Bailey, Fuller, Jewett, Sharkey lead HHS
By
Bob Patton-
The 1974-75 SCOL basketball season was one of the most notable seasons
in the history of the league because two SCOL teams reached the regional
tournament in that season and one of them reached the regional finals.
This was the first year the South Central League held basketball
previews. All seven league schools and Clinton Massie participated, each
playing two quarters. The SCOL was still a seven school league – an awkward
arrangement, since somebody has a bye every playing date. If Madison Plains
didn’t change their minds again, the SCOL would become an eight school
league in 1975-76.
Local newspapers were predicting a four-team race for the league title.
Circleville, Unioto, Washington C.H. and McClain were the top picks of the
news media.
McClain had all five starters back and had a chance to be an outstanding
team. They had survived a tough year in 1973-74, in which they had no home
court. Due to classic foul-ups in construction of their new gymnasium (which
was supposed to be completed in time for the first home game of the 1973-74
season), all of their “home” games were played at Hillsboro, Washington
C.H., Miami Trace and various other locations. But in some ways, that
experience may have made the Tigers a better team. They were 7 or 8 men
deep, and had several very intelligent kids on the court. They had good
average size, but did not have any 6’5” or 6’6” players. The lack of
overpowering height could hurt them in some games.
At Hillsboro, head Coach Bob Ream was back for his fourth year. He had
engineered a classic upset in his first year, beating the 1971-72 SCOL
Champion McClain Tigers in the sectional tournament. He had, however, not
been able to do much since. His won-loss record for three years was 29 wins
and 31 losses. He hoped to do better than that this season; 5’9” senior
guard Kevin Bailey was the best prospect in the Hillsboro arsenal. Tim
Fuller, Mike Sharkey and Roger Jewett would most likely also be starters,
along with 6’5” Mike Sharkey. Guard Barry Zink, a defensive specialist could
contribute considerably, as well. After taking a good look at his
opposition, Ream was picking McClain and Circleville to slug it out for the
top rung in the SCOL.
Washington had three starters back, and they were very good athletes;
6’3” Doug Phillips, 6’ Chuck Byrd and 5’10” Craig Shaffer (brother of Coach
Gary Shaffer) were experienced players and would be joined by several
excellent prospects off last year’s reserve team.
Miami Trace, on the other hand, had lost all five starters due to
graduation; 5’9” Phil Skinner was their only returning letterman. It could
be a long winter for MT.
Unioto should be very competitive. They started a 6’8” center, Greg
Alcorn, along with two excellent guards. They had some limitations, though.
While Alcorn was the biggest player in the SCOL, he was not very mobile.
Also, their forwards were question marks.
In early non-league action, Groveport beat Washington, 72-59; McClain
downed Paint Valley, 79-55; Circleville took Bexley, 82-67; and Miami Trace
pounded Springfield Northeastern, 76-56.
The first round of SCOL games was scheduled for Nov. 26 and would
feature Washington at Circleville, Miami Trace at McClain and Unioto at
Hillsboro.
Most of the air was let out of Washington’s balloon in the very first
league game, as the Circleville Tigers completely dismantled the Blue Lions,
71-48. The red and black had balanced scoring, led by Reed’s 16 points.
Shaffer and Byrd had 11 each for Washington. Miami Trace, playing in the
brand new McClain gym, gave the Tigers all they wanted. After a rugged
battle, McClain came out on top, 57-54. Willett’s 15, Harvey’s 14 and David
McCoy’s 10 led the Tigers. Conner racked up 18 for the Panthers with
freshman Art Schlichter adding 10.
At Hillsboro, all five Unioto starters fouled out and the Indians
grabbed a 61-56 win in the last couple of minutes behind Matt Sharkey’s 16
points and Tim Fuller’s 15.
On Dec. 4, Circleville downed Unioto, 71- 63, as Biff Bumgarner and
George Moore scored 21 and 20 points, respectively. The McClain Tigers
hammered Hillsboro, 63-39, with balanced scoring and tight defense. The
Panthers pulverized Wilmington, 81-47, as nearly everybody in the gym scored
for MT. So, after only two SCOL games, Circleville and McClain were both
2-0. Hillsboro and Miami Trace were 1-1. Washington and Wilmington were both
0-1 and Unioto was 0-2.
On Friday, Dec. 13, WCH got their second win of the season and their
first SCOL win, when they came from behind to defeat winless Unioto, 69-66.
Elsewhere, Circleville edged McClain, 71-66, when both of McClain’s big men,
Willett and Harvey fouled out with three minutes remaining in the game.
Hillsboro beat Wilmington, 65-50, playing without scoring ace Kevin Bailey,
who was out with a badly sprained ankle.
The following Tuesday night, McClain downed WCH, 73-60, as the Tigers
had five men scoring in double figures and two others with 9 and 8 points.
Doug Phillips led the scoring for the Blue Lions with 20 markers.
At Hillsboro, Miami Trace blew a 21-point third quarter lead, but hung
on to squeeze out a 51-49 SCOL victory. Hillsboro was still playing without
the services of Kevin Bailey, the SCOL’s leading scorer in 1973-74. But
Trace lost their leading scorer, Allan Conner, to a severely sprained ankle
in the first quarter of this game.
Circleville seemed to be emerging as the real powerhouse of the league,
as they drilled Miami Trace on Dec. 20, 61-44. Circleville’s Harold Reed was
a one-man wrecking crew as he moved and scored almost at will along the
baseline, collecting 22 points. At Washington, to the surprise of nobody,
the Blue Lions beat Wilmington, 78-56.
On Dec. 27, McClain traveled to nearby Frankfort to play the Adena
Warriors. After a ferocious battle, the Tigers escaped with a one-point win,
58-57. McClain got some negative press following that game. Adena was a
smaller school and McClain was a heavy favorite. But Adena was coached by
Ron Hall. Hall was considered one of the better coaches in southern Ohio. He
had Clark Gilmore and David Givens, two very outstanding players. Tiger Bill
Flynn hit a crucial basket in the last nine seconds of play to win the game
for the Tigers.
That season, and for the next several seasons, Adena would give almost
any team a rugged battle in the Frankfort gym.
The next night, McClain was scheduled to meet Jackson in the McClain
gym. But during the day, the school was contacted by a representative of the
architectural firm which drew up the plans for the facility. He warned that
there was a problem involving the structural steel beams overhead. The
Jackson game was cancelled and the gym was closed for a week.
(To be continued next week.)
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing
writer to The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
in the history of the league because two SCOL teams reached the regional
tournament in that season and one of them reached the regional finals.
This was the first year the South Central League held basketball
previews. All seven league schools and Clinton Massie participated, each
playing two quarters. The SCOL was still a seven school league – an awkward
arrangement, since somebody has a bye every playing date. If Madison Plains
didn’t change their minds again, the SCOL would become an eight school
league in 1975-76.
Local newspapers were predicting a four-team race for the league title.
Circleville, Unioto, Washington C.H. and McClain were the top picks of the
news media.
McClain had all five starters back and had a chance to be an outstanding
team. They had survived a tough year in 1973-74, in which they had no home
court. Due to classic foul-ups in construction of their new gymnasium (which
was supposed to be completed in time for the first home game of the 1973-74
season), all of their “home” games were played at Hillsboro, Washington
C.H., Miami Trace and various other locations. But in some ways, that
experience may have made the Tigers a better team. They were 7 or 8 men
deep, and had several very intelligent kids on the court. They had good
average size, but did not have any 6’5” or 6’6” players. The lack of
overpowering height could hurt them in some games.
At Hillsboro, head Coach Bob Ream was back for his fourth year. He had
engineered a classic upset in his first year, beating the 1971-72 SCOL
Champion McClain Tigers in the sectional tournament. He had, however, not
been able to do much since. His won-loss record for three years was 29 wins
and 31 losses. He hoped to do better than that this season; 5’9” senior
guard Kevin Bailey was the best prospect in the Hillsboro arsenal. Tim
Fuller, Mike Sharkey and Roger Jewett would most likely also be starters,
along with 6’5” Mike Sharkey. Guard Barry Zink, a defensive specialist could
contribute considerably, as well. After taking a good look at his
opposition, Ream was picking McClain and Circleville to slug it out for the
top rung in the SCOL.
Washington had three starters back, and they were very good athletes;
6’3” Doug Phillips, 6’ Chuck Byrd and 5’10” Craig Shaffer (brother of Coach
Gary Shaffer) were experienced players and would be joined by several
excellent prospects off last year’s reserve team.
Miami Trace, on the other hand, had lost all five starters due to
graduation; 5’9” Phil Skinner was their only returning letterman. It could
be a long winter for MT.
Unioto should be very competitive. They started a 6’8” center, Greg
Alcorn, along with two excellent guards. They had some limitations, though.
While Alcorn was the biggest player in the SCOL, he was not very mobile.
Also, their forwards were question marks.
In early non-league action, Groveport beat Washington, 72-59; McClain
downed Paint Valley, 79-55; Circleville took Bexley, 82-67; and Miami Trace
pounded Springfield Northeastern, 76-56.
The first round of SCOL games was scheduled for Nov. 26 and would
feature Washington at Circleville, Miami Trace at McClain and Unioto at
Hillsboro.
Most of the air was let out of Washington’s balloon in the very first
league game, as the Circleville Tigers completely dismantled the Blue Lions,
71-48. The red and black had balanced scoring, led by Reed’s 16 points.
Shaffer and Byrd had 11 each for Washington. Miami Trace, playing in the
brand new McClain gym, gave the Tigers all they wanted. After a rugged
battle, McClain came out on top, 57-54. Willett’s 15, Harvey’s 14 and David
McCoy’s 10 led the Tigers. Conner racked up 18 for the Panthers with
freshman Art Schlichter adding 10.
At Hillsboro, all five Unioto starters fouled out and the Indians
grabbed a 61-56 win in the last couple of minutes behind Matt Sharkey’s 16
points and Tim Fuller’s 15.
On Dec. 4, Circleville downed Unioto, 71- 63, as Biff Bumgarner and
George Moore scored 21 and 20 points, respectively. The McClain Tigers
hammered Hillsboro, 63-39, with balanced scoring and tight defense. The
Panthers pulverized Wilmington, 81-47, as nearly everybody in the gym scored
for MT. So, after only two SCOL games, Circleville and McClain were both
2-0. Hillsboro and Miami Trace were 1-1. Washington and Wilmington were both
0-1 and Unioto was 0-2.
On Friday, Dec. 13, WCH got their second win of the season and their
first SCOL win, when they came from behind to defeat winless Unioto, 69-66.
Elsewhere, Circleville edged McClain, 71-66, when both of McClain’s big men,
Willett and Harvey fouled out with three minutes remaining in the game.
Hillsboro beat Wilmington, 65-50, playing without scoring ace Kevin Bailey,
who was out with a badly sprained ankle.
The following Tuesday night, McClain downed WCH, 73-60, as the Tigers
had five men scoring in double figures and two others with 9 and 8 points.
Doug Phillips led the scoring for the Blue Lions with 20 markers.
At Hillsboro, Miami Trace blew a 21-point third quarter lead, but hung
on to squeeze out a 51-49 SCOL victory. Hillsboro was still playing without
the services of Kevin Bailey, the SCOL’s leading scorer in 1973-74. But
Trace lost their leading scorer, Allan Conner, to a severely sprained ankle
in the first quarter of this game.
Circleville seemed to be emerging as the real powerhouse of the league,
as they drilled Miami Trace on Dec. 20, 61-44. Circleville’s Harold Reed was
a one-man wrecking crew as he moved and scored almost at will along the
baseline, collecting 22 points. At Washington, to the surprise of nobody,
the Blue Lions beat Wilmington, 78-56.
On Dec. 27, McClain traveled to nearby Frankfort to play the Adena
Warriors. After a ferocious battle, the Tigers escaped with a one-point win,
58-57. McClain got some negative press following that game. Adena was a
smaller school and McClain was a heavy favorite. But Adena was coached by
Ron Hall. Hall was considered one of the better coaches in southern Ohio. He
had Clark Gilmore and David Givens, two very outstanding players. Tiger Bill
Flynn hit a crucial basket in the last nine seconds of play to win the game
for the Tigers.
That season, and for the next several seasons, Adena would give almost
any team a rugged battle in the Frankfort gym.
The next night, McClain was scheduled to meet Jackson in the McClain
gym. But during the day, the school was contacted by a representative of the
architectural firm which drew up the plans for the facility. He warned that
there was a problem involving the structural steel beams overhead. The
Jackson game was cancelled and the gym was closed for a week.
(To be continued next week.)
Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing
writer to The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]