Tigers defense leads to win over Hillsboro

Twenty-eight days earlier, the McClain Tigers lost in overtime to the Hillsboro Indians on their home court. On Friday night, the Tigers returned the favor to their Highland County rival.

McClain used very stingy defense and scored points in the paint with an aggressive offensive attack and using second- and third-chance opportunities to their advantage to defeated the host Hillsboro Indians, 54-39 in front of a packed Hillsboro High School Gymnasium on Senior Night.

For the Tigers, this was a game where they not only avenged a loss earlier in the season (they lost 56-53 in OT on Jan. 16), but they extended their winning streak to three games with one regular-season game left on the schedule Saturday night.

On Friday, the Tigers' defense held the Indians to single-digit scoring in two of the quarters played, including nine points in the first and three points in the third. That stifling defense, and consistent offense, made sure the Tigers held the lead at the conclusion of each quarter.

"The defense played pretty well most of the night," MHS head coach Joe Wisecup said. "A lot of that is Ryan (Faulconer) because he's become more of a leader on both ends of the floor.

"He has more confidence, and our communication is a lot better."

In the first quarter, the Tigers (5-9, 8-13) connected with the first shot as Wyatt Jones (eight total points, six rebounds) sank a 3-pointer, but that was answered with a jumper from Chase Reed. The Tigers took a 5-2 lead with a put-back basket, only to see Jacob Aber answer with two points of his own for the Indians.

After Aber's two points, the Tigers rallied off six straight points from Faulconer and Randall Mischal for an 11-4 Tigers lead with 2:29 left in the first.

Faulconer finished with 15 points, leading all scorers. Faulconer, a senior, finished with a double-double by adding 11 rebounds.

"There is no doubt about it … McClain is a different team when Faulconer is out there," HHS head coach Bruce Miles said. "He's great around the basket, and he's the heart and soul of that team. He brings toughness.

"(Faulconer) and Mischal had a great night around the paint, so hats off to them."

HHS (3-11, 7-14) outscored the Tigers, 5-2 in the final 49 seconds of the opening frame to leave MHS ahead 13-9.

At the conclusion of the second frame, the Indians outscored the Tigers, 11-9, but MHS managed to keep the lead at 21-20.

In the second, HHS worked their way to take an 18-17 advantage with points from Logan Kibler, Zach Young and D.J. Brown, as HHS had a 9-4 run with 4:16 left in the second quarter. Young led HHS with 12 points, with Brown next in scoring with eight points.

With points from Mischal, the Tigers scored a layup with 22.1 left in the first half to regain the lead by one point entering halftime. Mischal finished with 14 points, five rebounds and one block.

Coming out of the locker room, the Tigers' defense had their best quarter of the game, holding the hosts to just three points, but on the other hand, the defense of the Indians allowed just nine points in the eight-minute span.

"We struggled mightily from the field (Friday)," HHS head coach Bruce Miles said. "Give credit to (McClain), we know what to expect when we play those guys. They were hard-nosed all night and made it tough for our guys. Our two leading guys got shut down (Friday) and we go as they go, so give credit to (McClain)."

As for that third frame, HHS took a 23-21 lead after a 3-pointer by Brown with 6:23 on the clock. After the shot by the Indians, the Tigers rallied back with nine straight points from Mischal, Faulconer, Lincoln O'Connor and Bryce Duff to move ahead by seven points (30-24) with 1:43 left in the third.

Alex Van Zant ended the quarter for the Indians with a free throw to get HHS back to within six points of the visiting Tigers. Van Zant ended the game with seven points.

In the fourth, MHS led by as many as 15 points, which was the final differential in points, and by as few as six points with 3:09 left in regulation. MHS outscored the Indians, 24-15 in the final eight minutes.

When HHS got to within nine points of the Tigers' lead with 1:08 on the clock, MHS converted their final six free throws to seal the win, with Reid Garrison, Faulconer and Mischal all contributing from the free-throw line in the final 1:05.

For the game, the Tigers had 31 rebounds, including 10 offensive, while HHS unofficially finished with 13 boards. MHS had 11 turnovers in the win, while HHS had 10.

MHS has one regular-season game remaining, Saturday when they host Southeastern.

"Two weeks ago, we had five games to go and we just talked about getting better for tournament time," Wisecup said. "It's all the kids … we are just playing with a lot of confidence."

The Indians also have one regular-season game left on the schedule, playing Tuesday at East Clinton.

In JV play, MHS won over the Indians, 43-34. Barton led MHS with 18 points, and for the Indians, their leading scorer was Ryan with 13.

The freshman game saw HHS win, 36-19. Haines led the Indians with 16 points, while HHS was led by Gray with eight.