Indians topple Tanks in surprise 1991 upset

(Continued from last week.)

The Paint Valley Bearcats hosted the Hillsboro Indians Tuesday, Dec. 18, 1990.

In the third quarter, they cut the lead to five points. Early in the fourth stanza, the lead was reduced to only two points, 48-46. But PV hung onto the lead, and eventually took a 71-65 win over the scrappy Hillsboro squad.

Neal Huffman’s 18 points led the Indians. Casey McFadden compiled 19 and Todd Shoemaker 16 for the Bearcats.

After Christmas, Dec. 28, Hillsboro visited Leesburg Fairfield, where Lion junior guard Travis Paris lit up the scoreboard with 27 points and Coach Steve Barrett’s aggressive squad pulled out a 66-63 win over the visiting Indians. The Tribe would open 1991 with a record of 1-8.

On Friday, Jan. 4,1991, Hillsboro, playing the third of five straight games on the road, traveled to Dayton to meet Stebbins.

The Indians, who had been beset by turnovers, took care of the ball very well in the first half, and trailed Stebbins by only two points at halftime. But they reverted to their former style in the second half, turning the ball over 14 times, and dropping a 67-51 decision, their ninth consecutive defeat. Josh Snyder led the Tribe with 14 points. Neal Huffman added 13.

The SCOL standings, at this midway point in the season were:

Wilmington 3-1, 10-2
Washington 3-1, 10-2
Miami Trace 3-1, 9-2
McClain 1-3, 6-6
Hillsboro 0-4, 1-11

The Indians would journey to Washington C.H. Jan. 11, 1991 and then would host Greenfield Jan. 18 in the first of three consecutive home games

Against Washington, the Indians turned the ball over 31 times, including 10 times in the first quarter, which led to a 21-9 deficit.

Also, the Hillsboro defense failed to stop the penetration of the Lions and 16 of the Lions’ 26 field goals were lay-ins. The Blue Lions held a 45-30 lead after three quarters before both teams substituted freely in the final stanza. The final score was 58-43 with the Blue Lions on top.

McClain came to Hillsboro having shot under 30 percent from the field in their last five games. The Indians, on the other hand, had been turning the ball over from 20 to 30 times per game. It could be a fairly even game.

McClain’s Doug Moon scored just two points through three quarters of basketball and the Indians led at the end of three periods, 46-41. But Moon stepped up with eight points in the final stanza, and the Tigers came through with an exciting 63-60 win on the Hillsboro court.

Hillsboro’s Aaron Boone hit seven field goals, including four three-pointers, for a total of 26 points and Tyler Anderson added 15 for the Indians.

The Tigers had four men in double figures, led by Marcus Coleman’s 24 points.

On Tuesday, Jan. 22, the Indians finally ended their 12-game losing streak when Western Brown came to town. The Indians and the Broncos were tied 22-22 after one quarter, but Hillsboro outgunned WB, 21-13, in the second period to lead 43-34 at halftime and the Tribe hung on to win the game, 76-70.

Josh Snyder had his biggest game of the season with 21 points to lead the Indians. Chadwell racked up 26 for the losers.

Friday, Jan. 25 saw the Wilmington Hurricane blow into Hillsboro and take advantage of the Indians’ turnovers to grab an important league win. The ‘Cane had four men in double figures and another with nine points, as they notched a 71-61 victory. Hillsboro turned the ball over 30 times, which didn’t help their cause.

Snyder, Boone and Huffman fought hard for the Tribe, but it was not enough.

As the SCOL began to move toward the end of another season, the standings were:

Wilmington 4-1, 12-3
Miami Trace 4-2, 10-4
Washington 3-2, 11-4
McClain 3-3, 8-7
Hillsboro 0-6, 2-13.

The Unioto Shermans came to Hillsboro on Tuesday, Jan. 29 with their star forward, Matt Combs.

The teams had similar records. Unioto was 13-2, and Hillsboro was 2-13. The Shermans were ranked 11th in the state. But the Tanks hit Hillsboro on the wrong night. The Indians’ ball control was greatly improved. They committed only 18 turnovers – still too many, but the season low for the Tribe. The Indians played tough defense and rebounded well.

Combs, who later was named All-State, racked up 36 points on the night. But no other Sherman player hit for more than seven points.

The Indians outscored the visitors 18-10 in the final stanza to take a great 65-64 upset win over Unioto. This was the highlight of the season for the (now) 3-13 Tribe.

Josh Snyder, Aaron Boone, Tim Parry and Tyler Anderson all scored at or near double figures and Derrick Lyons added five points.

About a month later, Unioto went all the way to the state championship game, before being defeated by Haviland Wayne Trace for the Division III state basketball title.

In another game on Jan. 29, Miami Trace got a hard-earned win over Adena on the Trace hardwood, 69-56. Tobin Hoppes came up with a 20 point effort. Baker and Henry added 15 and 13 to help nail down the win.

On the first day of February, Wilmington made the short trip up Route 22 to Washington C.H. This time the Blue Lions were prepared.

(Continued next week.)

Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.