Indians continue streak against Tigers
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
HILLSBORO — The first quarter was close; the second eight-minute span … not so much. The Hillsboro Indians dominated the second quarter against the McClain Tigers and in the process changed the entire complexion of the Highland County rivalry, defeating the Tigers 53-33 Friday at Hillsboro High School.
Hillsboro's 25-9 second quarter set the tone for the rest of the game, as the visiting Tigers (0-1, 1-3) just couldn't make shots when they needed to get back within striking distance in the South Central Ohio League matchup.
The win also gives the Indians nine straight wins over their cross-county rival.
"McClain started in the 1-3-1, and that really bothered us. You could see that in the first quarter, and we were fortunate to come out of the quarter with the lead (HHS led 9-6 after the first)," Hillsboro head coach Brett Prince said. "They (MHS) ended going into man, and we felt our advantage is with our guard play, and we can spread the floor and attack.
"We have four kids who can get to the rim on about anybody, and that is what happened in that quarter. We spread the ball around, got some easy shots and caused more turnovers with our pressure."
When the teams entered the second quarter, Tyrand Cumberland sank the first shot to put the Tribe up 11-6, but he was followed with points from McClain's Thomas Schrader.
After that combo of points, the game changed in favor of the now 2-2 (1-0, SCOL) Indians.
Christian Cundiff lifted the Indians with a 3-pointer, followed by a three-point play from Chase Gilliland. The senior Gilliland wasn't finished as his three straight points turned into five consecutive points when he made two straight free throws to put HHS up 19-8 with 4:33 left in the first half.
The eight straight points by the Indians soon turned into a 12-0 run with Cumberland and Gilliland adding more points to the scoreboard, giving the host Indians a 23-8 lead with 4:02 left in the quarter. Gilliland ended the night with 12 points.
"We talked and talked when we broke their pressure to not take a quick jump shot, but to bring it out and be patient. If you can get a layup, take it, but I don't think we did that well at all," McClain head coach Brent Eaton said. "They (HHS) got us to do what they wanted us to do … to take quick shots, and that was disappointing."
The scoring run was halted by Brent Shannon, but HHS ended the first half on an 11-5 run. The final six points of the second came on a three-point play by McClain's Trey Lytle and a 3-pointer from Hillsboro's Trevor Gleadle.
Prince spoke more about the tough-minded game.
"They (MHS) want to win those kind of games. They are so good offensively, and they are so well-coached," Prince said. "Those games, the 40-point games, we just didn't want to get involved with that. I'm thrilled we held them to their point total, but we wanted to get out there and run and pick up the tempo."
The final two quarters were more closely contested with the Indians outscoring MHS 19-18. HHS outscored MHS in the third at 12-8, and MHS won the final quarter at 10-7.
McClain began the third with a jumper from Ryan Faulconer (who led MHS with eight points), but it was topped when Cumberland drained a 3-pointer less than a minute into the quarter. Cumberland followed that with two more points to put HHS up 39-17.
Later in the third, HHS took a 25-point advantage with Cumberland taking control of the paint for a 46-21 lead with 14 seconds left in the quarter. Cumberland led all scorers with a game-high 15 points.
In the final quarter, Cundiff opened with two straight free throws, followed by free throws from Evan Mustard of McClain. Cundiff finished with 10 points.
With 2:57 left in regulation, Faulconer converted a three-point play for the final field goal of the game as the remaining points were all scored from the free-throw line.
"Our fourth quarter was great," Eaton said. "The fourth, we had four non-starters in there, and I'm proud of that group."
For the game, neither team shot over 40 percent from the floor as the Indians (unofficially) were 20-of-57 for 35-percent and the Tigers were 13-of-47 (unofficially) for 28-percent.
Free-throw shooting has been a bit of a problem for the Tigers this season. Coming into the game, they were 14-of-33, and after their 7-of-17 night on Friday, they now stand at 21-of-60.
"We couldn't have shot more free throws than we did this week, honestly," Eaton said. "We were working with every kid … it's a mental thing and also a technique thing. We need to get better at that."
Hillsboro had a perfect week, winning against Fairfield on Tuesday added with the win against McClain.
"I couldn't be more thrilled with the week," Prince said. "I haven't slept a whole lot with this being the first league game. To us, the season started tonight, and to start the league 1-0, that's a great boost to our kids.
"I'm really proud of our effort because I know how hard McClain plays, and I wanted to match that intensity, and I think our kids did."
The next game for the Indians will be on Tuesday, Dec. 13 as they host the Eastern Brown Warriors in non-league play. McClain plays again on Friday, Dec. 16 when they host the Clinton-Massie Falcons. That contest will be the first game of the season for CM.
In the freshman game Friday, McClain defeated HHS 33-27. Leading the Tigers was Garrison with eight points and for HHS was Austin Bagshaw with nine.
In JV play, Hillsboro won 30-12. Leading HHS were Lattrell Haithcock and Alex Branscome with seven points each. For MHS, Devin Trefz and Tyler McGuire each scored four points.
GAME NOTES: HHS was 9-of-17 from the free-throw line … HHS sank four 3-pointers: Cundiff (2), Tyrand Cumberland (1) and Trevor Gleadle (1) … HHS had 15 total fouls (10 in second half) … Seven HHS players scored at least one point … In the second half, HHS was 6-of-11 from the free-throw line … Dévante Ames made his return for his first varsity game of the season for the Indians after being injured during the preseason … MHS was 7-of-17 from the free-throw line … MHS was 3-of-7 from the line in the first half and 4-of-10 from the line in the final two quarters … MHS made no 3-pointers … MHS made a total of 13 field goals … The Tigers committed 17 fouls.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
MHS 06 09 08 10 — 33
HHS 09 25 12 07 — 53
INDIVIDUAL STATS
HHS (53)
Tyr.Cumberland 6 (1) 0-0 15
D.Ames 0 (0) 0-2 0
J.Hart 4 (0) 0-0 8
T.Gleadle 0 (1) 0-0 3
C.Gilliland 4 (0) 4-7 12
T.Captain 1 (0) 2-4 4
C.Cundiff 1 (2) 2-2 10
Tyi.Cumberland 0 (0) 1-2 1
TOTALS: 16 (4) 9-17 53
MHS (33)
B.Shannon 2 (0) 0-0 0
T.Lytle 1 (0) 3-5 5
R.Faulconer 4 (0) 0-1 8
T.Schrader 2 (0) 0-2 4
J.Turner 1 (0) 0-0 2
T.McGuire 1 (0) 2-5 4
P.Thompson 0 (0) 0-2 0
E.Mustard 2 (0) 2-2 6
TOTALS: 13 (0) 7-17 33[[In-content Ad]]
Hillsboro's 25-9 second quarter set the tone for the rest of the game, as the visiting Tigers (0-1, 1-3) just couldn't make shots when they needed to get back within striking distance in the South Central Ohio League matchup.
The win also gives the Indians nine straight wins over their cross-county rival.
"McClain started in the 1-3-1, and that really bothered us. You could see that in the first quarter, and we were fortunate to come out of the quarter with the lead (HHS led 9-6 after the first)," Hillsboro head coach Brett Prince said. "They (MHS) ended going into man, and we felt our advantage is with our guard play, and we can spread the floor and attack.
"We have four kids who can get to the rim on about anybody, and that is what happened in that quarter. We spread the ball around, got some easy shots and caused more turnovers with our pressure."
When the teams entered the second quarter, Tyrand Cumberland sank the first shot to put the Tribe up 11-6, but he was followed with points from McClain's Thomas Schrader.
After that combo of points, the game changed in favor of the now 2-2 (1-0, SCOL) Indians.
Christian Cundiff lifted the Indians with a 3-pointer, followed by a three-point play from Chase Gilliland. The senior Gilliland wasn't finished as his three straight points turned into five consecutive points when he made two straight free throws to put HHS up 19-8 with 4:33 left in the first half.
The eight straight points by the Indians soon turned into a 12-0 run with Cumberland and Gilliland adding more points to the scoreboard, giving the host Indians a 23-8 lead with 4:02 left in the quarter. Gilliland ended the night with 12 points.
"We talked and talked when we broke their pressure to not take a quick jump shot, but to bring it out and be patient. If you can get a layup, take it, but I don't think we did that well at all," McClain head coach Brent Eaton said. "They (HHS) got us to do what they wanted us to do … to take quick shots, and that was disappointing."
The scoring run was halted by Brent Shannon, but HHS ended the first half on an 11-5 run. The final six points of the second came on a three-point play by McClain's Trey Lytle and a 3-pointer from Hillsboro's Trevor Gleadle.
Prince spoke more about the tough-minded game.
"They (MHS) want to win those kind of games. They are so good offensively, and they are so well-coached," Prince said. "Those games, the 40-point games, we just didn't want to get involved with that. I'm thrilled we held them to their point total, but we wanted to get out there and run and pick up the tempo."
The final two quarters were more closely contested with the Indians outscoring MHS 19-18. HHS outscored MHS in the third at 12-8, and MHS won the final quarter at 10-7.
McClain began the third with a jumper from Ryan Faulconer (who led MHS with eight points), but it was topped when Cumberland drained a 3-pointer less than a minute into the quarter. Cumberland followed that with two more points to put HHS up 39-17.
Later in the third, HHS took a 25-point advantage with Cumberland taking control of the paint for a 46-21 lead with 14 seconds left in the quarter. Cumberland led all scorers with a game-high 15 points.
In the final quarter, Cundiff opened with two straight free throws, followed by free throws from Evan Mustard of McClain. Cundiff finished with 10 points.
With 2:57 left in regulation, Faulconer converted a three-point play for the final field goal of the game as the remaining points were all scored from the free-throw line.
"Our fourth quarter was great," Eaton said. "The fourth, we had four non-starters in there, and I'm proud of that group."
For the game, neither team shot over 40 percent from the floor as the Indians (unofficially) were 20-of-57 for 35-percent and the Tigers were 13-of-47 (unofficially) for 28-percent.
Free-throw shooting has been a bit of a problem for the Tigers this season. Coming into the game, they were 14-of-33, and after their 7-of-17 night on Friday, they now stand at 21-of-60.
"We couldn't have shot more free throws than we did this week, honestly," Eaton said. "We were working with every kid … it's a mental thing and also a technique thing. We need to get better at that."
Hillsboro had a perfect week, winning against Fairfield on Tuesday added with the win against McClain.
"I couldn't be more thrilled with the week," Prince said. "I haven't slept a whole lot with this being the first league game. To us, the season started tonight, and to start the league 1-0, that's a great boost to our kids.
"I'm really proud of our effort because I know how hard McClain plays, and I wanted to match that intensity, and I think our kids did."
The next game for the Indians will be on Tuesday, Dec. 13 as they host the Eastern Brown Warriors in non-league play. McClain plays again on Friday, Dec. 16 when they host the Clinton-Massie Falcons. That contest will be the first game of the season for CM.
In the freshman game Friday, McClain defeated HHS 33-27. Leading the Tigers was Garrison with eight points and for HHS was Austin Bagshaw with nine.
In JV play, Hillsboro won 30-12. Leading HHS were Lattrell Haithcock and Alex Branscome with seven points each. For MHS, Devin Trefz and Tyler McGuire each scored four points.
GAME NOTES: HHS was 9-of-17 from the free-throw line … HHS sank four 3-pointers: Cundiff (2), Tyrand Cumberland (1) and Trevor Gleadle (1) … HHS had 15 total fouls (10 in second half) … Seven HHS players scored at least one point … In the second half, HHS was 6-of-11 from the free-throw line … Dévante Ames made his return for his first varsity game of the season for the Indians after being injured during the preseason … MHS was 7-of-17 from the free-throw line … MHS was 3-of-7 from the line in the first half and 4-of-10 from the line in the final two quarters … MHS made no 3-pointers … MHS made a total of 13 field goals … The Tigers committed 17 fouls.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
MHS 06 09 08 10 — 33
HHS 09 25 12 07 — 53
INDIVIDUAL STATS
HHS (53)
Tyr.Cumberland 6 (1) 0-0 15
D.Ames 0 (0) 0-2 0
J.Hart 4 (0) 0-0 8
T.Gleadle 0 (1) 0-0 3
C.Gilliland 4 (0) 4-7 12
T.Captain 1 (0) 2-4 4
C.Cundiff 1 (2) 2-2 10
Tyi.Cumberland 0 (0) 1-2 1
TOTALS: 16 (4) 9-17 53
MHS (33)
B.Shannon 2 (0) 0-0 0
T.Lytle 1 (0) 3-5 5
R.Faulconer 4 (0) 0-1 8
T.Schrader 2 (0) 0-2 4
J.Turner 1 (0) 0-0 2
T.McGuire 1 (0) 2-5 4
P.Thompson 0 (0) 0-2 0
E.Mustard 2 (0) 2-2 6
TOTALS: 13 (0) 7-17 33[[In-content Ad]]