Tigers win Round 2 over Indians
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — Round two of the Highland County rivalry between the McClain Tigers and Hillsboro Indians goes to the Tigers after they held the lead for the entire game, fended off a strong run by their rival and won by a 57-45 score to close out the South Central Ohio League and regular-season schedule.
The Tigers (4-10, 8-14) avenged a loss from earlier in the season to the Indians at HHS, giving each team a win on their home court against each other this season and setting up a third game in the Division II SE District Sectional Semifinal on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at Southeastern High School at 8 p.m.
McClain head coach Jesse Mitchell spoke following the game about how the final half of the game played out and how his team was able to fend off the visiting Indians.
“I was a little nervous at the end,” he said. “I had to take the jacket off because it was getting hot, and I’m not a tie guy as you can tell, but give credit to both teams … it doesn’t matter what our records are, everyone is just going to compete and they are going to play hard.
“The good thing is both of these teams like each other. They hang out, and I call this a brotherly rivalry. Tempers got hot, but if you have brothers, that is the way it is sometimes.
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“I give all of our seniors credit. All of our seniors did something great for us tonight, and the good thing is on Tuesday, we get to do this all over again.”
As for the game on Friday night, the Tigers led by a 15-5 score after the first quarter, including the Tigers scoring the first five points of the game off a layup by Jacob Starkey and a 3-pointer by Mat Barton at the 5:40 mark. Barton finished with 11 points for the game, while Starkey totaled eight.
The Indians (4-10, 4-18) broke up the Tigers scoring with two points by Josh Keets, but points from the free-throw line by Jay Beatty pushed the Tigers ahead 7-2, finishing the game with seven points. Keets led the Indians with 16 points.
Keets came back with a point from a foul shot, then MHS went on a 8-2 run to end the quarter for their 15-5 first-quarter lead, including two points from Dakotah Duncan.
By the time the second quarter came to a close, they had doubled the score compared to their opponents, with the Tigers leading 28-14 at halftime.
The Indians opened the second frame with a 3-pointer by Payton Bell, but the Tigers followed with four straight points from Landree Gray on a layup, followed by a steal and layup by Dalton Mischal for a 19-8 lead with 5:18 left in the second frame, forcing the Indians to call a timeout. Mischal led the Tigers with 13 points.
“Payton came in and gave us some nice points off the bench,” Hillsboro head coach Bruce Miles said. “We had some guys sick all week and missing practices, but we had guys step up in their place and play good minutes, and Payton was one of those guys.”
Keets scored two points following the timeout, but MHS answered with a 3-pointer by Jensen Knaff and a layup by Starkey for a 26-10 lead with 1:33 left in the first half.
Bell sank a 3-pointer for the Indians with 33 seconds on the clock, but those points were equaled by two free throws by Mischal with 26 seconds left in the quarter. Keets scored the final point of the quarter, though the Indians trailed by 14 points.
“In the first half, we did not move the basketball at all, and we did what Greenfield wanted us to do, and that was shoot it and not make anything,” Miles said. “We were able to start getting them into some foul trouble in the second half, and that helped us get back into the game. We just couldn’t get the stops we needed to in the second half.”
By the time the end of the third frame came to a close, the Indians cut the MHS lead down four points for a 39-29 differential, outscoring the hosts, 15-11.
From the start of the third frame until the 2:35 mark, the Indians went from trailing by 16 points to six points, including a 3-pointer by Ethan Watson for a 32-26 score with 2:35 left in the third. Watson totaled 15 points for the Indians.
McClain outscored the Indians, 7-3 from the 2:15 mark until the end of the third, including the final four points of the frame off a layup by Barton and a free throw by Knaff for the 10-point advantage.
The fourth frame was close in the scoring column as well, with MHS outscoring the Indians, 18-16. HHS cut the McClain lead to four points with 3:18 left in the game following two free throws by Watson, but the lead went back to seven points after a 3-pointer by Barton.
HHS battled and cut the lead of the Tigers to three points, with Keets scoring two points on a layup and two free throws from Marshall Ward for a 48-45 score with 2:07 left in regulation.
In the final 1:30, the Indians were forced to foul the Tigers, with the Tigers making nine of their final 12 free throw attempts, with Beatty, Gray and Owen O’Connor all going to the free-throw line.
For the game, the Tigers were 22-of-34 from the free-throw line, including 13-of-20 in the fourth quarter.
Both coaches spoke about the third game coming up in the winner-take-all tournament game this upcoming Tuesday.
“It is the rubber match, and the winner will move on,” Miles said. “It was a great second half for us, and we were able to get back in it. I was proud of that. Our fans travel well, and we’re looking forward to seeing them all supporting us down there on Tuesday.”
Mitchell also spoke about the upcoming tournament game.
“I’m glad we play Tuesday, because I’d be a total mess if we had to wait and prepare all week,” he said. “We’ve gained some momentum and confidence this week, and that can help anybody.
“I’m excited to see the crowds at the game Tuesday. It will be the rubber match, and it should be fun. Also, credit Hillsboro, they were competitive and played hard.”
The JV game saw the Tigers defeat the Indians, 32-31. Dakota Irvin led MHS with 14 points, and the Indians were led by Garrison Banks with 16 points.
The freshman game was won by the Indians, 43-35. Hayden Haines led the Indians with 19 points, while the Tigers were led by Sammy Gruber with 10 points.
The Tigers (4-10, 8-14) avenged a loss from earlier in the season to the Indians at HHS, giving each team a win on their home court against each other this season and setting up a third game in the Division II SE District Sectional Semifinal on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at Southeastern High School at 8 p.m.
McClain head coach Jesse Mitchell spoke following the game about how the final half of the game played out and how his team was able to fend off the visiting Indians.
“I was a little nervous at the end,” he said. “I had to take the jacket off because it was getting hot, and I’m not a tie guy as you can tell, but give credit to both teams … it doesn’t matter what our records are, everyone is just going to compete and they are going to play hard.
“The good thing is both of these teams like each other. They hang out, and I call this a brotherly rivalry. Tempers got hot, but if you have brothers, that is the way it is sometimes.
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“I give all of our seniors credit. All of our seniors did something great for us tonight, and the good thing is on Tuesday, we get to do this all over again.”
As for the game on Friday night, the Tigers led by a 15-5 score after the first quarter, including the Tigers scoring the first five points of the game off a layup by Jacob Starkey and a 3-pointer by Mat Barton at the 5:40 mark. Barton finished with 11 points for the game, while Starkey totaled eight.
The Indians (4-10, 4-18) broke up the Tigers scoring with two points by Josh Keets, but points from the free-throw line by Jay Beatty pushed the Tigers ahead 7-2, finishing the game with seven points. Keets led the Indians with 16 points.
Keets came back with a point from a foul shot, then MHS went on a 8-2 run to end the quarter for their 15-5 first-quarter lead, including two points from Dakotah Duncan.
By the time the second quarter came to a close, they had doubled the score compared to their opponents, with the Tigers leading 28-14 at halftime.
The Indians opened the second frame with a 3-pointer by Payton Bell, but the Tigers followed with four straight points from Landree Gray on a layup, followed by a steal and layup by Dalton Mischal for a 19-8 lead with 5:18 left in the second frame, forcing the Indians to call a timeout. Mischal led the Tigers with 13 points.
“Payton came in and gave us some nice points off the bench,” Hillsboro head coach Bruce Miles said. “We had some guys sick all week and missing practices, but we had guys step up in their place and play good minutes, and Payton was one of those guys.”
Keets scored two points following the timeout, but MHS answered with a 3-pointer by Jensen Knaff and a layup by Starkey for a 26-10 lead with 1:33 left in the first half.
Bell sank a 3-pointer for the Indians with 33 seconds on the clock, but those points were equaled by two free throws by Mischal with 26 seconds left in the quarter. Keets scored the final point of the quarter, though the Indians trailed by 14 points.
“In the first half, we did not move the basketball at all, and we did what Greenfield wanted us to do, and that was shoot it and not make anything,” Miles said. “We were able to start getting them into some foul trouble in the second half, and that helped us get back into the game. We just couldn’t get the stops we needed to in the second half.”
By the time the end of the third frame came to a close, the Indians cut the MHS lead down four points for a 39-29 differential, outscoring the hosts, 15-11.
From the start of the third frame until the 2:35 mark, the Indians went from trailing by 16 points to six points, including a 3-pointer by Ethan Watson for a 32-26 score with 2:35 left in the third. Watson totaled 15 points for the Indians.
McClain outscored the Indians, 7-3 from the 2:15 mark until the end of the third, including the final four points of the frame off a layup by Barton and a free throw by Knaff for the 10-point advantage.
The fourth frame was close in the scoring column as well, with MHS outscoring the Indians, 18-16. HHS cut the McClain lead to four points with 3:18 left in the game following two free throws by Watson, but the lead went back to seven points after a 3-pointer by Barton.
HHS battled and cut the lead of the Tigers to three points, with Keets scoring two points on a layup and two free throws from Marshall Ward for a 48-45 score with 2:07 left in regulation.
In the final 1:30, the Indians were forced to foul the Tigers, with the Tigers making nine of their final 12 free throw attempts, with Beatty, Gray and Owen O’Connor all going to the free-throw line.
For the game, the Tigers were 22-of-34 from the free-throw line, including 13-of-20 in the fourth quarter.
Both coaches spoke about the third game coming up in the winner-take-all tournament game this upcoming Tuesday.
“It is the rubber match, and the winner will move on,” Miles said. “It was a great second half for us, and we were able to get back in it. I was proud of that. Our fans travel well, and we’re looking forward to seeing them all supporting us down there on Tuesday.”
Mitchell also spoke about the upcoming tournament game.
“I’m glad we play Tuesday, because I’d be a total mess if we had to wait and prepare all week,” he said. “We’ve gained some momentum and confidence this week, and that can help anybody.
“I’m excited to see the crowds at the game Tuesday. It will be the rubber match, and it should be fun. Also, credit Hillsboro, they were competitive and played hard.”
The JV game saw the Tigers defeat the Indians, 32-31. Dakota Irvin led MHS with 14 points, and the Indians were led by Garrison Banks with 16 points.
The freshman game was won by the Indians, 43-35. Hayden Haines led the Indians with 19 points, while the Tigers were led by Sammy Gruber with 10 points.