Indians pass road test, defeat Blue Lions
Lead Summary

By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
WASHINGTON C.H. — In what Hillsboro head coach Brett Prince described as a "basketball play" by Tyrand Cumberland in the final seconds of regulation, the Hillsboro Indians were able to hold on for a South Central Ohio League win over the host Washington Blue Lions, 56-54 Tuesday night to keep sole possession of first place with five league games left on the schedule.
The "basketball play" was a blocked shot by Cumberland, coming at the far corner of the court, as Washington's Michael Penwell looked to put the game away with a three-point shot. The Blue Lions had chipped away at the Indians throughout the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to two points in the final seconds of the fourth.
At one point in the third quarter, HHS held a 16-point advantage.
Cumberland had other plans in the final seconds, as the 6-3 senior timed the block perfectly, leaping into the air simultaneously with Penwell, knocking the ball away, while keeping the Indians in the lead by two points with around 3.0 left on the fourth quarter clock.
"Tyrand timed the block absolutely perfectly. I thought Tyrand made a basketball play. He saw they were going to attempt a three, and he just knew they were going to shoot it at the right moment," Prince said.
Ames picked up the rebound on the blocked shot and made 1-of-2 free throws after being fouled to put the Tribe ahead by three points, en route to sealing the win.
"I was scared to death coming here," Prince said. "They (WCH) have been playing very well, and they started the game very well. We withstood that big start by them, and we kept in the game.
"We picked at them and picked at them, built that nice lead, and then from there on I don't have a lot to say. I'm not sure what happened … they started to make a lot of shots, and we missed a whole bunch."
As for Ames … this was possibly his breakout game of the season, as the senior came off the bench for a game-high 24 points, including four 3-pointers. Ames was 50 percent from the free-throw line at 4-of-8 while adding four two-point baskets. (In their first meeting this season at HHS, Ames led the Indians with 17 points against WCH.)
"The one thing I can say about Devanté is talking with Coach (Shannon) Bartruff … he said I don't care what Devanté has done lately, I know he's going to play well against us," Prince said. "I guess he proved Coach Bartruff right because Devanté played outstanding. We couldn't have asked for any more.
"There were times where I was going to sub him out, but he got hot and would make a shot, so I kept him in there. He was outstanding on both ends … he really got after the ball on defense and made shots at the rim."
But the fourth frame was almost heartbreaking for the Indians as they entered the final eight minutes with a lead of 49-38 and even increased it to 13 points with a layup by Ames 29 seconds into the quarter.
Washington didn't go away very easily, as they answered the points of Ames with eight straight of their own, cutting the Indians' lead to 51-46 with 4:32 remaining.
The post play by Taron Captain (who finished with 17 points) put the Tribe ahead by 55-46, with the second of two baskets coming via a crisp pass by Ames in the paint, leaving 1:54 left in the fourth. HHS followed that with a free throw to increase their lead to 10 points with 1:07 left in the game.
"When Táron had the opportunity in the game … he finished," Prince said. "He played really well (Tuesday)."
Then things got a bit interesting for the Indians.
Washington responded with a 3-pointer by Conner Eckles, followed by another 3-pointer by David Harvey and two free throws by Eckles in a span of just 37 seconds to cut the Indians' lead to just two points, leaving 18.5 seconds on the clock. Eckles led the Blue Lions with a team-high 15 points.
HHS regained possession but got into a bit of a hurry, losing the ball with a travel call, allowing the Blue Lions an opportunity to take the lead or tie the game. Neither happened, with the aforementioned blocked shot by Cumberland.
Each team unofficially was 21-of-46 from the field, as the Indians improved to 10-3 overall and 6-1 in the SCOL. Washington falls to 4-3 in the league and 6-7 overall.
As for the other three quarters, the Indians led 20-17 after the first frame, 37-21 at the half, and after three quarters held an 11-point advantage.
During the first quarter it was raining threes, as both teams combined for seven 3-pointers. For the game, the Indians made six treys and the host Blue Lions tallied seven.
Captain opened the first with the game's first points, but they were followed by the game's first 3-pointer by Penwell, who finished with 12 points.
The game was tied at five until Christian Cundiff swished a 3-pointer, but it was answered with a dunk by Laike Wallace, who ended the game with 11 points for the Blue Lions.
Later in the quarter, Derek Shaw knocked down a 3-pointer, only to be equaled by teammate Eckles with his first trey of the contest, putting Washington ahead 14-9. Ames answered with his first points of the game, a 3-pointer, and followed by going around defenders to the hoop for two more points with 1:57 left in the first, tying the score at 14.
[[In-content Ad]]Penwell made another 3-pointer, putting the Blue Lions back in front, but that didn't last long with two free throw conversions by Ames, followed by a three-point play by Captain to put the Indians up 19-17 with 7.4 left in the first.
Ames went on an individual scoring run of seven straight points to end the first and start the second as the senior made a free throw to end the opening quarter and connected twice from beyond the arc to put the Indians ahead 26-17.
That was the start of what turned into a 17-4 second frame for the Tribe, with Cumberland, Ames, Chase Gilliland and Captain all contributing to the Indians' scoring in the second for a 16-point lead at the half.
In the third, the Blue Lions outscored HHS 17-12. In the third, HHS had a 3-pointer by Ames, along with points by Gilliland and Captain.
For Washington in the third, they shared the wealth with five players scoring at least two points in the eight-minute span. Scoring for the Blue Lions were Wallace, Harvey, Trevor Bain, Eckles and Penwell.
For the game, the Blue Lions were 5-of-8 from the free-throw line, and the Indians were 8-of-14.
HHS will be back in SCOL play on Friday, Jan. 27 as they host the London Red Raiders, who the Indians defeated at LHS earlier this season by a 68-67 score. Washington will play again on Friday when they host Clinton-Massie.
"When we went to London, we were fortunate to survive," Prince said. "They missed a five footer at the buzzer that could have beat us. Our kids know London's record (3-11) has nothing to do with how good of a team they really are."
In JV play, Washington defeated HHS 31-24. Leading WCH was Garret Phipps with 11 points. Reese Leibreich led HHS with 14 points.
In freshman play, HHS defeated the Blue Lions 39-25. HHS was led by Austin Bagshaw with 21 points. Alec Wayne led WCH with 19 points.
GAME NOTES: The game score was tied twice … The HHS-McClain boys game will be made up on Saturday, Feb. 4 at MHS … HHS committed 14 fouls … WCH committed 17 fouls … Each team unofficially had 13 turnovers … In their first meeting of the season HHS defeated the Blue Lions 62-49.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
HHS 20 17 12 07 — 56
WCH 17 04 17 16 — 54
INDIVIDUAL STATS
HHS (56)
T.Cumberland 1 (1) 0-0 5
D.Ames 4 (4) 4-8 24
J.Hart 0 (0) 1-2 1
C.Gilliland 3 (0) 0-0 6
T.Captain 7 (0) 3-4 17
C.Cundiff 0 (1) 0-0 3
TOTALS: 15 (6) 8-14 56
WCH (54)
L.Wallace 5 (0) 1-2 11
D.Harvey 1 (1) 0-0 5
T.Bain 2 (0) 0-0 4
C.Eckles 2 (3) 2-2 15
D.Shaw 2 (1) 0-0 7
M.Penwell 2 (2) 2-3 12
Z.Blevins 0 (0) 0-1 0
TOTALS: 14 (7) 5-8 54
The "basketball play" was a blocked shot by Cumberland, coming at the far corner of the court, as Washington's Michael Penwell looked to put the game away with a three-point shot. The Blue Lions had chipped away at the Indians throughout the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to two points in the final seconds of the fourth.
At one point in the third quarter, HHS held a 16-point advantage.
Cumberland had other plans in the final seconds, as the 6-3 senior timed the block perfectly, leaping into the air simultaneously with Penwell, knocking the ball away, while keeping the Indians in the lead by two points with around 3.0 left on the fourth quarter clock.
"Tyrand timed the block absolutely perfectly. I thought Tyrand made a basketball play. He saw they were going to attempt a three, and he just knew they were going to shoot it at the right moment," Prince said.
Ames picked up the rebound on the blocked shot and made 1-of-2 free throws after being fouled to put the Tribe ahead by three points, en route to sealing the win.
"I was scared to death coming here," Prince said. "They (WCH) have been playing very well, and they started the game very well. We withstood that big start by them, and we kept in the game.
"We picked at them and picked at them, built that nice lead, and then from there on I don't have a lot to say. I'm not sure what happened … they started to make a lot of shots, and we missed a whole bunch."
As for Ames … this was possibly his breakout game of the season, as the senior came off the bench for a game-high 24 points, including four 3-pointers. Ames was 50 percent from the free-throw line at 4-of-8 while adding four two-point baskets. (In their first meeting this season at HHS, Ames led the Indians with 17 points against WCH.)
"The one thing I can say about Devanté is talking with Coach (Shannon) Bartruff … he said I don't care what Devanté has done lately, I know he's going to play well against us," Prince said. "I guess he proved Coach Bartruff right because Devanté played outstanding. We couldn't have asked for any more.
"There were times where I was going to sub him out, but he got hot and would make a shot, so I kept him in there. He was outstanding on both ends … he really got after the ball on defense and made shots at the rim."
But the fourth frame was almost heartbreaking for the Indians as they entered the final eight minutes with a lead of 49-38 and even increased it to 13 points with a layup by Ames 29 seconds into the quarter.
Washington didn't go away very easily, as they answered the points of Ames with eight straight of their own, cutting the Indians' lead to 51-46 with 4:32 remaining.
The post play by Taron Captain (who finished with 17 points) put the Tribe ahead by 55-46, with the second of two baskets coming via a crisp pass by Ames in the paint, leaving 1:54 left in the fourth. HHS followed that with a free throw to increase their lead to 10 points with 1:07 left in the game.
"When Táron had the opportunity in the game … he finished," Prince said. "He played really well (Tuesday)."
Then things got a bit interesting for the Indians.
Washington responded with a 3-pointer by Conner Eckles, followed by another 3-pointer by David Harvey and two free throws by Eckles in a span of just 37 seconds to cut the Indians' lead to just two points, leaving 18.5 seconds on the clock. Eckles led the Blue Lions with a team-high 15 points.
HHS regained possession but got into a bit of a hurry, losing the ball with a travel call, allowing the Blue Lions an opportunity to take the lead or tie the game. Neither happened, with the aforementioned blocked shot by Cumberland.
Each team unofficially was 21-of-46 from the field, as the Indians improved to 10-3 overall and 6-1 in the SCOL. Washington falls to 4-3 in the league and 6-7 overall.
As for the other three quarters, the Indians led 20-17 after the first frame, 37-21 at the half, and after three quarters held an 11-point advantage.
During the first quarter it was raining threes, as both teams combined for seven 3-pointers. For the game, the Indians made six treys and the host Blue Lions tallied seven.
Captain opened the first with the game's first points, but they were followed by the game's first 3-pointer by Penwell, who finished with 12 points.
The game was tied at five until Christian Cundiff swished a 3-pointer, but it was answered with a dunk by Laike Wallace, who ended the game with 11 points for the Blue Lions.
Later in the quarter, Derek Shaw knocked down a 3-pointer, only to be equaled by teammate Eckles with his first trey of the contest, putting Washington ahead 14-9. Ames answered with his first points of the game, a 3-pointer, and followed by going around defenders to the hoop for two more points with 1:57 left in the first, tying the score at 14.
[[In-content Ad]]Penwell made another 3-pointer, putting the Blue Lions back in front, but that didn't last long with two free throw conversions by Ames, followed by a three-point play by Captain to put the Indians up 19-17 with 7.4 left in the first.
Ames went on an individual scoring run of seven straight points to end the first and start the second as the senior made a free throw to end the opening quarter and connected twice from beyond the arc to put the Indians ahead 26-17.
That was the start of what turned into a 17-4 second frame for the Tribe, with Cumberland, Ames, Chase Gilliland and Captain all contributing to the Indians' scoring in the second for a 16-point lead at the half.
In the third, the Blue Lions outscored HHS 17-12. In the third, HHS had a 3-pointer by Ames, along with points by Gilliland and Captain.
For Washington in the third, they shared the wealth with five players scoring at least two points in the eight-minute span. Scoring for the Blue Lions were Wallace, Harvey, Trevor Bain, Eckles and Penwell.
For the game, the Blue Lions were 5-of-8 from the free-throw line, and the Indians were 8-of-14.
HHS will be back in SCOL play on Friday, Jan. 27 as they host the London Red Raiders, who the Indians defeated at LHS earlier this season by a 68-67 score. Washington will play again on Friday when they host Clinton-Massie.
"When we went to London, we were fortunate to survive," Prince said. "They missed a five footer at the buzzer that could have beat us. Our kids know London's record (3-11) has nothing to do with how good of a team they really are."
In JV play, Washington defeated HHS 31-24. Leading WCH was Garret Phipps with 11 points. Reese Leibreich led HHS with 14 points.
In freshman play, HHS defeated the Blue Lions 39-25. HHS was led by Austin Bagshaw with 21 points. Alec Wayne led WCH with 19 points.
GAME NOTES: The game score was tied twice … The HHS-McClain boys game will be made up on Saturday, Feb. 4 at MHS … HHS committed 14 fouls … WCH committed 17 fouls … Each team unofficially had 13 turnovers … In their first meeting of the season HHS defeated the Blue Lions 62-49.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
HHS 20 17 12 07 — 56
WCH 17 04 17 16 — 54
INDIVIDUAL STATS
HHS (56)
T.Cumberland 1 (1) 0-0 5
D.Ames 4 (4) 4-8 24
J.Hart 0 (0) 1-2 1
C.Gilliland 3 (0) 0-0 6
T.Captain 7 (0) 3-4 17
C.Cundiff 0 (1) 0-0 3
TOTALS: 15 (6) 8-14 56
WCH (54)
L.Wallace 5 (0) 1-2 11
D.Harvey 1 (1) 0-0 5
T.Bain 2 (0) 0-0 4
C.Eckles 2 (3) 2-2 15
D.Shaw 2 (1) 0-0 7
M.Penwell 2 (2) 2-3 12
Z.Blevins 0 (0) 0-1 0
TOTALS: 14 (7) 5-8 54