SCOL History: WCH pulls ahead of Miami Trace

(Continued from last week.)

In a non-league game on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 1992, McClain edged tough Ross Southeastern, 65-63, on the Southeastern court, while Chillicothe was gaining a hard-fought 49-44 victory over Miami Trace and Wilmington was downing Carlisle, 80-68, at Carlisle.

On the last day of January, Miami Trace traveled to Greenfield, where the Panthers edged McClain, 45-42, when Terrell Baker rolled up 24 points for Trace.

With Jimmy Vanzant well-defensed, guard Eric Spangler carried the scoring load for McClain by scoring 18 points, which included four three-pointers.

Elsewhere, Dayton Stebbins aced 10-of-14 free throws in the final four minutes of their game with Washington (at Stebbins), and the Blue Lions had 18 turnovers, which helped Stebbins spring a major upset by downing WCH, 62-53. But on Saturday, Feb. 1, the Lions bounced back with a vengeance when they visited Circleville and clipped the Tigers, 71-63.

During this game, Lion guard Jason Pittser scored his 1,000th career point.

By the end of the game, Pittser stood just 35 points short of the 1,045 points amassed by his brother, Rob Pittser, who was one of the all-time leading scorers in Blue Lion history.

The WCH squad was seeking to end an 18-year drought by winning the South Central Ohio League basketball championship. Their last basketball title came in the 1973-74 season.

The Blue Lions stood 13- 2 overall at this point in the season. They would have to beat Hillsboro on the Hillsboro court on Feb. 7. While the Indians were not having a great year, they could be tough on their home court.

Stebbins would host Miami Trace the same night, and the McClain Tigers would travel to Wilmington.

The league standings at this point in the season were:

Washington – 5-0, 13-2

Miami Trace – 4-2, 11-4

McClain – 2-4, 6-8

Wilmington – 2-4, 9-8

Hillsboro – 1-4, 5-10

As it turned out, the Lions were not able to whip last-place Hillsboro.

The Indians were able to slow the game down, which spelled trouble for the Lions. Pittser was held to 14 points, and his teammates provided little help.

The Indians had better scoring balance, led by Jamie Thompson’s 11 points and Brian Fulton’s nine in their 42-40 upset win over the blue-and-white. This loss would cost the Blue Lions a gold basketball.

Miami Trace utilized a tough man-to-man defense and great scoring balance to wallop Dayton Stebbins, 65-39, and McClain squeaked by Wilmington, 53-47, in overtime.

The next night, Washington traveled to Circleville, where they recovered from their devastating SCOL defeat at Hillsboro and downed the Tigers, 71-63.

As the season wound down, Miami Trace thumped visiting Logan Elm, 66-55, Washington clobbered Zane Trace, 70-37 and McClain blasted West Union, 55-33. Elsewhere, in a battle of Indians, Hillsboro outlasted Dayton Stebbins, 52-43.

The big round of SCOL games occurred on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14. It saw Miami Trace playing at Hillsboro, where the improved Indians had just upset state-ranked Washington.

Also, Wilmington visited Washington C.H., where they would attempt to become the second consecutive SCOL team to yank the rug out from under the Blue Lions, and McClain would travel to Waverly for a non-league match-up.

At WCH, the Lions earned at least a share of the final SCOL basketball title with a 75-62 win over the Hurricane, behind Jason Pittser’s 24 points.

Miami Trace avoided an upset by scalping the Hillsboro Indians, 55-45. Hillsboro was able to play with Trace but was unable to do anything with Terrell Baker, who rolled up 27 points for the Panthers. Nathan Walker was Hillsboro’s only double-figure scorer, and he had only 11 points.

(Continued next week.)

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