McClain Tigers never trail in win over rival Hillsboro Indians
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — The McClain Tigers have had a season where they have their ups and some downs, but on Saturday at McClain Gym, in front of many fans from Highland County, it was one of the good nights for the hosts. The Tigers never trailed against rival Hillsboro in their Frontier Athletic Conference game, as they eventually won by a 46-44 score.
Even with the Tigers (2-3, 3-5) never trailing against their cross-county rival, the score was tied on just one occasion, plus it was just a one-point game with seconds to spare following a late 3-pointer by the Tribe. Overall though for the Tigers, they won the first round of the home-and-home meeting between the two rivals, and it began with McClain and the Indians combining for 15 points in the first frame, with the Tigers having the lead at 9-6.
McClain got off to the hot start as they sank two 3-pointers for the first six points of the FAC contest with Bryson Badgley and Matt Bliss, but the Indians came back with a put-back basket from Jakwon Clark and a free throw by Deavin Cumberland for a 6-3 score with 1:37 left in the opening frame.
The final points of the first were scored off two 3-pointers 11 seconds apart from each other, beginning with a trey by Badgley, followed by a 3-pointer from Ryan Scott of Hillsboro, leaving the first-quarter score at its conclusion at 9-6 in favor of the Tigers. Scott finished with 12 points for the Indians.
Badgley led all scorers with 20 points for the Tigers in the win.
“These are memory makers for both teams, but I’d have been happier had we made more free throws to stretch it out at the end. Their pressure started to bother us a little bit late, and we couldn’t get into the offense very well when we really needed to execute,” MHS head coach Joe B. Stewart said. “I felt like we had an opportunity to do that with (HHS) getting into a little bit of a desperation mode. I felt like we got timid with the basketball, but other than that I’m happy.
“We controlled the pace offensively, and defensively our kids were ready. That is about as well as we can play defense on Dec. 21, and I think we will play better as time goes on. I felt like our defense won today and won the game for us.”
McClain and Hillsboro were even more intense with their scoring in the second frame as the Tigers outscored the visiting Hillsboro squad, 15-14 in the quarter for a halftime advantage of 24-20.
Hillsboro (1-4, 3-5) tied the score in the early stages of the second with a three-point play by Cumberland for a 9-9 score, only to have the Tigers sink a 3-pointer off a shot under pressure from Braeden Bergstrom with 7:38 left in the second for a 12-9 advantage.
MHS added to their lead with two more points from Bergstrom, this time with a jumper from the corner of the court, but once again the Indians were there to keep the score close. This time points came with a basket in the paint by Caleb Crawford with 4:59 left in the first half for a three-point HHS deficit at 14-11.
McClain made it a five-point advantage in their favor following a basket by Preston Saunders, but again the Indians answered with a jump shot connection by Scott with 4:11 left in the second. Lyle White put the Tigers ahead by four points with a free-throw conversion in the latter half of the second frame, but the Indians continued to battle with two more points by Scott.
The next six combined points by the two teams all came from the free-throw line with McClain’s White and Badgley and Hillsboro’s Brad Miller each making two free throws for what ended up a 21-17 lead for the Tigers with 2:21 left in the first half.
Hillsboro then made another 3-pointer with this one by Hunter Price, but the final points of the second frame were off a 3-pointer by Badgley with 1:15 on the clock for a 24-20 halftime lead for the home team Tigers. Price led the Indians with 13 points.
McClain won the third frame at 12-6, as the Tigers opened the third with a bucket from Camden Closson and a 3-pointer by Badgley for a 29-20 MHS lead with 6:37 still left in the quarter.
HHS gained their first points of the second half with two shots made from the free-throw line by Price, only to see Price add four more points off two baskets for a 29-26 score that brought the Indians to within three points of the McClain advantage.
The Tigers ended the third with baskets from Badgley and Saunders for a 36-26 Tiger lead.
McClain’s 10-point lead to start the fourth went away quickly as the Indians outscored the Tigers, 9-2 with 4:26 left in regulation, as the Indians had points from Scott and Miller, including a 3-pointer by Scott with 5:57 lit up on the scoreboard.
Following a timeout by the Tigers — as they held a 38-35 lead — they added two more points to their total with a layup by Badgley. From that point on, most of the scoring was from the free-throw line as the Tigers went 6-of-12 to end the game from the charity stripe, which built the two-point win.
Twice in the fourth, the Indians got within two points of tying the score with Clark scoring two points off a layup after taking the ball the distance of the court with 36.6 left in the game. The last time was Clark sinking a 3-pointer with 2.1 remaining in the rivalry game.
“This is a tough one, it is a tough one,” Hillsboro head coach Miles Burton said. “We talked about it before the game how this could be a bit of a trap game coming off Friday’s high-energy game (a 78-57 win over Clermont Northeastern), but credit McClain, they rebounded with us, which is a great testament to them. They bend, but they didn’t break. I hurt for my guys in the locker room. They played hard, and a lot of minutes back-to-back, and I didn’t do a good enough job getting them prepared tonight.”
Final scoring for the Indians included Clark with seven points, Cumberland with four points, Miller with six points and Crawford totaling two points.
McClain’s final scoring also included Saunders with seven points, while White had six points and Bliss totaled three points. Also for MHS, Closson totaled two points, Bergstrom had five points, Braden Wright finished with one points and Dakota Pollock had two points.
Next for the Tigers is a game on Friday, Dec. 27 vs. Adena. The Indians play again on Saturday, Dec. 28 at Clinton-Massie.
Even with the Tigers (2-3, 3-5) never trailing against their cross-county rival, the score was tied on just one occasion, plus it was just a one-point game with seconds to spare following a late 3-pointer by the Tribe. Overall though for the Tigers, they won the first round of the home-and-home meeting between the two rivals, and it began with McClain and the Indians combining for 15 points in the first frame, with the Tigers having the lead at 9-6.
McClain got off to the hot start as they sank two 3-pointers for the first six points of the FAC contest with Bryson Badgley and Matt Bliss, but the Indians came back with a put-back basket from Jakwon Clark and a free throw by Deavin Cumberland for a 6-3 score with 1:37 left in the opening frame.
The final points of the first were scored off two 3-pointers 11 seconds apart from each other, beginning with a trey by Badgley, followed by a 3-pointer from Ryan Scott of Hillsboro, leaving the first-quarter score at its conclusion at 9-6 in favor of the Tigers. Scott finished with 12 points for the Indians.
Badgley led all scorers with 20 points for the Tigers in the win.
“These are memory makers for both teams, but I’d have been happier had we made more free throws to stretch it out at the end. Their pressure started to bother us a little bit late, and we couldn’t get into the offense very well when we really needed to execute,” MHS head coach Joe B. Stewart said. “I felt like we had an opportunity to do that with (HHS) getting into a little bit of a desperation mode. I felt like we got timid with the basketball, but other than that I’m happy.
“We controlled the pace offensively, and defensively our kids were ready. That is about as well as we can play defense on Dec. 21, and I think we will play better as time goes on. I felt like our defense won today and won the game for us.”
McClain and Hillsboro were even more intense with their scoring in the second frame as the Tigers outscored the visiting Hillsboro squad, 15-14 in the quarter for a halftime advantage of 24-20.
Hillsboro (1-4, 3-5) tied the score in the early stages of the second with a three-point play by Cumberland for a 9-9 score, only to have the Tigers sink a 3-pointer off a shot under pressure from Braeden Bergstrom with 7:38 left in the second for a 12-9 advantage.
MHS added to their lead with two more points from Bergstrom, this time with a jumper from the corner of the court, but once again the Indians were there to keep the score close. This time points came with a basket in the paint by Caleb Crawford with 4:59 left in the first half for a three-point HHS deficit at 14-11.
McClain made it a five-point advantage in their favor following a basket by Preston Saunders, but again the Indians answered with a jump shot connection by Scott with 4:11 left in the second. Lyle White put the Tigers ahead by four points with a free-throw conversion in the latter half of the second frame, but the Indians continued to battle with two more points by Scott.
The next six combined points by the two teams all came from the free-throw line with McClain’s White and Badgley and Hillsboro’s Brad Miller each making two free throws for what ended up a 21-17 lead for the Tigers with 2:21 left in the first half.
Hillsboro then made another 3-pointer with this one by Hunter Price, but the final points of the second frame were off a 3-pointer by Badgley with 1:15 on the clock for a 24-20 halftime lead for the home team Tigers. Price led the Indians with 13 points.
McClain won the third frame at 12-6, as the Tigers opened the third with a bucket from Camden Closson and a 3-pointer by Badgley for a 29-20 MHS lead with 6:37 still left in the quarter.
HHS gained their first points of the second half with two shots made from the free-throw line by Price, only to see Price add four more points off two baskets for a 29-26 score that brought the Indians to within three points of the McClain advantage.
The Tigers ended the third with baskets from Badgley and Saunders for a 36-26 Tiger lead.
McClain’s 10-point lead to start the fourth went away quickly as the Indians outscored the Tigers, 9-2 with 4:26 left in regulation, as the Indians had points from Scott and Miller, including a 3-pointer by Scott with 5:57 lit up on the scoreboard.
Following a timeout by the Tigers — as they held a 38-35 lead — they added two more points to their total with a layup by Badgley. From that point on, most of the scoring was from the free-throw line as the Tigers went 6-of-12 to end the game from the charity stripe, which built the two-point win.
Twice in the fourth, the Indians got within two points of tying the score with Clark scoring two points off a layup after taking the ball the distance of the court with 36.6 left in the game. The last time was Clark sinking a 3-pointer with 2.1 remaining in the rivalry game.
“This is a tough one, it is a tough one,” Hillsboro head coach Miles Burton said. “We talked about it before the game how this could be a bit of a trap game coming off Friday’s high-energy game (a 78-57 win over Clermont Northeastern), but credit McClain, they rebounded with us, which is a great testament to them. They bend, but they didn’t break. I hurt for my guys in the locker room. They played hard, and a lot of minutes back-to-back, and I didn’t do a good enough job getting them prepared tonight.”
Final scoring for the Indians included Clark with seven points, Cumberland with four points, Miller with six points and Crawford totaling two points.
McClain’s final scoring also included Saunders with seven points, while White had six points and Bliss totaled three points. Also for MHS, Closson totaled two points, Bergstrom had five points, Braden Wright finished with one points and Dakota Pollock had two points.
Next for the Tigers is a game on Friday, Dec. 27 vs. Adena. The Indians play again on Saturday, Dec. 28 at Clinton-Massie.