points, and Young followed with 15 points.
LC came back with a free throw from Devin Pierson (who led all scorers with 31 points), but the Indians were there to keep the momentum and get the crowd on their feet with a free throw following a technical on the Mustangs, and then a steal by Young near half court and pass to Van Zant, who slammed the ball through the hoop with great authority with 2:49 left in regulation.
That series of events left the Indians down by just six points, and they weren't finished, as Latrell Haithcock stole the ball and scored two points on a fast break for a 58-54 score.
Then it looked as though the Mustangs took control again with a 3-pointer from freshman Eric McLaughlin at the 2:18 mark of the fourth, which was answered by a three-point play from Young to make the Indians' deficit four points once again with 1:19 on the scoreboard.
McLaughlin, who finished with 10 points, made a layup with 55 seconds remaining, but Chase Reed began what was the final comeback by the Indians with a 3-pointer with 46.5 left in regulation for a 63-60 deficit.
Van Zant added a jumper at 30 seconds, and Pierson gave LC one point on a free throw with 17.7 on the clock. That was equaled by Haithcock with a conversion from the free-throw line for a one-point deficit, and LC's Zach Blankenship made it a two-point LC lead with a free throw with 9.1 left.
No sweat for Reed, as he came off the bench and sank another 3-pointer with the game on the line, having pressure in front of him, releasing the ball from the corner of the court for a 3-pointer just in front of the Indians' bench with 1.2 left on the clock to a deafening ovation from the Indians' fateful.
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"Chase hit one three ball earlier that sparked us and the game winner, but about Chase … last year on the JV team for me, he made a big shot over at East Clinton. He's done this before, but not quite like this at this level," Miles said. "I had all the confidence in the world, and he knocked it down for us."
Reed finished with 11 points.
The story for the Indians in that final quarter was they kept fighting.
"During timeouts, I just told them to keep fighting, to keep playing hard and they did that," Miles said. "Alex Van Zant did a great job on the press. Marshall Ward hit that big three for us. We just did a great job of getting to the basket under control. We started finishing shots and making free throws."
LC had one last opportunity for a basket, but the the inbounds pass was deflected by Van Zant to seal the win.
"This is probably the highlight for me as a coach," Miles said. "The fans were tremendous in that comeback, raising the level of our kids, but once again, I can't say enough about the heart, desire and determination they showed (Saturday)."
The first three quarters were all LC, with them leading 24-10 after the first quarter and 36-22 at halftime. Even after three quarters, LC led by 16 points at 51-35.
"Credit Hillsboro," LC head coach Matt Carson said. "It would have been very easy for them to throw the towel in when they were down 17, but we knew they weren't going to do that. They just kept chipping away, but for us, it is just mental toughness and poise.
"I thought we showed great mental toughness and poise for 27 minutes, but those last five minutes got away. I have to find a better way for our team to finish. As a coach, those end-of-the-game situations … that's on me. I have to find a way to not hang our heads and be confident.
"This will be a game where we can learn something from it. The only time something is negative is when you don't learn from it … we are going to learn from this."