Indians fall off SCOL pace, drop game to 1st place Panthers
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
EBER — On a night at 'The Panther Pit' at Miami Trace High School where the Hillsboro Indians and Miami Trace Panthers played for positioning in the South Central Ohio League, one team finished a step closer to the league championship. That team Friday night was the Miami Trace Panthers.
Unable to stop long passes, and Indians scoring by MT, the Indians dropped their third SCOL game of the season, falling two games back in the league as they lost, 79-71.
The win by MT (8-1) puts them in the driver's seat in the SCOL, as they hold a two-game lead over the Indians, and the rest of the league has at least four losses in SCOL play. MT has two league games remaining, with the McClain Tigers next up on the schedule on Tuesday, Feb. 8 at MHS. HHS has lost SCOL games to MT, Madison-Plains and Clinton-Massie. HHS hasn't won an SCOL boys basketball title since the 1988-89 season. (The SCOL stopped in 1992 and re-formed in 2003).
On Friday, the scoring was fierce by each team, with MT leading 19-16 after the first quarter and 41-36 at halftime. The Panthers led after each quarter, as they ended the third frame with a 61-55 advantage.
A large part of the Panthers' scoring came from Ty Leach, who finished with a game-high 20 points.
Three other Panthers had double-figure scoring. Isaiah Carson finished with 19 points, followed by Tucker Hughes with 15 and Zac Carson with 10.
"I'm happy about our offensive output," MT head coach Jon Stauffer said. "But defense wins championships, and I thought our kids played well defensively. Tucker did a great job defensively. All of our kids played great."
The Indians also had four players reach double figures, with Aric Carroll and Devante Ames leading the way for HHS with 17 points each. Tyrand Cumberland scored 15, and Eli Hogsett finished with 10.
"It was a great basketball game (Friday). Both teams came out and played extremely hard. You can't say anything about the effort, it was there for both teams," Hillsboro head coach Tim Davis said. "We just didn't get stops, and Ty Leach really hurt us down the stretch taking the ball to the basket, and we couldn't force as many turnovers as we wanted to. I thought a big positive for Miami Trace was they hurt us on the offensive end of the glass.
"We had real good basketball and a real good atmosphere, and we just came up on the short end."
Though the Panthers led after all four quarters, the game was closely played in the opening eight minutes in front of a passionate crowd at MTHS.
Zac Carson, Hughes, Leach and Isaiah Carson and Hillsboro's Eli Hogsett all exchanged points to start the game, with MT leading 9-3 within the first two minutes of the contest.
MT eventually took a nine-point lead when Hughes scored on an inbounds pass from Isaiah Carson. The MT run stopped suddenly when Tyrand Cumberland nailed a 3-pointer, followed with a layup by Aric Carroll and another bucket by Cumberland, bringing HHS within one point of tying the game with 4:21 left in the first.
The action continued to be tense with each team going basket-for-basket to end the first.
The second frame began with Devante Ames coming off the bench, giving the Indians (7-3) a much-needed spark, eventually putting them in the lead. Ames opened the quarter with a 3-pointer, tying the game at 19. With 6:50 left in the quarter, Ames, once again, sank a 3-point basket, giving HHS a 22-21 lead. Cumberland followed with a 3-pointer, shifting the momentum in favor of the visiting Indians, forcing MT to call a timeout while trailing 25-21 with 6:07 left in the first half.
Ames came back following the timeout with his third
3-pointer of the quarter, putting HHS up 28-25.
Carroll followed with a layup for a HHS lead of seven points.
"Devante did a great job coming off the bench, giving us the offensive spark we needed," Davis said.
The game was still close as the seconds ticked away in the second frame, and the Panthers got back to even with the Indians when Isaiah Carson knocked down an uncontested 3-pointer with 2:04 left in the half. MT finished the second with five more points, a total for 10 straight points, with a basket under the hoop by Fredrick and a 3-pointer from Leach.
The Panthers began the third exactly the way they ended the second … with a 3-pointer, this time from Leach 20 seconds in the quarter.
Cumberland topped the feat with five straight points, including a 3-pointer, cutting the MT lead to three points at 44-41 at the 6:21 mark of the third.
MT came back with a quick 7-0 run with points by Zac Carson and Fredrick. Fredrick's points came via a three-point play, putting MT up by 10 points.
With 3:02 left in the third Carroll sank a trey, bringing HHS within seven points of the MT lead (55-48). He sank another 3-ball with .26 seconds left in the third, but HHS trailed 61-55 once the quarter wrapped up.
In the final eight minutes, the Indians never tied the game back but came within two points of tying the game after Cumberland scored inside points at the 4:45 mark of the quarter.
But after his basket, MT came back with an 11-2 run, increasing the lead to 74-63, with 1:49 left on the clock.
With HHS trailing by nine points, Eli Hogsett sank a 3-pointer with 23.4 seconds left in regulation.
"We just couldn't get the shots we needed to fall late in the half," Davis said. "They were answering, and we didn't have an answer for them. The difference in the game was offensive rebounding. They (MT) hit the glass hard and got the put-back. We need to do a better job of boxing out."
The loss drops HHS to 9-7 overall and 7-3 in the SCOL. HHS still has to play Clinton-Massie and London in SCOL games. HHS has two non-league games left in Eastern Brown on Tuesday, Feb. 8 and Fairfield on Feb. 15.
MT improves to 8-1 in the SCOL and 13-2 overall. MT still plays McClain, Washington and Madison-Plains.
GAME NOTES: HHS won the first meeting against MT (at HHS) 78-70 … There were zero timeouts called in the first quarter … HHS had a tech. foul in the fourth quarter, but MT missed both shots … The HHS starting lineup consisted of Cumberland, Jarrod Hart, Hogsett, Chase Gilliland and Carroll … MT was 11-of-16 from the free-throw line … HHS was 3-of-8 from the free-throw line … HHS made 10 total 3-pointers … Isaiah Carson had 14 points at halftime … Ames scored 13 points in the second quarter … In their first meeting earlier this season, I.Carson led MT with 25 points and Ames had 28 for HHS.[[In-content Ad]]
Unable to stop long passes, and Indians scoring by MT, the Indians dropped their third SCOL game of the season, falling two games back in the league as they lost, 79-71.
The win by MT (8-1) puts them in the driver's seat in the SCOL, as they hold a two-game lead over the Indians, and the rest of the league has at least four losses in SCOL play. MT has two league games remaining, with the McClain Tigers next up on the schedule on Tuesday, Feb. 8 at MHS. HHS has lost SCOL games to MT, Madison-Plains and Clinton-Massie. HHS hasn't won an SCOL boys basketball title since the 1988-89 season. (The SCOL stopped in 1992 and re-formed in 2003).
On Friday, the scoring was fierce by each team, with MT leading 19-16 after the first quarter and 41-36 at halftime. The Panthers led after each quarter, as they ended the third frame with a 61-55 advantage.
A large part of the Panthers' scoring came from Ty Leach, who finished with a game-high 20 points.
Three other Panthers had double-figure scoring. Isaiah Carson finished with 19 points, followed by Tucker Hughes with 15 and Zac Carson with 10.
"I'm happy about our offensive output," MT head coach Jon Stauffer said. "But defense wins championships, and I thought our kids played well defensively. Tucker did a great job defensively. All of our kids played great."
The Indians also had four players reach double figures, with Aric Carroll and Devante Ames leading the way for HHS with 17 points each. Tyrand Cumberland scored 15, and Eli Hogsett finished with 10.
"It was a great basketball game (Friday). Both teams came out and played extremely hard. You can't say anything about the effort, it was there for both teams," Hillsboro head coach Tim Davis said. "We just didn't get stops, and Ty Leach really hurt us down the stretch taking the ball to the basket, and we couldn't force as many turnovers as we wanted to. I thought a big positive for Miami Trace was they hurt us on the offensive end of the glass.
"We had real good basketball and a real good atmosphere, and we just came up on the short end."
Though the Panthers led after all four quarters, the game was closely played in the opening eight minutes in front of a passionate crowd at MTHS.
Zac Carson, Hughes, Leach and Isaiah Carson and Hillsboro's Eli Hogsett all exchanged points to start the game, with MT leading 9-3 within the first two minutes of the contest.
MT eventually took a nine-point lead when Hughes scored on an inbounds pass from Isaiah Carson. The MT run stopped suddenly when Tyrand Cumberland nailed a 3-pointer, followed with a layup by Aric Carroll and another bucket by Cumberland, bringing HHS within one point of tying the game with 4:21 left in the first.
The action continued to be tense with each team going basket-for-basket to end the first.
The second frame began with Devante Ames coming off the bench, giving the Indians (7-3) a much-needed spark, eventually putting them in the lead. Ames opened the quarter with a 3-pointer, tying the game at 19. With 6:50 left in the quarter, Ames, once again, sank a 3-point basket, giving HHS a 22-21 lead. Cumberland followed with a 3-pointer, shifting the momentum in favor of the visiting Indians, forcing MT to call a timeout while trailing 25-21 with 6:07 left in the first half.
Ames came back following the timeout with his third
3-pointer of the quarter, putting HHS up 28-25.
Carroll followed with a layup for a HHS lead of seven points.
"Devante did a great job coming off the bench, giving us the offensive spark we needed," Davis said.
The game was still close as the seconds ticked away in the second frame, and the Panthers got back to even with the Indians when Isaiah Carson knocked down an uncontested 3-pointer with 2:04 left in the half. MT finished the second with five more points, a total for 10 straight points, with a basket under the hoop by Fredrick and a 3-pointer from Leach.
The Panthers began the third exactly the way they ended the second … with a 3-pointer, this time from Leach 20 seconds in the quarter.
Cumberland topped the feat with five straight points, including a 3-pointer, cutting the MT lead to three points at 44-41 at the 6:21 mark of the third.
MT came back with a quick 7-0 run with points by Zac Carson and Fredrick. Fredrick's points came via a three-point play, putting MT up by 10 points.
With 3:02 left in the third Carroll sank a trey, bringing HHS within seven points of the MT lead (55-48). He sank another 3-ball with .26 seconds left in the third, but HHS trailed 61-55 once the quarter wrapped up.
In the final eight minutes, the Indians never tied the game back but came within two points of tying the game after Cumberland scored inside points at the 4:45 mark of the quarter.
But after his basket, MT came back with an 11-2 run, increasing the lead to 74-63, with 1:49 left on the clock.
With HHS trailing by nine points, Eli Hogsett sank a 3-pointer with 23.4 seconds left in regulation.
"We just couldn't get the shots we needed to fall late in the half," Davis said. "They were answering, and we didn't have an answer for them. The difference in the game was offensive rebounding. They (MT) hit the glass hard and got the put-back. We need to do a better job of boxing out."
The loss drops HHS to 9-7 overall and 7-3 in the SCOL. HHS still has to play Clinton-Massie and London in SCOL games. HHS has two non-league games left in Eastern Brown on Tuesday, Feb. 8 and Fairfield on Feb. 15.
MT improves to 8-1 in the SCOL and 13-2 overall. MT still plays McClain, Washington and Madison-Plains.
GAME NOTES: HHS won the first meeting against MT (at HHS) 78-70 … There were zero timeouts called in the first quarter … HHS had a tech. foul in the fourth quarter, but MT missed both shots … The HHS starting lineup consisted of Cumberland, Jarrod Hart, Hogsett, Chase Gilliland and Carroll … MT was 11-of-16 from the free-throw line … HHS was 3-of-8 from the free-throw line … HHS made 10 total 3-pointers … Isaiah Carson had 14 points at halftime … Ames scored 13 points in the second quarter … In their first meeting earlier this season, I.Carson led MT with 25 points and Ames had 28 for HHS.[[In-content Ad]]