McClain comeback comes up short against Blue Lions

The McClain Tigers fell behind 8-0 early on in Friday night’s game against the Washington Blue Lions but made a valiant comeback effort in the third and fourth quarters before falling 53-40 at the end in a Frontier Athletic Conference matchup in Greenfield.

Things started bad for the Tigers when they found themselves trailing 17-5 after one period of play but behind the hot hand of sophomore Brady Binegar in the second quarter cut the deficit to eight points 24-16 at the half. Binegar finished the first half with eight points, all coming in the second quarter, which included a pair of 3-pointers.

McClain’s defense was superb the entire game, which showed on the scoreboard when they held the usually potent Blue Lion offense to just 53 points on the night.

“We’ve had a couple of rough two weeks, and we knew we had to come out and start being more physical on defense, and man, did our kids respond defensively tonight,” McClain head coach Jarrod Haines said. “We’ve had two really good days of practice, and I thought our kids really responded well defensively. When you’re struggling to score points like we are right now, you have to play good half-court defense.

“I’m proud of our kids’ effort tonight. They played extremely hard and got to within three points with three minutes to play, but unfortunately the ball didn’t bounce our way at the end.”

The third period was the Tigers’ best of the night when they pulled within four points, 28-24 at the 3:30 mark after sophomore Matthew Cummins scored six of his team’s 12 points in the frame.

Washington ended the period on a 6-0 run of their own and took a 35-28 advantage into the final quarter. The Blue Lions maintained a double-digit lead in the first half of the final period until a controversial technical was called on a McClain player.

This seemed to ignite a momentum swing for the Tigers, and behind an enthusiastic home crowd, MHS went on another 7-0 run and cut their deficit to just three points, 43-40 with three minutes remaining in regulation.

But with Washington holding the ball down the stretch, McClain was forced to foul, and the Blue Lions converted six straight free throws in the final minutes and hung on for the hard-fought 53-40 FAC victory.

“We needed this type of effort, that’s for sure,” Haines said. “I thought Elijah Storer played a really solid game. He was physical defensively and rebounded the ball well. Hudson (Lovett) was attacking the basket and probably played his best game defensively for us. 

“Jordan Bell and Brady Binegar both knocked down some big shots for us, and then in the second half Matthew Cummins started attacking the basket as well. I also thought that Leland Bond and Julien Evans both came in and gave us big minutes on both ends of the floor.”

The final score really didn’t indicate how close the game was at the end and how well this young Tiger team played, especially on the defensive end.

“We’re a young team that’s starting to respond better now, and we’ve got some kids that are starting to step up, and that’s what you need to see from a young team like this,” Haines said. “Tonight’s game atmosphere was great, just can’t wait until we start coming out on top of some of these games.”

Individual scoring for McClain: Brady Binegar 4,2,13, Jordan Bell 3,2,10, Hudson Lovett 3,2,9, Matthew Cummins 4,0,8. Totals: 14,6,40. 3-point goals: Binegar 2, Bell 2 and Lovett 1. McClain converted 6-of-8 free throws for 75 percent.

Washington leading scorers were Javien Baker 14, Bryson Heath 13 and Noah Haithcock 13. The Blue Lions made 14-of-18 foul shots for 68 percent.

McClain drops to 5-9 overall (0-7 in the FAC) and is scheduled to play next at East Clinton on Tuesday, Jan. 27 before traveling to Jackson on Friday, Jan. 30.