Tigers move on to sectional finals after defeating rival Hillsboro
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
CHILLICOTHE — For the second time in less than a week, the McClain Tigers got the best of their Highland County rival Hillsboro, and on Tuesday night, the season was on the line.
The No. 7 seeded Tigers earned a 47-40 victory over the No. 10 Indians in the Division II SE District Semifinals, where the Tigers, behind a large fan base at Southeastern High School, only trailed for a combined 30 seconds in the sectional semifinal to Hillsboro en route to what was a seven-point win.
“We play zone because of our length, but I told them at tournament time we can’t play zone the whole time,” MHS head coach Jesse Mitchell said. “We mixed in man a little bit, and I thought we did a good job.
“The seniors wanted this win …. they wanted to keep going, and I think this was a big part of it. Again, we had a great crowd, and our student section was great. That motivated us a lot.”
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That said, the Indians didn’t make anything easy on the Tigers, with Hillsboro having their lone lead nearly midway through the second quarter. Plus, the Indians kept the score within striking distance for the remainder of the game.
With this being the third meeting and second since this past Friday night between the two rivals, the Tigers snatched away the momentum each time the Indians gained it from the home team on the scoreboard.
Even in the fourth quarter, the Tribe was within two points of MHS with 3:41 left in regulation, gaining what was a 7-0 run. The momentum was lost when the Tigers answered with six straight points of their own.
The win by McClain not only gives them the edge in their season series against their top Highland County rival at 2-1, but they now advance to the sectional finals for the first time since 2013. The last time MHS won a sectional title was in 2009.
Getting to the sectional finals once again saw the Tigers open the sectional semifinal game with a strong first half of the opening quarter.
Neither the Indians nor the Tigers could pull away from each other in the first eight minutes of play. with the first quarter ending with the Tigers leading the Indians, 10-8. The Tigers began the game with an 8-0 run.
McClain started the game with their Highland County rival by making two free throws off attempts from Owen O’Connor, followed by a 3-pointer from Dalton Mischal, who finished the game with 13 points.
Following a charge taken by O’Connor (he took a total of four charges in the game), the Tigers capitalized with another free throw from Mischal. That was followed by two points off a put-back bucket by Jacob Starkey, leaving 5:48 left on the first-quarter clock with the 8-0 lead.
“Owen is a true McClain Tiger from the old era where you sacrifice for the team, and he does that,” Mitchell said. “Taking those charges was huge … momentum changers.”
Hillsboro hit the scoreboard for the first time with 5:01 left in the first frame off a 3-pointer by Ty Haithcock. He followed that basket with an encore performance for his second 3-pointer at the 2:51 mark, bringing the Indians to within two points of the Tigers. MHS answered with a put-back basket from Starkey with 1:43 on the clock. The Indians, again, made it a two-point deficit with two free throws from Matthew Ryan.
The second quarter was just as close for the two rivals, though the Tigers lost their leading scorer for the remainder of the game in Starkey with 6:38 on the clock due to an ankle injury.
The first points of the second quarter didn’t go through the hoop until the scoreboard read 6:15 when Mischal added to the Tigers lead with a rebound and layup for a 12-8 advantage.
The Indians answered with five straight points, beginning with two points by Cameron Reed and a 3-pointer off a shot by Marshall Ward with 4:49 left in the second for a 13-12 Hillsboro lead, their first lead of the game. Ward, Watson and Haithcock all led the Indians with 10 points apiece.
McClain came back with their own 3-pointer by the freshman Mischal, with the assist by Landree Gray. The final point of the opening half was scored by Haithcock for a halftime lead of 15-14 by the Tigers.
The third frame began up with a fury of scoring by McClain, beginning with a three-point play by Mat Barton for the Tigers.
“Mat put in a lot of work,” Mitchell said. “He lifts three days in the morning each week, and some of those shots he made tonight he wouldn’t have got without that work in the weight room. Mat puts the time in.”
That play increased the MHS lead to four points following the free throw conversion by Barton, as MHS outscored the Indians 15-5 in the third. Barton led all scorers with 22 points, all coming in the second half.
Haithcock answered for the Indians with a 3-pointer from the corner 20 seconds later. The Tigers countered with a jumper by Barton for a 20-17 advantage with 7:05 still left in the third frame.
The scoring quieted down a bit until the 5:13 mark when Barton added to the Tigers lead with a jumper for a 22-17 score. Ethan Watson scored his first two points of the game at an opportune time for the Indians, helping cut the Tigers lead to three points at the 3:51 mark of the third. His points came when he connected with a one-handed layup while twisting in mid-air.
Gray brought the Tigers lead back to five, then Barton made it a seven-point advantage as both combined for consecutive baskets in a span of less than 30 seconds for a 26-19 lead. Those points eventually led to the Indians calling a timeout with 1:54 still remaining in the first quarter.
Again, the scoring was toned down for a bit, though the intensity increased, and the momentum turned to the Tigers with the “home team” scoring four points in the final 54 seconds of the third. O’Connor sank a layup, followed by a leaping jumper by Barton leaving the third quarter score, 30-19 in favor of the Tigers.
“We shot extremely poor tonight, and credit their defense … that zone is really long, and they force you to move it around the perimeter and make it hard to get inside,” HHS head coach Bruce Miles said. “We worked really hard on it the past few days, but their length just bothered us all night.
“It has been a long season, and we will learn from this. We talked at halftime about shot selection, but it was too little, too late. Turnovers, bad rotations, but hats off to Barton, he had a heck of a game against us. He made some big shots, seems like a good kid and works hard.”
The fourth began with another big-time basket by Barton, with the senior sinking a 3-pointer at the 7:45 mark. This time the Indians answered, breaking what was a 7-0 run by McClain with a two-point basket by Kelton Anderson at the 7:22 mark of the fourth for a 33-21 score.
Another important play of the fourth came not with points, but on defense, with O’Connor taking his third charge of the game at the 6:09 mark, taking away an opportunity in the paint for the rival Indians.
Just because the Indians trailed by 12 points didn’t mean the game was finished, as both teams did split the regular-season series for a reason.
The Indians had the momentum turn their direction with a 3-pointer by Watson at the top of the key at the 5:31 mark, and 21 seconds later, the Indians forced the Tigers to call a timeout following a jumper by Ward for a 33-26 differential on the scoreboard.
The first possession following the timeout, Mischal added to the McClain lead, but that woke the Indians up with them going on a scoring fury of their own, consisting of seven straight points.
Watson drilled a 3-pointer, then scored two points on a fast break following a turnover. Two points by Ward off a rebound after taking the ball the length of the court made it a 35-33 score with 3:41 left in regulation.
Following misses by both teams, the Tigers held a two-point lead, until that lead moved to five points following a deep 3-pointer by Barton with 2:31 left in regulation.
He followed that by making one free throw, and on the second opportunity, the missed free throw was rebounded and put in the basket by Mischal at the 1:45 mark for a 41-33 lead. Those points took McClain from a two-point lead to an eight-point advantage in a span of less than one minute.
HHS cut the McClain lead to six points with a put back by Mason Swayne with 1:03 on the fourth quarter clock. The Tigers turned over the ball at the 48.4 mark, resulting in Keets scoring two points on a layup for the Tribe. After the Indians were forced to foul the Tigers, Barton kept the Indians at bay with two free throw conversions at the 26.5 mark.
The game was sealed for good with two made free throws by Mischal with 15.1 on the final clock. Barton was fouled with 5.1 on the clock, where he made both shots. Ward sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Indians, scoring the final points for HHS on the season.
McClain will now play on Saturday at 3 p.m. at SEHS against the No. 2 seeded Unioto Shermans. Earlier this season, the Shermans defeated the Tigers, 66-41 at UHS.
Haithcock was the lone senior for HHS.
“He will missed,” Miles said. “He played hard for us this year.”
The No. 7 seeded Tigers earned a 47-40 victory over the No. 10 Indians in the Division II SE District Semifinals, where the Tigers, behind a large fan base at Southeastern High School, only trailed for a combined 30 seconds in the sectional semifinal to Hillsboro en route to what was a seven-point win.
“We play zone because of our length, but I told them at tournament time we can’t play zone the whole time,” MHS head coach Jesse Mitchell said. “We mixed in man a little bit, and I thought we did a good job.
“The seniors wanted this win …. they wanted to keep going, and I think this was a big part of it. Again, we had a great crowd, and our student section was great. That motivated us a lot.”
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That said, the Indians didn’t make anything easy on the Tigers, with Hillsboro having their lone lead nearly midway through the second quarter. Plus, the Indians kept the score within striking distance for the remainder of the game.
With this being the third meeting and second since this past Friday night between the two rivals, the Tigers snatched away the momentum each time the Indians gained it from the home team on the scoreboard.
Even in the fourth quarter, the Tribe was within two points of MHS with 3:41 left in regulation, gaining what was a 7-0 run. The momentum was lost when the Tigers answered with six straight points of their own.
The win by McClain not only gives them the edge in their season series against their top Highland County rival at 2-1, but they now advance to the sectional finals for the first time since 2013. The last time MHS won a sectional title was in 2009.
Getting to the sectional finals once again saw the Tigers open the sectional semifinal game with a strong first half of the opening quarter.
Neither the Indians nor the Tigers could pull away from each other in the first eight minutes of play. with the first quarter ending with the Tigers leading the Indians, 10-8. The Tigers began the game with an 8-0 run.
McClain started the game with their Highland County rival by making two free throws off attempts from Owen O’Connor, followed by a 3-pointer from Dalton Mischal, who finished the game with 13 points.
Following a charge taken by O’Connor (he took a total of four charges in the game), the Tigers capitalized with another free throw from Mischal. That was followed by two points off a put-back bucket by Jacob Starkey, leaving 5:48 left on the first-quarter clock with the 8-0 lead.
“Owen is a true McClain Tiger from the old era where you sacrifice for the team, and he does that,” Mitchell said. “Taking those charges was huge … momentum changers.”
Hillsboro hit the scoreboard for the first time with 5:01 left in the first frame off a 3-pointer by Ty Haithcock. He followed that basket with an encore performance for his second 3-pointer at the 2:51 mark, bringing the Indians to within two points of the Tigers. MHS answered with a put-back basket from Starkey with 1:43 on the clock. The Indians, again, made it a two-point deficit with two free throws from Matthew Ryan.
The second quarter was just as close for the two rivals, though the Tigers lost their leading scorer for the remainder of the game in Starkey with 6:38 on the clock due to an ankle injury.
The first points of the second quarter didn’t go through the hoop until the scoreboard read 6:15 when Mischal added to the Tigers lead with a rebound and layup for a 12-8 advantage.
The Indians answered with five straight points, beginning with two points by Cameron Reed and a 3-pointer off a shot by Marshall Ward with 4:49 left in the second for a 13-12 Hillsboro lead, their first lead of the game. Ward, Watson and Haithcock all led the Indians with 10 points apiece.
McClain came back with their own 3-pointer by the freshman Mischal, with the assist by Landree Gray. The final point of the opening half was scored by Haithcock for a halftime lead of 15-14 by the Tigers.
The third frame began up with a fury of scoring by McClain, beginning with a three-point play by Mat Barton for the Tigers.
“Mat put in a lot of work,” Mitchell said. “He lifts three days in the morning each week, and some of those shots he made tonight he wouldn’t have got without that work in the weight room. Mat puts the time in.”
That play increased the MHS lead to four points following the free throw conversion by Barton, as MHS outscored the Indians 15-5 in the third. Barton led all scorers with 22 points, all coming in the second half.
Haithcock answered for the Indians with a 3-pointer from the corner 20 seconds later. The Tigers countered with a jumper by Barton for a 20-17 advantage with 7:05 still left in the third frame.
The scoring quieted down a bit until the 5:13 mark when Barton added to the Tigers lead with a jumper for a 22-17 score. Ethan Watson scored his first two points of the game at an opportune time for the Indians, helping cut the Tigers lead to three points at the 3:51 mark of the third. His points came when he connected with a one-handed layup while twisting in mid-air.
Gray brought the Tigers lead back to five, then Barton made it a seven-point advantage as both combined for consecutive baskets in a span of less than 30 seconds for a 26-19 lead. Those points eventually led to the Indians calling a timeout with 1:54 still remaining in the first quarter.
Again, the scoring was toned down for a bit, though the intensity increased, and the momentum turned to the Tigers with the “home team” scoring four points in the final 54 seconds of the third. O’Connor sank a layup, followed by a leaping jumper by Barton leaving the third quarter score, 30-19 in favor of the Tigers.
“We shot extremely poor tonight, and credit their defense … that zone is really long, and they force you to move it around the perimeter and make it hard to get inside,” HHS head coach Bruce Miles said. “We worked really hard on it the past few days, but their length just bothered us all night.
“It has been a long season, and we will learn from this. We talked at halftime about shot selection, but it was too little, too late. Turnovers, bad rotations, but hats off to Barton, he had a heck of a game against us. He made some big shots, seems like a good kid and works hard.”
The fourth began with another big-time basket by Barton, with the senior sinking a 3-pointer at the 7:45 mark. This time the Indians answered, breaking what was a 7-0 run by McClain with a two-point basket by Kelton Anderson at the 7:22 mark of the fourth for a 33-21 score.
Another important play of the fourth came not with points, but on defense, with O’Connor taking his third charge of the game at the 6:09 mark, taking away an opportunity in the paint for the rival Indians.
Just because the Indians trailed by 12 points didn’t mean the game was finished, as both teams did split the regular-season series for a reason.
The Indians had the momentum turn their direction with a 3-pointer by Watson at the top of the key at the 5:31 mark, and 21 seconds later, the Indians forced the Tigers to call a timeout following a jumper by Ward for a 33-26 differential on the scoreboard.
The first possession following the timeout, Mischal added to the McClain lead, but that woke the Indians up with them going on a scoring fury of their own, consisting of seven straight points.
Watson drilled a 3-pointer, then scored two points on a fast break following a turnover. Two points by Ward off a rebound after taking the ball the length of the court made it a 35-33 score with 3:41 left in regulation.
Following misses by both teams, the Tigers held a two-point lead, until that lead moved to five points following a deep 3-pointer by Barton with 2:31 left in regulation.
He followed that by making one free throw, and on the second opportunity, the missed free throw was rebounded and put in the basket by Mischal at the 1:45 mark for a 41-33 lead. Those points took McClain from a two-point lead to an eight-point advantage in a span of less than one minute.
HHS cut the McClain lead to six points with a put back by Mason Swayne with 1:03 on the fourth quarter clock. The Tigers turned over the ball at the 48.4 mark, resulting in Keets scoring two points on a layup for the Tribe. After the Indians were forced to foul the Tigers, Barton kept the Indians at bay with two free throw conversions at the 26.5 mark.
The game was sealed for good with two made free throws by Mischal with 15.1 on the final clock. Barton was fouled with 5.1 on the clock, where he made both shots. Ward sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Indians, scoring the final points for HHS on the season.
McClain will now play on Saturday at 3 p.m. at SEHS against the No. 2 seeded Unioto Shermans. Earlier this season, the Shermans defeated the Tigers, 66-41 at UHS.
Haithcock was the lone senior for HHS.
“He will missed,” Miles said. “He played hard for us this year.”