Indians see season close against Minford
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
CHILLICOTHE — The Hillsboro Indians did everything in their power to gain the upset of the Division II SE District Sectional round on Tuesday night against the No. 2 seeded Minford Falcons, but they came up just short in their pursuit of moving on in the postseason.
In their sectional semifinal game at Southeastern High School, the Indians (a No. 7 seed) went from trailing by 12 points in the second frame to tying the score in the fourth, but they ultimately came up just three points short of a victory, falling to the Falcons, 52-49.
After trailing by a 27-15 score at halftime, the Indians (7-15) began their rally by cutting the Falcons' lead in half to just six points at the conclusion of the third, with the quarter ending with D.J. Brown sinking a shot with 37 seconds left in the quarter for a 37-31 deficit. Brown finished with 14 points.
Then the Indians really turned up the heat on the Falcons, with senior Zach Young leaving it all on the court in the final eight minutes. Young began the fourth with a 3-pointer from the corner at the 6:49 mark of the quarter to make it a three-point deficit.
Near the same spot on the court, around the 6:00 mark, Young (who led HHS with 18 points) stepped up for the Tribe with another 3-pointer, tying the score at 37.
[[In-content Ad]]"It was an awesome job by our guys," HHS head coach Bruce Miles said of the Indians' comeback. "We made some adjustments, and I really feel our kids really came out and executed in the second half.
"Our pressure led to a lot of turnovers for us, and we turned those turnovers into easy baskets on the other end."
Miles spoke about the barrage of 3-pointers by Young, along with the play of Young's teammates as well.
"Zach did an awesome job of hitting some huge shots for us down the stretch," he said. "Alex Van Zant and D.J. Brown made some huge shots for us as well and got us back into the game."
Minford answered with two free throws to take the lead, but Young for the third time hit a shot from beyond the arc with 5:14 left in regulation, giving the Indians the lead at 40-39.
The Falcons came back with seven-straight points to move ahead, 46-40, leaving just 3:35 on the clock. As the quarter progressed, Brown and Latrell Haithcock each added points to the HHS total to eventually bring the Indians back to within one point of the Minford lead with 16.1 seconds on the scoreboard.
MHS then threw the ball out of bounds, giving HHS a shot at tying or winning the game, but with around 13 seconds remaining, a shot off a toss from an inbounds pass didn't fall for the Indians.
After gaining the rebound on the missed shot, the Falcons went ahead by three points after converting two free throws after being fouled with 12.1 seconds on the clock.
Young made it a one-point game by making one of three free throws, but with HHS, again, trailing by three points, one final shot at the buzzer was missed by the Indians, seeing their season come to a close.
Getting to the close ending of the game wasn't easy for the Indians. In fact, the first quarter saw them trail by a 14-9 score, with their points coming from Alex Van Zant, Brown, Haithcock and Young. Van Zant finished with 11 points, and Haithcock totaled six points.
In the second, the Indians ended what was a 7-0 run by the Falcons with Young sinking a jumper at the 7:01 mark of the quarter, as HHS then trailed by a 19-11 score.
Also in the second, Brown added points to the Indians' side for the aforementioned deficit of 12 points after two quarters.
For HHS, they will say goodbye to six seniors in Trey Moberly, Young, Jacob Aber, Van Zant, Haithcock and Chase Reed.
"I want to thank the seniors," Miles said. "Those guys … brought a lot to our program over the years … they've been a joy to coach over the years, and we wish them the best in their futures and thank them for their contributions to our program."
Miles had one final word for the fans of the Indians.
"I want to thank the fans for their support all season," he said. "We fed off them and appreciate their energy (Tuesday)."
Leading MHS in scoring was Brandon Rowe with 15 points, while teammates Kenton Gullion totaled 13 points and Trey Kelley finished with 12 points.
Minford will play in the sectional championship game on Friday night at SEHS, facing Circleville, who defeated McClain, 42-38.
In their sectional semifinal game at Southeastern High School, the Indians (a No. 7 seed) went from trailing by 12 points in the second frame to tying the score in the fourth, but they ultimately came up just three points short of a victory, falling to the Falcons, 52-49.
After trailing by a 27-15 score at halftime, the Indians (7-15) began their rally by cutting the Falcons' lead in half to just six points at the conclusion of the third, with the quarter ending with D.J. Brown sinking a shot with 37 seconds left in the quarter for a 37-31 deficit. Brown finished with 14 points.
Then the Indians really turned up the heat on the Falcons, with senior Zach Young leaving it all on the court in the final eight minutes. Young began the fourth with a 3-pointer from the corner at the 6:49 mark of the quarter to make it a three-point deficit.
Near the same spot on the court, around the 6:00 mark, Young (who led HHS with 18 points) stepped up for the Tribe with another 3-pointer, tying the score at 37.
[[In-content Ad]]"It was an awesome job by our guys," HHS head coach Bruce Miles said of the Indians' comeback. "We made some adjustments, and I really feel our kids really came out and executed in the second half.
"Our pressure led to a lot of turnovers for us, and we turned those turnovers into easy baskets on the other end."
Miles spoke about the barrage of 3-pointers by Young, along with the play of Young's teammates as well.
"Zach did an awesome job of hitting some huge shots for us down the stretch," he said. "Alex Van Zant and D.J. Brown made some huge shots for us as well and got us back into the game."
Minford answered with two free throws to take the lead, but Young for the third time hit a shot from beyond the arc with 5:14 left in regulation, giving the Indians the lead at 40-39.
The Falcons came back with seven-straight points to move ahead, 46-40, leaving just 3:35 on the clock. As the quarter progressed, Brown and Latrell Haithcock each added points to the HHS total to eventually bring the Indians back to within one point of the Minford lead with 16.1 seconds on the scoreboard.
MHS then threw the ball out of bounds, giving HHS a shot at tying or winning the game, but with around 13 seconds remaining, a shot off a toss from an inbounds pass didn't fall for the Indians.
After gaining the rebound on the missed shot, the Falcons went ahead by three points after converting two free throws after being fouled with 12.1 seconds on the clock.
Young made it a one-point game by making one of three free throws, but with HHS, again, trailing by three points, one final shot at the buzzer was missed by the Indians, seeing their season come to a close.
Getting to the close ending of the game wasn't easy for the Indians. In fact, the first quarter saw them trail by a 14-9 score, with their points coming from Alex Van Zant, Brown, Haithcock and Young. Van Zant finished with 11 points, and Haithcock totaled six points.
In the second, the Indians ended what was a 7-0 run by the Falcons with Young sinking a jumper at the 7:01 mark of the quarter, as HHS then trailed by a 19-11 score.
Also in the second, Brown added points to the Indians' side for the aforementioned deficit of 12 points after two quarters.
For HHS, they will say goodbye to six seniors in Trey Moberly, Young, Jacob Aber, Van Zant, Haithcock and Chase Reed.
"I want to thank the seniors," Miles said. "Those guys … brought a lot to our program over the years … they've been a joy to coach over the years, and we wish them the best in their futures and thank them for their contributions to our program."
Miles had one final word for the fans of the Indians.
"I want to thank the fans for their support all season," he said. "We fed off them and appreciate their energy (Tuesday)."
Leading MHS in scoring was Brandon Rowe with 15 points, while teammates Kenton Gullion totaled 13 points and Trey Kelley finished with 12 points.
Minford will play in the sectional championship game on Friday night at SEHS, facing Circleville, who defeated McClain, 42-38.