Mustangs win in OT against Tigers
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
HILLSBORO — If there ever was a game that could be described as close, then the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs and McClain Tigers met the title on Friday night.
Not one quarter ended with a team trailing by more than five points, and regulation wasn't enough time to settle a winner, as the Mustangs topped the Tigers 53-52 in overtime in the opening game of the 2011-12 SCOL-SHL Challenge at Hillsboro High School.
"I told my guys afterwards 'It was ugly, but at least it was a win," Lynchburg-Clay head coach Jason McLaughlin said. "I think McClain always has a knack of making you play their style of game."
Each quarter was close as LC led 10-5 after the first and 18-16 at halftime. MHS ended the third with a 34-33 advantage, and two free throws from Lynchburg-Clay's Ryan Inman (with 8.3 left on the clock) sent the game into overtime at 47-47.
That's when the game got even more interesting.
It was Inman who not only tied the game, but gave LC (3-3) the lead in overtime with a lay-up, leaving 3:31 left on the clock.
With 44.8 seconds left on the clock, after three missed MHS free throws, the Mustangs converted two shots of their own from the line as Tyler Davidson lifted LC to a 51-47 lead.
McClain (1-4) cut the lead to two points with a jumper from Ryan Faulconer, but the points were answered with two free throws by Austin Gorman, making it a four-point lead with 6.2 left in OT. MHS sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Thomas Schrader for the one-point loss.
In the fourth, MHS was 0-of-3 from the free-throw line.
"It was lack of execution … simple as that," MHS head coach Brent Eaton said. "We didn't pay attention, the late turnovers we had ... they were well versed in the huddle.
"I really don't know where we go from here. I would love to say we will correct these things, but we have to go back to practice and get ready for a good Fairfield team on Tuesday. The bottom line is we have no chance if we can't execute the way we want to execute."
Leading LC in scoring was Wes Pierson with 15 points, followed by Davidson with 10 points.
"We played a good second half. I got on him at halftime because he was playing without any energy, but he came out and led us and helped us down the stretch," McLaughlin said. "He stepped up to the call and came through for us."
Faulconer led the Tigers with 17 points, and Schrader followed with 14 points, including four 3-pointers.
In the OT period, LC was 4-of-5 from the free-throw line, a big difference maker for LC according to McLaughlin.
"We are not an outstanding shooting team from the free-throw line or three-point line, we just have to play extra hard to make up for that, and we did that (Friday)," McLaughlin said.
Getting to overtime was just as nail-biting as the overtime period.
In the first frame, Gage Waits was the first player to score in the event, putting LC up 2-0. Wes Pierson put LC up four points. Those points were answered with inside points by McClain's Evan Mustard.
The quarter ended with LC up 10-5, but after each team continued to use their defense, along with scoring points in the second quarter, the score was tied at 16 when Trey Lytle tied the score with 55 seconds left in the first quarter. LC took the lead into the half with a steal and layup by Davidson.
"The first half was ugly from both sides, neither team could score and it seemed both teams had open shots," McLaughlin said. "The second half was better, and I'm really proud of my guys. They hit big shots when we needed them."
There were 33 points combined in the third frame as the quarter was tied once at 31 off a 3-pointer by Roger Carroll with 2:07 left in the quarter.
Before the score was tied, there was a barrage of 3-pointers in the quarter with Schrader and Pierson connecting from beyond the arc as Pierson's trey put LC up 27-21 with 4:18 left in the quarter.
Schrader hit another 3-pointer, cutting the LC lead to one point at 29-28.
With the score tied at 31, it was Lytle who put MHS in front with a jumper, followed by a free throw to extend the advantage to three points. The frame ended with a spin past the defender and layup by Waits.
The fourth quarter was tied four times at 36, 38, 45 and 47 as it was sent into the aforementioned overtime period.
The largest lead in the fourth was five points by the Tigers when Schrader sank a 3-pointer near the 3:00 mark.
The lead was back at five (45-40) until Davidson kicked the game into high gear with a 3-pointer, and a steal and layup with 2:08 to make it a 45-point game.
"When it comes to making the correct plays, it's like we just freeze," Eaton said. "We don't think … that's the biggest thing I can say is the lack of thinking in critical times."
MHS had the lead with 28 seconds remaining when Faulconer scored inside the paint.
The Tigers will play again on Tuesday, Dec. 27 when they travel to Fairfield for a non-league matchup.
LC will take the court again on Thursday, Dec. 29 when they host the Paint Valley Bearcats in a non-league game.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
LC 10 08 15 14 06 — 53
MHS 05 11 18 13 05 — 52
LC (53)
G.Waits 4 (0) 0-0 8
A.Gorman 0(1) 2-2 5
T.Davidson 2 (1) 3-6 10
R.Inman 3 (0) 3-4 9
W.Pierson 5 (1) 2-5 15
A.Smith 2 (0) 2-3 6
TOTALS: 16 (3) 12-20 53
MHS (52)
B.Shannon 1 (0) 0-1 2
T.Lytle 4 (0) 1-2 9
R.Faulconer 7 (0) 3-7 17
R.Carroll 0 (1) 1-2 4
T.Schrader 1 (4) 0-0 14
J.Turner 2 (0) 0-0 4
TOTALS: 16 (5) 5-12 52[[In-content Ad]]
Not one quarter ended with a team trailing by more than five points, and regulation wasn't enough time to settle a winner, as the Mustangs topped the Tigers 53-52 in overtime in the opening game of the 2011-12 SCOL-SHL Challenge at Hillsboro High School.
"I told my guys afterwards 'It was ugly, but at least it was a win," Lynchburg-Clay head coach Jason McLaughlin said. "I think McClain always has a knack of making you play their style of game."
Each quarter was close as LC led 10-5 after the first and 18-16 at halftime. MHS ended the third with a 34-33 advantage, and two free throws from Lynchburg-Clay's Ryan Inman (with 8.3 left on the clock) sent the game into overtime at 47-47.
That's when the game got even more interesting.
It was Inman who not only tied the game, but gave LC (3-3) the lead in overtime with a lay-up, leaving 3:31 left on the clock.
With 44.8 seconds left on the clock, after three missed MHS free throws, the Mustangs converted two shots of their own from the line as Tyler Davidson lifted LC to a 51-47 lead.
McClain (1-4) cut the lead to two points with a jumper from Ryan Faulconer, but the points were answered with two free throws by Austin Gorman, making it a four-point lead with 6.2 left in OT. MHS sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Thomas Schrader for the one-point loss.
In the fourth, MHS was 0-of-3 from the free-throw line.
"It was lack of execution … simple as that," MHS head coach Brent Eaton said. "We didn't pay attention, the late turnovers we had ... they were well versed in the huddle.
"I really don't know where we go from here. I would love to say we will correct these things, but we have to go back to practice and get ready for a good Fairfield team on Tuesday. The bottom line is we have no chance if we can't execute the way we want to execute."
Leading LC in scoring was Wes Pierson with 15 points, followed by Davidson with 10 points.
"We played a good second half. I got on him at halftime because he was playing without any energy, but he came out and led us and helped us down the stretch," McLaughlin said. "He stepped up to the call and came through for us."
Faulconer led the Tigers with 17 points, and Schrader followed with 14 points, including four 3-pointers.
In the OT period, LC was 4-of-5 from the free-throw line, a big difference maker for LC according to McLaughlin.
"We are not an outstanding shooting team from the free-throw line or three-point line, we just have to play extra hard to make up for that, and we did that (Friday)," McLaughlin said.
Getting to overtime was just as nail-biting as the overtime period.
In the first frame, Gage Waits was the first player to score in the event, putting LC up 2-0. Wes Pierson put LC up four points. Those points were answered with inside points by McClain's Evan Mustard.
The quarter ended with LC up 10-5, but after each team continued to use their defense, along with scoring points in the second quarter, the score was tied at 16 when Trey Lytle tied the score with 55 seconds left in the first quarter. LC took the lead into the half with a steal and layup by Davidson.
"The first half was ugly from both sides, neither team could score and it seemed both teams had open shots," McLaughlin said. "The second half was better, and I'm really proud of my guys. They hit big shots when we needed them."
There were 33 points combined in the third frame as the quarter was tied once at 31 off a 3-pointer by Roger Carroll with 2:07 left in the quarter.
Before the score was tied, there was a barrage of 3-pointers in the quarter with Schrader and Pierson connecting from beyond the arc as Pierson's trey put LC up 27-21 with 4:18 left in the quarter.
Schrader hit another 3-pointer, cutting the LC lead to one point at 29-28.
With the score tied at 31, it was Lytle who put MHS in front with a jumper, followed by a free throw to extend the advantage to three points. The frame ended with a spin past the defender and layup by Waits.
The fourth quarter was tied four times at 36, 38, 45 and 47 as it was sent into the aforementioned overtime period.
The largest lead in the fourth was five points by the Tigers when Schrader sank a 3-pointer near the 3:00 mark.
The lead was back at five (45-40) until Davidson kicked the game into high gear with a 3-pointer, and a steal and layup with 2:08 to make it a 45-point game.
"When it comes to making the correct plays, it's like we just freeze," Eaton said. "We don't think … that's the biggest thing I can say is the lack of thinking in critical times."
MHS had the lead with 28 seconds remaining when Faulconer scored inside the paint.
The Tigers will play again on Tuesday, Dec. 27 when they travel to Fairfield for a non-league matchup.
LC will take the court again on Thursday, Dec. 29 when they host the Paint Valley Bearcats in a non-league game.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
LC 10 08 15 14 06 — 53
MHS 05 11 18 13 05 — 52
LC (53)
G.Waits 4 (0) 0-0 8
A.Gorman 0(1) 2-2 5
T.Davidson 2 (1) 3-6 10
R.Inman 3 (0) 3-4 9
W.Pierson 5 (1) 2-5 15
A.Smith 2 (0) 2-3 6
TOTALS: 16 (3) 12-20 53
MHS (52)
B.Shannon 1 (0) 0-1 2
T.Lytle 4 (0) 1-2 9
R.Faulconer 7 (0) 3-7 17
R.Carroll 0 (1) 1-2 4
T.Schrader 1 (4) 0-0 14
J.Turner 2 (0) 0-0 4
TOTALS: 16 (5) 5-12 52[[In-content Ad]]