Indians lose to Blue Lions in sectional semifinal

RICHMOND DALE — The Hillsboro Indians played a very close first frame with their South Central Ohio League counterpart, the Washington Blue Lions, on Wednesday evening during their Division II SE District sectional semifinal game.

Though they trailed by just six points when the first quarter came to a close, the rest of the game was tough on the Indians, the away team on the scoreboard, as they eventually lost by a 72-37 score, seeing their season come to a close at Southeastern High School.

The Indians finish the season at 8-16 overall, while the Blue Lions improve to 17-6 as they move on to the sectional final game on Saturday when they face Fayette County rival, Miami Trace at SEHS.

“Turnovers were the difference of the game,” HHS head coach Bruce Miles said. “We had a tough night, but Marshall (Ward) did some good things for us. He took care of the ball, but obviously turnovers were the difference.

“A turnover leads to an easy bucket, and that was the story of the night for us. Our guys got in that big hole, and we got down early in the second quarter, and we had to call a timeout to regroup. We talked at halftime that it was going to take one possession and try to whittle it down, but we had a tough night both offensively and defensively.”

Hillsboro was the first to score in the postseason game with a free throw by Phillip Mycroft (who totaled eight points), and following a jumper by the Blue Lions, the Indians regained the lead with a layup by Mycroft with 6:23 on the first-quarter clock.

Washington, who won all three meetings with HHS this season, later built a 6-3 lead, and once they did, they never relinquished that advantage, with HHS getting to within a point of the top spot following a layup by Marshall Ward with 5:20 left in the opening frame. Ward led the Indians with 10 points.

Those points were answered with a 6-0 run by Washington, and that was stopped by Logan Kibler with a jumper, leaving 2:35 left in the first frame. HHS cut the Washington lead to two points with a three-point play by Mycroft, but the Blue Lions added to their lead by outscoring HHS, 6-2 in the final 1:55 of the opening quarter for the 18-12 lead.

Washington outscored the Indians, who were the visiting team on the scoreboard, with a 22-point quarter, while holding HHS to just nine points for the 40-21 halftime advantage.

“We didn’t shoot well, and we knew we’d have to shoot well to defeat a talented team like Washington,” Miles said.

For the Indians, their points came from Ward, Mycroft and DJ Brown in the second frame, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Brown, who finished with nine points.

From the 5:05 mark of the second until the around a minute left in the quarter, Washington went on a 14-0 run. WSHS had three players already in double-figure scoring once the first half came to a close.

The second half was all Blue Lions, with them outscoring HHS, 17-8 in the third and 15-8 in the fourth frame. Away from play in the second half, a total of six fans were ejected, unofficially.

Washington was led in scoring by Connor Eckles with 20 points, followed by Garrett Shaw with 19 points. Also in double-figure scoring for the Blue Lions were Max Knisley with 16 points and Jarrett Patton with 10 points.

Also scoring points for the Indians were Josh Keets (2) and Matthew Ryan (4). At the free-throw line, the Indians finished 12-of-22, and Washington was 17-of-27. The Blue Lions also finished with four 3-pointers.

Seniors for the Indians in their final game were Logan Kibler, Jacob DeAtley, DJ Brown and manager Josh Ford.

“Those seniors … we wish those guys the best,” Miles said. “I know this isn’t how they wanted their careers to end, but they were a huge part of this program. They all worked their tails off to get better. DJ was a three-year starter and logged a lot of minutes.

“I have to talk about my manager Josh Ford … he’s been around for a long time filming the games, getting the basketballs ready, getting the court ready. I wish every kid had the spirit Josh has in life. He’s always positive and taking the bright outlook on life, and he’s made a huge impact.”