Snyder's Indians lead SBC standings

(Continued from last week.)

The Hillsboro Indians improved to 8-1 when they pummeled Blanchester, 85-54, at home on Jan. 12, 1993.

Jamie Thompson totaled 29 points in that game, but Nathan Walker and Juston Ames registered 15 and 14 points respectively.

Elsewhere, McClain’s shooting touch returned on the Logan Elm court, and the Tigers pummeled LE, 62-41. It should be mentioned that LE went on a 16-4 run in the final few minutes of the game, after Coach Van Matre had cleared the bench.

McClain improved to 5-5 for the season, while the Braves slipped to 1-9.

Also on Jan. 12, Joe Stewart continued his mastery of Kirk Hardman, when a Chillicothe guard drove the length of the floor with 11 seconds remaining, and missed a shot, which was tipped in by a teammate for a 49-47 win over the Panthers.  

This was the fifth consecutive time Stewart’s charges had taken a close game from Trace

One of the biggest challenges of the season for the Hillsboro Indians occurred Saturday, Jan. 16, when they traveled across the county to take on the McClain Tigers.

McClain, relying on the scoring of Richie Highley, Dale Bowers and Pat Coleman, jumped out to a 14-6 lead after one quarter.

But the Indians rallied, and trailed by only two at halftime, 25-23.

By the end of three frames, Hillsboro held a three-point lead, 40-37. With only 1:15 remaining in the game, Brett Barton extended the Indians’ lead to six, 52-46.

However, Richie Highley hit a big three-pointer to cut the lead in half.

The alert Tigers quickly fouled Brad Beatty to stop the clock with 28 seconds remaining. Beatty hit the first of his free-throw attempts, but missed the second.

McClain grabbed the rebound.

Rather than calling a quick time-out, the purple-and-gold elected to get the ball down the court and look for a game-tying three.

They did get the shot, which clanged off the rim and the Indians rebounded as the final buzzer signaled the end of the game.

Walker’s 17 points and Thompson’s 14 led the Hillsboro effort, but everyone played well.

Highley poured in 30 points in a losing effort for the Tigers.

Hillsboro was now 9-2 overall, while McClain dropped to 5-6.

The same night, the Blue Lions of Washington C.H. took their perfect 10-0 record to Miami Trace – and left with a 10-1 mark.

Trace whipped the Lions in every aspect of the game. Terrell Baker crammed in 34 points, as the Panthers clobbered the Blue Lions 79-58.

Jeff Sword scored 16 for WCH, and Jason Harris added 12. But nobody else in a blue-and-white uniform hit double figures.

Tuesday, Jan. 19 saw the Indians playing host to Williamsburg, in an important SBAC matchup.

The visitors played very well in the first half, and clung to a narrow one-point lead at halftime, 30-29.

The Indians, however, regrouped at halftime, and outscored the Wildcats, 25-16, in the third stanza, to take a 54-46 lead going into the final quarter. The red-and-white racked up 17 fourth- quarter points to Williamsburg’s 11 as they cruised to a comfortable 71-57 league win.

With Bethel-Tate losing a two-point decision to Clermont Northeastern, the Indians moved into sole possession of first place in the SBAC.

SBAC Standings
Hillsboro — 6-1, 10-2
Bethel-Tate — 5-2, 7-4
Clermont NE — 4-3, 5-5
Blanchester — 4-3, 4-6
Williamsburg — 4-3, 4-6
W. Brown — 3-4, 4-8
Felicity — 2-5, 4-7
New Richmond —0-7, 2-9

New Richmond had yet to win a single SBAC game in this season, but, on Friday night, Jan. 22, the Lions battled the league-leading Hillsboro Indians to the wire, and actually held a 46-41 fourth-quarter lead, before Justin Ames went on a tear and led the Indians to a 19-6 final-quarter advantage, which resulted in a 60-52 Hillsboro win at New Richmond.

Thompson, Longstreth and Walker all scored in double figures for the winners, with Ames adding eight. New Richmond also had three players in double figures.

The victorious Indians, now 11-2, would travel to Felicity Tuesday evening. In the Felicity game, the Indians, who averaged nearly 80 percent from the free-throw line, missed five consecutive free throws in the last minute and a half, and Felicity (only 2-6 in the SBAC) nearly pulled off the upset of the season.

The Indians managed to eke out a 56-54 crucial league win over the Cardinals, largely due to 22 Cardinal turnovers. This win gave Hillsboro (8-1 in league games) a two-game lead in the SBAC.

Thompson, Longstreth and Walker led the lethargic Tribe with 14, 13 and 10 points, respectively.

Jamie Thompson scored 23 points in the first half, when the Indians hosted Clermont Northeastern, January 29.  The hot-shooting guard totaled 31 markers for the game, his career high. The Indians racked up a decisive 68-50 win.

(Continued next week.)

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