Mustangs grab braggin' rights; defeat Indians for Highland County sweep
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
DODSONVILLE — All the braggin' rights belong to the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs. LC not only defeated Highland County rival Hillsboro 62-61 on Tuesday at LCHS, but they now have defeated all their counterparts from Highland County this season.
Tuesday's triumph over the visiting Indians (13-5) came due in large part to the second-chance opportunities the Mustangs made for themselves, as they controlled the paint with rebounding and a few blocked shots; add that with their defense, and LC was able to overcome an early deficit, take the lead and hold off a late rally by the HHS.
HHS had the final shot with around four seconds remaining in the game, but the pressure on defense by the Mustangs forced HHS to toss up an off-balanced shot attempt that sailed over the hoop.
"I thought my guys were ready to play (Tuesday). We've talked about energy and toughness in our pregame talk," LC head coach Jason McLaughlin said. "I knew Hillsboro was going to pressure us, and they made us turn the ball over a number of times.
"We battled through it, and I'm just proud of my guys down the stretch. Alec (Smith) and Ryan (Inman) were big rebounders, and they change our opponents' shots. That's what helped us more than anything."
LC (9-8) gained the win with seven seconds left on the clock, with the score tied at 61 as senior Wes Pierson, who scored 11 points, sank the first of two free-throw attempts to give the host Mustangs the lead and eventually the non-league win.
This season, in their sweep of their Highland County counterparts, the Mustangs have also defeated Whiteoak (60-53), McClain (53-52, OT), Whiteoak (48-35) and Fairfield (68-52).
"I don't think we've ever done this," McLaughlin said. "This is my first win over Hillsboro, and having this momentum is huge for our team. We weren't playing good team basketball at times, and I told them we have to start doing that, and if we start playing team basketball, we will score.
"Halfway through the fourth quarter and from there on, we played as a team."
Against HHS, LC led after the second, third and fourth quarters, but not so much in the opening frame. A slow start by the Mustangs allowed the Indians to build a 9-2 lead with a layup by Christian Cundiff, a 3-pointer by Chase Gilliland (13 points on the night), a long-range jumper from Jarrod Hart and a steal and layup by Devanté Ames with 4:05 left on the clock.
Ames finished the game with a game-high 21 points.
[[In-content Ad]]According to HHS head coach Brett Prince, he wasn't pleased with his team's offensive energy.
"Offensively, we didn't have an energy," he said. "Defensively, it was fine. Our goal was to pressure the ball and get the game moving at a faster pace. Defensively, when you can't get a rebound, teams are going to get free throws, and all of their free throws in the first half, I believe, came from offensive rebounds.
"We have a rule in our program … it's a 40-60-80 rule. The first shot they are going to make 40 percent of the time … the rebound, there is a 60-percent chance there is a chance it goes in and the third time it will go in 80 percent of the time. That caught up with us tonight, especially in the first half. I was disappointed in that effort, because we work hard with our rebounding."
For the remainder of the opening quarter, LC rallied back with four points by Ryan Inman, making it a three-point game with 2:05 left on the first-quarter clock. Inman wrapped up the game with a team-high 14 points.
The second quarter is when the game began to get interesting as Hart increased the HHS lead to 15-8, but two points by Gage Waits and a 3-pointer from Austin Gorman brought the Mustangs back within two points of tying the score. Gorman wrapped up the game with nine points.
The teams continued equal baskets, until Ames sank a 3-pointer to put the Tribe ahead 22-17 with 3:51 left in the second frame.
Trailing by five points, with just over 3:00 left in the first half, the Mustangs began to take over the game, starting with a steal and fast-break layup by Davidson, followed one minute later by a layup by Inman. One minute after Inman's points, Pierson knocked down a 3-pointer, sinking the wide-open basket at the 1:14 mark, taking a 24-22 lead.
Hart, who finished with 11 points, tied the score with a jumper, but with 4.8 seconds the clock, Davidson put LC back in the lead with two free throws for a 26-24 lead.
"Our second quarter was tremendous," McLaughlin said. "We played a little bit of zone in the second quarter, and I think that threw them off rhythm … that was huge."
HHS tied the score at 26 to open the third, but the Mustangs regained the lead with four points by Alec Smith, followed by two points by Davidson for a 33-26 lead with 4:40 left in the quarter. Smith and Davidson each finished with 12 points.
Again, the two teams exchanged points, including a 3-pointer by Pierson, but the Indians scored six points in a span of around 20 seconds with Cumberland scoring a basket, followed by consecutive steals and baskets by Gilliland, cutting the LC lead to 36-34 with just over 3:00 on the clock.
Later in the third, Hart sank a 3-pointer with 3:55 on the clock, this time putting the Indians back ahead 39-38.
The team went back and forth with the lead, including a 3-pointer by Davidson (while being fouled). The Mustangs ended the third with a four-point lead at 49-45.
As the fourth played out, the Mustangs continued to keep ahold of their lead, with a 6-0 run in a span of just over a minute to take a 10-point lead at 57-47.
HHS chipped away by forcing turnovers, and with points by Ames and Táron Captain, the LC lead was cut to five points.
With the clock ticking away, Captain and Hart kept HHS in the game at 61-59, and Gilliland scored points in the paint with 16 seconds on the clock, tying the score at 61. But the free-throw conversion by Pierson, along with HHS' missed final shot attempt, kept LC in the lead for good.
Prince spoke about the rest of the regular season and the upcoming tournament.
"The good thing about (Tuesday), in the reality of things … we want to win every game. It's a county rival, but in the great big picture of things, this game doesn't mean that much. We have to move on, we have to focus on Goshen and we have to take care of business there.
"This game will motivate us to do that, and Friday we prepare to achieve our No. 1 goal, and that is to win a league championship and go from there. If we do that, we've had a successful season. This may have hurt us come tournament time, but so be it."
In JV play, HHS defeated LC 39-37. Leading HHS was Zach Young with 10 points. LC was led by Colt Dunseith with 13 points.
In freshman play, HHS defeated LC 55-18. HHS was led by Austin Bagshaw with 16 points, and Logan Lesley with 13. T. Willbanks led LC with five.
GAME NOTES: LC was 11-of-16 from the free-throw line … HHS was 8-of-11 in free-throw shooting … HHS made 22 two-point baskets and three 3-pointers … LC made 18 two-point baskets and five 3-pointers.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
HHS 13 11 21 16 — 61
LC 08 18 23 13 — 62
INDIVIDUAL STATS
LC (62)
G.Waits 2 (0) 0-0 4
A.Gorman 1 (1) 4-5 9
T.Davidson 2 (2) 2-3 12
R.Inman 5 (0) 4-5 14
W.Pierson 2 (2) 1-3 11
A.Smith 6 (0) 0-0 12
TOTALS: 18 (5) 11-16 62
HHS (61)
T.Moberly 0 (0) 2-2 2
T.Cumberland 2 (0) 0-0 4
D.Ames 8 (1) 2-2 21
J.Hart 4 (1) 0-0 11
C.Gilliland 5 (1) 0-1 13
T.Captain 2 (0) 4-6 8
C.Cundiff 1 (0) 0-0 2
TOTALS: 22 (3) 8-11 61
Tuesday's triumph over the visiting Indians (13-5) came due in large part to the second-chance opportunities the Mustangs made for themselves, as they controlled the paint with rebounding and a few blocked shots; add that with their defense, and LC was able to overcome an early deficit, take the lead and hold off a late rally by the HHS.
HHS had the final shot with around four seconds remaining in the game, but the pressure on defense by the Mustangs forced HHS to toss up an off-balanced shot attempt that sailed over the hoop.
"I thought my guys were ready to play (Tuesday). We've talked about energy and toughness in our pregame talk," LC head coach Jason McLaughlin said. "I knew Hillsboro was going to pressure us, and they made us turn the ball over a number of times.
"We battled through it, and I'm just proud of my guys down the stretch. Alec (Smith) and Ryan (Inman) were big rebounders, and they change our opponents' shots. That's what helped us more than anything."
LC (9-8) gained the win with seven seconds left on the clock, with the score tied at 61 as senior Wes Pierson, who scored 11 points, sank the first of two free-throw attempts to give the host Mustangs the lead and eventually the non-league win.
This season, in their sweep of their Highland County counterparts, the Mustangs have also defeated Whiteoak (60-53), McClain (53-52, OT), Whiteoak (48-35) and Fairfield (68-52).
"I don't think we've ever done this," McLaughlin said. "This is my first win over Hillsboro, and having this momentum is huge for our team. We weren't playing good team basketball at times, and I told them we have to start doing that, and if we start playing team basketball, we will score.
"Halfway through the fourth quarter and from there on, we played as a team."
Against HHS, LC led after the second, third and fourth quarters, but not so much in the opening frame. A slow start by the Mustangs allowed the Indians to build a 9-2 lead with a layup by Christian Cundiff, a 3-pointer by Chase Gilliland (13 points on the night), a long-range jumper from Jarrod Hart and a steal and layup by Devanté Ames with 4:05 left on the clock.
Ames finished the game with a game-high 21 points.
[[In-content Ad]]According to HHS head coach Brett Prince, he wasn't pleased with his team's offensive energy.
"Offensively, we didn't have an energy," he said. "Defensively, it was fine. Our goal was to pressure the ball and get the game moving at a faster pace. Defensively, when you can't get a rebound, teams are going to get free throws, and all of their free throws in the first half, I believe, came from offensive rebounds.
"We have a rule in our program … it's a 40-60-80 rule. The first shot they are going to make 40 percent of the time … the rebound, there is a 60-percent chance there is a chance it goes in and the third time it will go in 80 percent of the time. That caught up with us tonight, especially in the first half. I was disappointed in that effort, because we work hard with our rebounding."
For the remainder of the opening quarter, LC rallied back with four points by Ryan Inman, making it a three-point game with 2:05 left on the first-quarter clock. Inman wrapped up the game with a team-high 14 points.
The second quarter is when the game began to get interesting as Hart increased the HHS lead to 15-8, but two points by Gage Waits and a 3-pointer from Austin Gorman brought the Mustangs back within two points of tying the score. Gorman wrapped up the game with nine points.
The teams continued equal baskets, until Ames sank a 3-pointer to put the Tribe ahead 22-17 with 3:51 left in the second frame.
Trailing by five points, with just over 3:00 left in the first half, the Mustangs began to take over the game, starting with a steal and fast-break layup by Davidson, followed one minute later by a layup by Inman. One minute after Inman's points, Pierson knocked down a 3-pointer, sinking the wide-open basket at the 1:14 mark, taking a 24-22 lead.
Hart, who finished with 11 points, tied the score with a jumper, but with 4.8 seconds the clock, Davidson put LC back in the lead with two free throws for a 26-24 lead.
"Our second quarter was tremendous," McLaughlin said. "We played a little bit of zone in the second quarter, and I think that threw them off rhythm … that was huge."
HHS tied the score at 26 to open the third, but the Mustangs regained the lead with four points by Alec Smith, followed by two points by Davidson for a 33-26 lead with 4:40 left in the quarter. Smith and Davidson each finished with 12 points.
Again, the two teams exchanged points, including a 3-pointer by Pierson, but the Indians scored six points in a span of around 20 seconds with Cumberland scoring a basket, followed by consecutive steals and baskets by Gilliland, cutting the LC lead to 36-34 with just over 3:00 on the clock.
Later in the third, Hart sank a 3-pointer with 3:55 on the clock, this time putting the Indians back ahead 39-38.
The team went back and forth with the lead, including a 3-pointer by Davidson (while being fouled). The Mustangs ended the third with a four-point lead at 49-45.
As the fourth played out, the Mustangs continued to keep ahold of their lead, with a 6-0 run in a span of just over a minute to take a 10-point lead at 57-47.
HHS chipped away by forcing turnovers, and with points by Ames and Táron Captain, the LC lead was cut to five points.
With the clock ticking away, Captain and Hart kept HHS in the game at 61-59, and Gilliland scored points in the paint with 16 seconds on the clock, tying the score at 61. But the free-throw conversion by Pierson, along with HHS' missed final shot attempt, kept LC in the lead for good.
Prince spoke about the rest of the regular season and the upcoming tournament.
"The good thing about (Tuesday), in the reality of things … we want to win every game. It's a county rival, but in the great big picture of things, this game doesn't mean that much. We have to move on, we have to focus on Goshen and we have to take care of business there.
"This game will motivate us to do that, and Friday we prepare to achieve our No. 1 goal, and that is to win a league championship and go from there. If we do that, we've had a successful season. This may have hurt us come tournament time, but so be it."
In JV play, HHS defeated LC 39-37. Leading HHS was Zach Young with 10 points. LC was led by Colt Dunseith with 13 points.
In freshman play, HHS defeated LC 55-18. HHS was led by Austin Bagshaw with 16 points, and Logan Lesley with 13. T. Willbanks led LC with five.
GAME NOTES: LC was 11-of-16 from the free-throw line … HHS was 8-of-11 in free-throw shooting … HHS made 22 two-point baskets and three 3-pointers … LC made 18 two-point baskets and five 3-pointers.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
HHS 13 11 21 16 — 61
LC 08 18 23 13 — 62
INDIVIDUAL STATS
LC (62)
G.Waits 2 (0) 0-0 4
A.Gorman 1 (1) 4-5 9
T.Davidson 2 (2) 2-3 12
R.Inman 5 (0) 4-5 14
W.Pierson 2 (2) 1-3 11
A.Smith 6 (0) 0-0 12
TOTALS: 18 (5) 11-16 62
HHS (61)
T.Moberly 0 (0) 2-2 2
T.Cumberland 2 (0) 0-0 4
D.Ames 8 (1) 2-2 21
J.Hart 4 (1) 0-0 11
C.Gilliland 5 (1) 0-1 13
T.Captain 2 (0) 4-6 8
C.Cundiff 1 (0) 0-0 2
TOTALS: 22 (3) 8-11 61