Tigers come from behind to defeat Clinton-Massie

The McClain boys varsity basketball team had to overcome an 11-point first-half deficit to defeat Clinton-Massie, 65-56 Tuesday night on the Tigers' home floor.

“We fought through a lot of adversity in this game for sure,” said McClain head coach Jarrod Haines. “A little cold shooting the basketball, and Jordan (Bell) and Zane (Adams) didn’t get off to the offensive start they usually do.”

McClain continues to improve both offensively and defensively in every game and are enjoying a little four-game winning streak that improves their overall record to 6-3 on the season.

Senior post player Owen Sykes played the best game of his high school career, scoring a game-high 24 points while grabbing a team-high 16 rebounds for the Tigers.

“Owen (Sykes) really sparked us tonight,” Haines said “He seemed to put us on his shoulders and carry us. He had a huge game despite battling an injury.”

The Tigers also got some offensive help in the second half from seniors Jordan Bell and Zane Adams, who scored 11 points each, including three long balls by both players.

“Clinton-Massie made a couple of huge runs on us in the second and third quarters, but we were able to fight back and still tie it up at the end of the third,” Haines said.

Sykes and the Tigers started off the game well and led 18-14 after one period of play, as Sykes scored 10 of McClain’s 18 points in the quarter.

But in the second period, the Falcons came out aggressively on both ends of the floor and went on an 11-0 run midway through the frame and took a 27-21 advantage. Massie outscored McClain 20-11 in the second quarter to take a 34-29 lead at the half.

Sykes led all scorers at the break with 13 points, while Tristen Trampler scored 10 to lead the Falcons.

Clinton-Massie opened the third period with another little 5-0 run and took an 11-point lead at 40-29, but that’s when the Tigers started to mount their comeback.

After Lovett converted an old-fashioned 3-point play, and then Bell drained a pair of long threes on back-to-back possessions, the Tigers trailed by just three points at 44-41. Adams and Lovett both connected on trifectas as the quarter was winding down to help tie the game at 50-50 heading to the fourth.

Another thing that hurt McClain during the Falcons’ scoring run was that starting point guard and floor leader Riley Cummins was saddled with foul trouble and had to sit out most of that time.

“We were definitely a better team when Riley (Cummins) was on the floor,” Haines said. “We are so much better defensively and offensively when he’s in the game.”

McClain opened up the fourth quarter scoring the first five points on a long three by Adams and another nice inside bucket by Sykes for a 55-50 advantage, but the Falcons answered with another little 6-2 run to pull back to within a point 57-56 moments later.

The Tigers were able to put the game away down the stretch when they converted six straight free throws to ice the game.

“There in the fourth quarter, we got some timely shots from Jordan (Bell) and Zane (Adams), and then Hudson Lovett comes in and was all over the floor,” Haines said. “Hudson, who’s only a freshman, was huge for us tonight. He made a big three to tie the game at the buzzer in the third and rebounded the basketball. He had just an all-around great game.

“We’ve had a few slow starts in some games this year, but we’ve had a lot of different people step up and make things happen for us, which is a testament to these kids and how hard they work.

“I’m really proud of these guys,” Haines continued. “They have a lot of grit and toughness, and that’s what you need to win these kinds of games.

“We’ve got a couple of tough ball games this weekend at Hillsboro on Friday, then at Unioto on Saturday, so I hope we have a lot of people come out and continue to support our team.”

Individual scoring for McClain: Zane Adams 3,2,11, Riley Cummins 1,2,4, Jordan Bell 4,0,11, Julien Evans 1,0,2, Owen Sykes 8,8,24, Hudson Lovett 3,2,9 and Brandon Greene 1,2,4, Totals 21,16,65. 3-point goals: Adams 3, Bell 3 and Lovett 1.

The Tigers shot lights out from the charity stripe where they made 16-of-19 free throws for an impressive 84 percent.

Trampler led Clinton-Massie with a team-high 16 points.

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