Indians win Round 2 against rival McClain

GREENFIELD — There was no love lost on this Valentine’s Day between the McClain Tigers and Hillsboro Indians in their second matchup of the season. 

Playing this time in a jam-packed McClain Gym in Greenfield, the Tigers battled with all they had, getting to within five points of the lead in the third frame, but Round 2 ultimately belonged to the Indians, with Hillsboro defeating the Tigers 65-53 Friday night. 

The Frontier Athletic Conference game also saw the return of Hillsboro captain Tate Davis, who missed multiple games with an ankle injury. Davis’ return to the court was big for the Indians, finishing with 17 points, including four two-point baskets, one 3-pointer, and he was 6-of-9 from the free-throw line. 

“Anytime you can beat your rivals, it’s fun,” Hillsboro head coach Josh Howland said. “We were a lot more comfortable having Tate Davis out there on the floor tonight for us. I know it took a lot of pressure off everybody else.”

The Indians (3-6, 10-11) were led by Jack Howland with 19 points, totaling two two-pointers, three 3-pointers, and he was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. 

Also in double-figure scoring for HHS was Mason Dumpert with 11 points, collecting five two-point baskets and he was 1-of-4 from the free-throw line. 

For McClain (0-9, 7-11), they also had three players reach double figures, being led by Hudson Lovett with 17 points. Lovett made five two-point baskets, two 3-pointers, and he was 1-of-2 from the free-throw line. Lovett also had a double-double with 11 rebounds. 

Zane Adams finished with 15 points for the Tigers, making two two-pointers, three 3-pointers and he was 2-of-3 from the free-throw line. 

McClain also had 11 points scored by Jordan Bell, with three 3-pointers with a 2-of-2 performance from the free-throw line.

“I thought our guys fought, fought, fought,” McClain head coach Jarrod Haines said. “Brandon (Greene) came in, and he gave us very good minutes. I thought rebounding the basketball defensively, he made some key buckets for us. I thought he did a great job. 

“Zane (Adams) hit some shots when we needed it, especially early, kind of kept us in. Jordan just takes a beating bringing the ball down the floor. He's asked to do a lot. Owen (Sykes) and Riley (Cummins) were in foul trouble, and Riley does so much, and when he's not out there, it really, really hurts us.”

Haines spoke highly of his freshman player, Lovett. 

“He is undersized, and the kid plays his butt off. He made some big baskets for us, and he is not a freshman anymore. He's not playing like one. He's really coming into the zone, and he's not afraid to have the ball in his hands and attack, shoot the three. He's starting to score from all three levels,” Haines said. “If he continues to work at it, he's a strong kid, and he can elevate, as you see on his rebound. I’m tickled to death to see him get some minutes with these seniors. I think they've done a good job with him. It’s been nice to see Hudson grow with them, and now he's kind of coming into his own, and it's really good to see. 

“I’m proud of my kids. I mean, when I took this job, I said, I don't want to be a circle on someone's schedule that says they're going to beat you, and they take us serious, and they got to compete for four quarters, and that's all I asked.”

The first quarter for the two rivals started with the first points of the game being scored by Hillsboro’s Tre Captain — who totaled five points — with a put-back bucket, but he was answered with two points by Lovett for a tied 2-2 score. 

The two teams continued to exchange baskets until the score was tied 9-9, as Captain took the lead away from McClain with a free throw with 4:10 left in the first quarter. 

In between the two tied scores, Lovett put the Tigers in front with a basket, but Brayden Hunter sank a 3-pointer, followed by a 3-pointer by Adams. 

Davis came back for HHS with a 3-pointer of his own, but the Tigers regained the lead with a layup by Lovett for a 9-8 advantage. 

After the score was tied at 9-9, the Indians scored the next four points, but MHS answered with five consecutive points with a basket by Adams and a 3-pointer from Bell for a one-point MHS advantage.

Hillsboro regained the lead once the first frame ended with two free throws made by Brady Juillerat and two more free throws converted by Davis for the 17-14 HHS lead. 

The Indians won the second frame at 9-6 for a halftime lead of 26-20. 

Hillsboro had five points from Howland in the quarter (including a 3-pointer at the buzzer), while Dylan Dixon and Captain each made a basket in the second. McClain’s six points in the second were scored with four points by Adams and two points from Owen Sykes. 

Hillsboro gained a 10-point advantage once the third quarter was finished, leading 47-37 as HHS scored 21 points in the third and the Tigers scored 17 points. 

McClain’s third frame saw Adams net six points with a 3-pointer, a two-point basket and a free throw. Bell made two 3-pointers in the third, Lovett added three points for MHS and Brandon Greene also made a basket. 

The Indians’ third quarter consisted of Howland scoring nine points with a two-point and three-point basket, plus he was 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in the frame. 

HHS, in the third, had four points from Dumpert off two baskets and six points by Davis with two two-point baskets and two made free throws on four attempts. 

The third frame also had two points scored by Brayden Hunter, as the Indians led by as many as 15 points in the quarter. 

“We wanted to trap off the ball screens early,” Howland said. “We knew they probably figure it out eventually, and they did, but it got us going a little bit offensively. We felt like the first time we played them, in the first half, we weren't getting that. We weren't getting offense off the defense.

“I thought our boys stepped up to these challenges. We had them spread out for 13 minutes, then they cut it down to, what, nine, I think there. I was hoping we would build that out in the third and it would be an easy path all the way to the end. Hats off to [McClain]. They battled back. They didn't stop.”

Hillsboro and McClain were close to even in the fourth frame, with the Indians outscoring the Tigers 18-16 to earn the 12-point win. 

In the fourth, the Indians regained their previous 15-point lead with 3:41 left in the quarter, as Dumpert scored five points in the quarter, as did Howland. Davis scored four points for HHS in the fourth, and with two points each in the quarter were Hunter and Juillerat. 

McClain’s fourth quarter saw Lovett score eight points with two 3-pointers and a two-point basket. McClain also had four points scored by Greene and two points each by Bell and Sykes.

More final scoring totals for the Tigers included Sykes with four points and Greene with six points. 

HHS other final scoring totals included Hunter with seven points, Dixon with two points, Captain with five points and Juillerat with four points. 

The Indians’ team totals included 16 two-point baskets, five 3-pointers, and they were 18-of-25 from the free-throw line. 

McClain’s team totals were 12 two-pointers, eight 3-pointers, and they were 5-of-10 from the free-throw line. 

Hillsboro is scheduled to finish their regular season Saturday, Feb. 15 on the road in FAC action at undefeated Miami Trace (9-0, 20-0).

McClain also plays again Saturday, Feb. 15 in an FAC game against the Chillicothe Cavaliers at MHS. 

BOX SCORE
HHS    17 09 21 18 — 65
MHS    14 06 17 16 — 53

HILLSBORO (65) — M.Dumpert 5 (0) 1-4 11, T.Davis 4 (1) 6-9 17, B.Hunter 1 (1) 2-2 17, D.Dixon 1 (0) 0-0 2, T.Captain 2 (0) 1-2 5, J.Howland 2 (3) 6-6 19, B.Juillerat 1 (0) 2-2 4. TOTALS: 16 (5) 18-25 65. 

MCCLAIN (53) — Z.Adams 2 (3) 2-3 15, R.Cummins 0 (0) 0-2 0, J.Bell 0 (3) 2-2 11, O.Sykes 2 (0) 0-1 4, H.Lovett 5 (2) 1-2 17, B.Greene 3 (0) 0-0 6. TOTALS: 12 (8) 5-10 53. 

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