Tigers earn 3rd consecutive victory; defeat Blanchester by 1 point

LEESBURG — Beginning the 2026 Chad Hodson Classic with a competitive game at Grandle Gymnasium, the McClain Tigers earned their third consecutive victory by defeating the Blanchester Wildcats, 49-48. 

The non-conference win on Jan. 3 started the ’26 portion of the McClain schedule with a game which saw the Tigers lead after each quarter, as they wore their gold with purple trim jerseys as they were the home team in the non-conference contest. 

MHS held a one-point lead after the first quarter at 8-7, then as halftime arrived the Tigers were in front by nine points at 25-16 after outscoring the Wildcats 17-9 in the second frame. McClain then led by 12 points after three quarters at 42-30 with the Tigers scoring 17 points and BHS putting 14 points on the visitor side of the scoreboard. 

The Tigers in the fourth quarter fended off a strong fury of offense by Blanchester to gain the one-point win, with the Wildcats scoring 18 points and McClain scoring seven points. 

In the current three-game winning streak by McClain — a feat they accomplished once last season — they have now defeated Zane Trace (46-42), Adena (50-48) and now Blanchester (49-48), showcasing they can now win the closely contested games that come down to the wire. 

Starting with the first quarter on Saturday at Grandle Gymnasium — a game that had an 11 a.m. tip-off — McClain struck first with a 3-pointer from senior Jordan Bell 25 seconds into the game for the early lead. After a basket by Blanchester’s Carson Moore, the Tigers scored the next basket with 4:30 left in the first off a shot from sophomore Hudson Lovett. Again, BHS answered with a basket in the paint from Cam Vogel, only to see the Tigers answer with a free throw made by sophomore Brady Binegar for a 6-4 advantage. 

Blanchester took the lead with a 3-pointer by sophomore Braxton Short, but the Tigers answered with a basket at the 2:16 mark — the final points of the first quarter — by Lovett for the 8-7 lead. 

McClain began the second quarter like they did in the first, with Bell scoring a basket, this time for two points, and later it was a 12-9 lead for the Tigers with a bucket from Lovett. That basket began a 7-0 run for McClain which also included another 3-pointer from Bell and a fast break basket by Lovett for a 17-9 lead with 5:30 left in the first half. 

Following a basket by the Wildcats, MHS had baskets from senior Julien Evans and sophomore Kolton Lamb (with the full-court pass from Lovett) for a 10-point McClain lead at the 4:18 mark of the quarter. Both teams ended the frame with two baskets each for a 25-16 MHS advantage at halftime. 

The third frame saw McClain’s lead drop to seven points at the start of the quarter, but stand at 12 points when the third came to a close of the frame at 42-30 with having a 3-pointer and free throw from Binegar, a 3-pointer and two-point basket from Bell, two two-point baskets by Lovett, and one basket each from Lamb and Elijah Storer.

Then came the final eight minutes of action which included competitive play on the court as the Wildcats chipped away at the Tigers’ lead, making it a nine-point deficit with a basket by junior Brayden Nehymer. From the 5:13 mark to the 1:55 mark, it was Blanchester controlling the offense with a 13-3 run that included a 3-pointer from Behymer that made it a 47-45 score, bringing the Wildcats to within two points of tying the score. In that time of the game, McClain’s three points were from a 3-pointer by sophomore Connor Chandler with 2:54 on the clock. 

MHS increased their lead to four points with two very important free-throw conversions by Storer with 4.0 left in regulation, as that led McClain to a four-point advantage. Behymer sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Wildcats for the one-point scoring differential in the game. 

The Chad Hodson Classic game MVPs were Lovett for McClain and Behymer for Blanchester. 

Lovett led the Tigers with 16 points, making eight baskets. Bell totaled 13 points, as he sank three 3-pointers and two two-point buckets. 

The Tigers also had six points scored by Lamb (three baskets), and Binegar totaled five points off a 3-pointer and he was 2-of-4 from the free-throw line. Storer totaled four points with a two-point basket, and he went 2-of-2 in his free-throw attempts. Chandler totaled three points in the win with a 3-pointer, and Evans finished with two points off a basket. 

McClain totaled 15 two-point baskets, five 3-pointers, and they were 4-of-8 from the free-throw line. 

Behymer led Blanchester with 22 points (15 in the fourth quarter) with five two-point baskets and four 3-pointers (three in the fourth quarter). Scoring nine points was Braxton Short, finishing the game with two two-point baskets, one 3-pointer, and he was 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. Vogel totaled eight points off two baskets and a 4-of-6 performance from the free-throw line. 

The Wildcats also had six points scored by Moore off three baskets, and Ayden South scored two points. Rounding out the scoring for BHS was Eli Allen with one point. 

BOX SCORE 
BHS     07 09 14 18 — 48 
MHS     08 17 17 07 — 49 

MCCLAIN (49) — B.Binegar 0 (1) 2-4 5, J.Bell 2 (3) 0-0 13, C.Chandler 0 (1) 0-0 3, J.Evans 1 (0) 0-0 2, H.Lovett 8 (0) 0-0 16, K.Lamb 3 (0) 0-2 6, E.Storer 1 (0) 2-2 4. TOTALS: 15 (5) 4-8 49. 

BLANCHESTER (48) — C.Moore 3 (0) 0-0 6, B.Behymer 5 (4) 0-0 22, E.Allen 0 (0) 1-2 1, A.South 1 (0) 0-0 2, B.Short 2 (1) 2-2 9, C.Vogel 2 (0) 4-6 8. TOTALS: 13 (5) 7-10 48.