Blue Lions rally by Tribe
Lead Summary

By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
WASHINGTON C.H. - In round two of their South Central Ohio League battle, the Washington Blue Lions charged ahead in the second half, breaking a fourth quarter tie to take the league win over the Hillsboro Indians 50-45 Saturday night in Washington C.H.
The final quarter began tied at 36 as the final eight minutes determined who would win the final regular showdown between both teams.
"This was a physical game," HHS head coach Tim Davis said. "We are both physical and that is a strong point for both of us. Washington never backed down and they have kids who can shoot well."
After both teams missed numerous shot attempts to open the final eight minutes, Hillsboro senior Colt Coates put the Tribe ahead 38-36 with 5:36 left in the game. Washington's Casey Shaw put the Blue Lions in the lead by scoring on two consecutive trips down the court, first scoring with a free throw conversion, followed with two more free throws at the 4:16 mark of the quarter to put the Blue Lions ahead 39-38.
Shaw wasn't finished and capitalized on the miscues of the Indians as he knocked down a 3-pointer from the left corner to give the Blue Lions a 42-38 lead with just 2:20 remaining in regulation.
After the sixth straight point by Shaw, the Indians kept their poise and cut the Washington lead to two points with Coates knocking down a wide-open layup off a pass from Aric Carroll.
Julian Wyatt scored inside points and Connor Johnson netted a free throw to put the Blue Lions up five with just over one minute remaining.
HHS senior Airic Steagall made a layup to bring the Indians within three points of Washington, but a free throw from Washington's Matt Stringfield gave the Blue Lions a four point advantage with 39.4 left.
Steagall kept HHS in the game with a three-point play as he forced his way to the hoop and drained the ensuing free throw as he was fouled in the process of making the layup, cutting the WSHS led down to one point at 46-45 with 33.5 left in the fourth. Steagall led all scorers with a game-high 18 points, making two 3-pointers and going 4 of 4 from the free throw line.
Washington's Kyle Slone put the Blue Lions up by three with two free throws as Hillsboro was forced to foul the Blue Lions to save time on the clock.
But the Indians were unable to fend off the Washington free throw barrage any longer as Stringfield put Washington ahead by five (50-45) with 11.8 remaining in the game with back-to-back free throws.
"We didn't work to get the best shot and that is something we have to get better at," Davis said. "We have to be more patient and we had too much standing for my liking."
Both teams battled for the entire game as the first quarter was a close battle, with the Indians leading 11-9.
Dylan Barreras scored the games first points, but WSHS took the lead with a 3-pointer from Shaw. Carroll gave the Tribe a one-point lead and Steagall increased the advantage with a 3-pointer to put Hillsboro up 7-3 with 4:29 left in the first.
Stringfield and Johnson tied the game at seven, as the SCOL contest would be tied seven more times before the final buzzer sounded.
Coates put HHS up 9-7 and 11-9 with inside buckets, as his final points in the first came while being defended by three Washington defenders.
The second quarter opened up with tough defense, as Wyatt had two blocks on the same Hillsboro possession.
Washington brought the score within one point as Shaw connected from three-point range and took the lead as he made another trifecta with 5:32 left in the opening half.
Carroll brought the Indians within one point of the Blue Lions, and Steagall made three straight free throws as he was fouled while attempting a 3-point shot with 3:37 left in the second.
Stringfield and Slone combined for four points to give the Blue Lions the lead, but again, Carroll was there to tie the game at 20.
The Indians ended the first half with two 3-pointers with Steagall nailing one with 1:03 left, and Emanuel Turner knocking one down at the buzzer for the 26-22 halftime lead for the Indians.
"At halftime we felt things were going well," Davis said. "They (WSHS) ran a good 1-3-1 and we weren't very patient. Their zone gave us trouble and we didn't have good shot selection."
In the third Stringfield brought the Blue Lions closer to tying the game with a 3-pointer at 28-27, but Coates and Turner added to the HHS advantage at 32-27 with 3:37 left in the third. Coates finished with 12 points.
The game was tied at 36 after the Blue Lions connected from downtown with .32 seconds left in the quarter.
Washington had three players finish in double figures with Shaw leading with 16 points, followed by Stringfield with 15 and Slone gaining 12.
The Indians will play again on Tuesday as they take on Miami Trace.
In the JV game HHS defeated WSHS 45-44. Tyrand Cumberland led with 23 points for HHS.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
HHS - 11 15 10 9 - 45
WSHS - 9 13 14 14 - 50
INDIVIDUAL STATS
WSHS (50)
Stringfield 2 (1) 8-10 15, Wyatt 2 4, Shaw 0 (4) 4-8 16, Johnson 1 1-3 3, Slone 1 (2) 4-4 12. TOTALS: 6 (7) 17-25 50.
HHS (45)
Coates 6 12, Turner 1 (1) 5, Dy.Barreras 1 2, Carroll 2 2-2 6, Steagall 4 (2) 4-4 18, Wilson 1 2. TOTALS: 15 (3) 6-6 45.[[In-content Ad]]
The final quarter began tied at 36 as the final eight minutes determined who would win the final regular showdown between both teams.
"This was a physical game," HHS head coach Tim Davis said. "We are both physical and that is a strong point for both of us. Washington never backed down and they have kids who can shoot well."
After both teams missed numerous shot attempts to open the final eight minutes, Hillsboro senior Colt Coates put the Tribe ahead 38-36 with 5:36 left in the game. Washington's Casey Shaw put the Blue Lions in the lead by scoring on two consecutive trips down the court, first scoring with a free throw conversion, followed with two more free throws at the 4:16 mark of the quarter to put the Blue Lions ahead 39-38.
Shaw wasn't finished and capitalized on the miscues of the Indians as he knocked down a 3-pointer from the left corner to give the Blue Lions a 42-38 lead with just 2:20 remaining in regulation.
After the sixth straight point by Shaw, the Indians kept their poise and cut the Washington lead to two points with Coates knocking down a wide-open layup off a pass from Aric Carroll.
Julian Wyatt scored inside points and Connor Johnson netted a free throw to put the Blue Lions up five with just over one minute remaining.
HHS senior Airic Steagall made a layup to bring the Indians within three points of Washington, but a free throw from Washington's Matt Stringfield gave the Blue Lions a four point advantage with 39.4 left.
Steagall kept HHS in the game with a three-point play as he forced his way to the hoop and drained the ensuing free throw as he was fouled in the process of making the layup, cutting the WSHS led down to one point at 46-45 with 33.5 left in the fourth. Steagall led all scorers with a game-high 18 points, making two 3-pointers and going 4 of 4 from the free throw line.
Washington's Kyle Slone put the Blue Lions up by three with two free throws as Hillsboro was forced to foul the Blue Lions to save time on the clock.
But the Indians were unable to fend off the Washington free throw barrage any longer as Stringfield put Washington ahead by five (50-45) with 11.8 remaining in the game with back-to-back free throws.
"We didn't work to get the best shot and that is something we have to get better at," Davis said. "We have to be more patient and we had too much standing for my liking."
Both teams battled for the entire game as the first quarter was a close battle, with the Indians leading 11-9.
Dylan Barreras scored the games first points, but WSHS took the lead with a 3-pointer from Shaw. Carroll gave the Tribe a one-point lead and Steagall increased the advantage with a 3-pointer to put Hillsboro up 7-3 with 4:29 left in the first.
Stringfield and Johnson tied the game at seven, as the SCOL contest would be tied seven more times before the final buzzer sounded.
Coates put HHS up 9-7 and 11-9 with inside buckets, as his final points in the first came while being defended by three Washington defenders.
The second quarter opened up with tough defense, as Wyatt had two blocks on the same Hillsboro possession.
Washington brought the score within one point as Shaw connected from three-point range and took the lead as he made another trifecta with 5:32 left in the opening half.
Carroll brought the Indians within one point of the Blue Lions, and Steagall made three straight free throws as he was fouled while attempting a 3-point shot with 3:37 left in the second.
Stringfield and Slone combined for four points to give the Blue Lions the lead, but again, Carroll was there to tie the game at 20.
The Indians ended the first half with two 3-pointers with Steagall nailing one with 1:03 left, and Emanuel Turner knocking one down at the buzzer for the 26-22 halftime lead for the Indians.
"At halftime we felt things were going well," Davis said. "They (WSHS) ran a good 1-3-1 and we weren't very patient. Their zone gave us trouble and we didn't have good shot selection."
In the third Stringfield brought the Blue Lions closer to tying the game with a 3-pointer at 28-27, but Coates and Turner added to the HHS advantage at 32-27 with 3:37 left in the third. Coates finished with 12 points.
The game was tied at 36 after the Blue Lions connected from downtown with .32 seconds left in the quarter.
Washington had three players finish in double figures with Shaw leading with 16 points, followed by Stringfield with 15 and Slone gaining 12.
The Indians will play again on Tuesday as they take on Miami Trace.
In the JV game HHS defeated WSHS 45-44. Tyrand Cumberland led with 23 points for HHS.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
HHS - 11 15 10 9 - 45
WSHS - 9 13 14 14 - 50
INDIVIDUAL STATS
WSHS (50)
Stringfield 2 (1) 8-10 15, Wyatt 2 4, Shaw 0 (4) 4-8 16, Johnson 1 1-3 3, Slone 1 (2) 4-4 12. TOTALS: 6 (7) 17-25 50.
HHS (45)
Coates 6 12, Turner 1 (1) 5, Dy.Barreras 1 2, Carroll 2 2-2 6, Steagall 4 (2) 4-4 18, Wilson 1 2. TOTALS: 15 (3) 6-6 45.[[In-content Ad]]