Josh Keets nets 36 points; Indians lose against Waverly
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Hillsboro Indians had 36 points from Josh Keets, but the problem for the Indians was they were unable to keep pace with the visiting Waverly Tigers for all four quarters. In what was a fast-paced game with defense pushed aside for most of the contest, the Tigers outlasted the Indians by a 95-80 score at HHS.
The non-league loss for the Indians drops them to 1-7 overall, but the scoring by Keets not only saw him score baskets in the paint, but he shot well from the perimeter as well. Of his game-high 36 points, Keets totaled 13 two-point baskets, two 3-pointers and he was 4-of-7 from the free-throw line.
Keets scored nine points in the first frame, followed by seven points in the second, nine more points in the third and 11 points in the fourth quarter. He made 3-pointers in the first and fourth quarters.
Also for the Indians, they had three other players in double figures with Ethan Watson finishing with 15 points, Matthew Ryan with 13 points and Cameron Reed with 12 points. Watson and Reed each made two 3-pointers in the loss. Kelton Anderson and Marshall Ward rounded out the scoring with two points each.
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“I thought Josh did a great job,” Hillsboro head coach Bruce Miles said. “He was shooting well from the perimeter, attacking the basket. He’s going to be a match-up problem most nights for guys.
“I also have to talk about Matthew Ryan because he gave it all he had tonight. He attacked great, he finished, he defended. He was the heart and soul of our team tonight, and it was a great effort from Matthew.”
Now, even though the final score was a 15-point differential, the Indians and Tigers battled head-to-head evenly in the first quarter with the score tied 24-24 after eight minutes.
The first frame had its first tie at 9-9 following five straight points by the Tigers with 4:41 left in the opening frame and later at 11-11 when the visitors sank two free throws.
Waverly took the lead following a layup by Ethan Adrian, but the Indians took it right back when Ryan converted a three-point play at the 2:54 mark of the first frame for a 14-13 lead for the home team.
Waverly had five players in double figures with Cade Marquez leading with 21 points. Adrian totaled 17 points, Trey Rigsby had 16 points and both Howell and Easton Wolf each scored 14 points.
The first quarter later saw the score tied at 14 and 16 points, both times with Waverly scoring points to tie the game. With the score tied at 16-16 with 1:56 on the clock, the Indians broke the tied score once again, this time with a 3-pointer by Keets at the 1:44 mark. He followed that with two free throws to put the Tribe ahead, 21-16 with 1:30 still remaining in the opening quarter.
WHS eventually made it a 24-21 lead in their favor following six straight points that included two consecutive steals into fast break points by Clayton Howell and Wolf. The score ended up tied at the end of the first off a 3-pointer by Reed at the buzzer.
HHS was outscored 19-14 in the second frame, as they had scoring from Reed, Watson, Anderson and Keets. HHS broke the tied score to start the second frame when Keets converted a three-point play, but the Tigers responded with consecutive 3-pointers by Adrian, along with two free throws by Adrian and a layup from Wolf for a 34-27 lead (off a 10-0 run) with around 5:00 left in the first half.
From that point on, the Indians continued to battle in the non-league contest but were not able to regain the lead following the aforementioned point by Wolf of Waverly, trailing 43-38 at halftime.
In the second half, the Indians were outscored 31-17 in the third, trailing by a 74-55 score after three frames. HHS won the fourth frame at 25-21.
For the game, the Indians made six 3-pointers, 25 two-point field goals and were 10-of-16 from the free-throw line. Waverly finished with seven 3-pointers, 27 two-point baskets and went 14-of-23 with their free throw attempts.
The Indians return to South Central Ohio League play on Friday, Jan. 6 at Wilmington.
The non-league loss for the Indians drops them to 1-7 overall, but the scoring by Keets not only saw him score baskets in the paint, but he shot well from the perimeter as well. Of his game-high 36 points, Keets totaled 13 two-point baskets, two 3-pointers and he was 4-of-7 from the free-throw line.
Keets scored nine points in the first frame, followed by seven points in the second, nine more points in the third and 11 points in the fourth quarter. He made 3-pointers in the first and fourth quarters.
Also for the Indians, they had three other players in double figures with Ethan Watson finishing with 15 points, Matthew Ryan with 13 points and Cameron Reed with 12 points. Watson and Reed each made two 3-pointers in the loss. Kelton Anderson and Marshall Ward rounded out the scoring with two points each.
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“I thought Josh did a great job,” Hillsboro head coach Bruce Miles said. “He was shooting well from the perimeter, attacking the basket. He’s going to be a match-up problem most nights for guys.
“I also have to talk about Matthew Ryan because he gave it all he had tonight. He attacked great, he finished, he defended. He was the heart and soul of our team tonight, and it was a great effort from Matthew.”
Now, even though the final score was a 15-point differential, the Indians and Tigers battled head-to-head evenly in the first quarter with the score tied 24-24 after eight minutes.
The first frame had its first tie at 9-9 following five straight points by the Tigers with 4:41 left in the opening frame and later at 11-11 when the visitors sank two free throws.
Waverly took the lead following a layup by Ethan Adrian, but the Indians took it right back when Ryan converted a three-point play at the 2:54 mark of the first frame for a 14-13 lead for the home team.
Waverly had five players in double figures with Cade Marquez leading with 21 points. Adrian totaled 17 points, Trey Rigsby had 16 points and both Howell and Easton Wolf each scored 14 points.
The first quarter later saw the score tied at 14 and 16 points, both times with Waverly scoring points to tie the game. With the score tied at 16-16 with 1:56 on the clock, the Indians broke the tied score once again, this time with a 3-pointer by Keets at the 1:44 mark. He followed that with two free throws to put the Tribe ahead, 21-16 with 1:30 still remaining in the opening quarter.
WHS eventually made it a 24-21 lead in their favor following six straight points that included two consecutive steals into fast break points by Clayton Howell and Wolf. The score ended up tied at the end of the first off a 3-pointer by Reed at the buzzer.
HHS was outscored 19-14 in the second frame, as they had scoring from Reed, Watson, Anderson and Keets. HHS broke the tied score to start the second frame when Keets converted a three-point play, but the Tigers responded with consecutive 3-pointers by Adrian, along with two free throws by Adrian and a layup from Wolf for a 34-27 lead (off a 10-0 run) with around 5:00 left in the first half.
From that point on, the Indians continued to battle in the non-league contest but were not able to regain the lead following the aforementioned point by Wolf of Waverly, trailing 43-38 at halftime.
In the second half, the Indians were outscored 31-17 in the third, trailing by a 74-55 score after three frames. HHS won the fourth frame at 25-21.
For the game, the Indians made six 3-pointers, 25 two-point field goals and were 10-of-16 from the free-throw line. Waverly finished with seven 3-pointers, 27 two-point baskets and went 14-of-23 with their free throw attempts.
The Indians return to South Central Ohio League play on Friday, Jan. 6 at Wilmington.