Mustangs power past Hillsboro in country rivalry matchup

DODSONVILLE — The second half proved to be the biggest difference in the non-conference Highland County matchup between the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs and the Hillsboro Indians.

The difference came as the Mustangs battled to a four-point lead headed into the half but finished the game with a 12-point victory at 56-44 over the visiting Indians.

In the final two quarters, the Mustangs (8-3, 13-5) outscored HHS, 12-9 in the third and in the fourth at 19-14.

At one point in the third quarter, LC's Ryan Inman had a dunk erased as he was called for a charge, which ironically gave the Mustangs the momentum with LC head coach Matt Carson calling a timeout and settling down his players.

Inman finished with a game-high 20 points.

"The game was exactly like I thought it was going to be," LC head coach Matt Carson said. "Hillsboro has to be one of the most fundamentally sound defensive teams in this area … they play good defense.

"We know they have shooters, and we lost them a couple times, but I thought the turning point was when the dunk got waved off. That really changed the momentum, because it got the kids fired up. It energized the crowd and into the game, and from that point on, we're getting hands on passes."

But in the first two frames, the game was just a little closer for the two Highland County opponents with the score tied at 7-7 after the first frame.

As for the opening quarter, Hillsboro's Latrell Haithcock was first to score for a 2-0 lead, but that was answered with a three-point play by Ryan Inman at the 5:56 mark of the first.

As both teams battled to a tied score after eight minutes, the second frame was just as close with the teams exchanging basket for basket in the second, but it was HHS who got the early start in the second with five straight points off free throws by Jordan Captain and D.J. Brown, plus a 3-pointer by Austin Bagshaw for a 14-9 lead with 5:32 left in the half.

Brown and Captain led HHS with 13 points each.

Later in the second, the Mustangs had a run of their own at 12-3 runs, including eight straight points, in the final 2:04 of the fourth for the four-point lead.

The LC run began with four straight points by Tristan Wilbanks, followed by two points from Devin Pierson for a 21-18 LC lead with 1:04 left in the quarter. Pierson totaled 14 points.

Bagshaw answered with a 3-pointer for the Indians, but the Mustangs ended the quarter with four points by Pierson, including a 3-pointer with less than a minute left in the first half.

HHS head coach Brett Prince spoke about what he thought the difference of the game was.

"There were three things … one, we got into foul trouble; two, we had too many turnovers (22 turnovers) and 10 of those led to an uncontested 20 points; and lastly, we shot 17-of-52 from the field, and you can't win a lot of games against a team that has some good offensive players," Prince said. "You can't shoot like that and expect to win games."

In their past two games, the Indians are 4-of-35 from the three-point line as they defeated East Clinton on Friday.

LC opened the third with six straight points off 3-pointers by Gage Waits and Pierson, extending the LC lead to 10 points at 6:02 left in the quarter. Waits missed most of the second quarter with three fouls.

"I told Gage on the bench, he's a big part of our success this season and to shake the fouls off," Carson said. "With how we responded with two starters fouling out and others stepping up in different areas … that shows a lot about this team."

HHS (1-10, 4-15) came back with points by Brown and Haithcock. As the third continued, neither team was able to break away with the host Mustangs ending the quarter with a seven-point advantage.

The fourth was almost as close as the third, but with both teams scoring at least 14 points apiece in the quarter.

LC extended their lead to 11 points with 6:04 left in the third with a three-point play by Inman and a free throw from Marc Blankenship.

"I knew if we could just get to an eight- to 10-point lead and make them have to take time before they took a shot, I thought that could be a determining factor, and it turned out to be," Carson said.

The Indians came back with four straight points, but LC was there, again, with Pierson completing a three-point play and on another possession knocking down a free throw for a 45-34 advantage with 4:29 left in regulation.

Later, Alex Van Zant knocked down a 3-pointer for the Indians at the 3:29 mark for a seven-point deficit.

Coach Prince spoke about the remainder of the season.

"Our number-one focus is we have to take care of the ball," he said. "We are pretty good in the half-court defensively, but we have to work on taking care of the ball. We have to keep grinding."

On two more occasions, the Indians cut the LC lead to seven, but with HHS forced to foul, LC took advantage by making six of their final 10 free-throw attempts.

"We knew this was going to be a tough game, especially after traveling to Manchester on Friday," Carson said. "When the season started, we knew then it would be tough. We are just 10 miles apart, and whenever you play Hillsboro, it is going to be physical, and Coach Prince does an excellent job with his players.

"They are getting better and will be a tough out for a team in the tournament. We are just glad we were able to repeat in this tournament-like atmosphere."

In freshman play, LC defeated the Indians, 32-19 with Brian Lampkin leading LC with 12 points. Luke Gallimore led HHS with seven points.

In JV play, the Indians defeated the Mustangs, 35-27. Jordan Mosley led HHS with 12 points, followed by Chase Reed with 10. Zach Blankenship led LC with 23 points.