Tigers continue winning streak
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — The McClain Tigers are turning up the heat at the right moment this winter. As the postseason nears, the Tigers have improved their play tremendously in the second half of the season, and they continued that trend Friday night by defeating the Madison-Plains Golden Eagles, 68-56.
The Tigers (9-12) have one final game remaining in the regular season, as they will host Southeastern on Saturday night, but coach Brent Eaton spoke about how the game wasn't the most important thing about Friday night.
MHS honored the Mischal family in memory of David Mischal with special T-shirts with the No. 22 printed on them, worn during warmups.
"This game … it's a small moment in time," McClain head coach Brent Eaton said. "The best part about this game is honoring the family of the Madison-Plains player and the Mischal family from our side.
"These games … nobody is going to remember them 20 years from now, but these families will remember the support they got from this game."
In what was the Golden Eagles' final time playing McClain as members of the South Central Ohio League, it was the final quarter where the Tigers were able to break away for the win, as they outscored the Eagles, 21-13, extending their third-frame lead of 47-43.
The star of the game was senior John Turner as he had the "game of his career" as he scored a game-high 22 points, with balanced scoring throughout the game, coming off the bench and giving his teammates the extra push they needed at various times as he added four assists and three steals. Turner also overcame an injury in the second half.
"John, oh my, he was phenomenal, and only thing I can tell you is I lost my breath when he fell down," Eaton said. "He was the absolute spark plug. If there was a game ball to be given, he was the man to get it."
As for the aforementioned second half, the Tigers opened the third with a 3-pointer by Brent Shannon, as the senior finished the game with 12 points off four treys.
[[In-content Ad]]
After MP answered with seven straight points, Evan Mustard sank a 3-pointer for the Tigers, and later in the quarter, Turner added four straight points to put the Tigers ahead, 41-34 with 3:49 left in the quarter. Mustard ended the game with nine points.
MHS answered with a 3-pointer by Ryne Davis, but Turner was there, again, offsetting MP points with a 3-pointer of his own, putting MHS back up by seven points.
MP was there with six straight points, but the quarter ended like it began, with Shannon sinking a trey with 3.0 left on the clock for a four-point advantage.
After the Golden Eagles began the fourth with a jumper, Turner responded with a jumper and two free throws, and later, after MP got to within three points of tying the score, MHS eventually pulled away with a put-back bucket by Ryan Faulconer (who totaled 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists) and a layup by Turner for a lead of 60-50 with 2:21 left in regulation.
Later, Faulconer, Schrader and Tyler McGuire scored six straight points for a 66-52 advantage as eventually time ran out on the Golden Eagles in their final SCOL game. Both Schrader and McGuire totaled nine points each, as Schrader had four rebounds and McGuire totaled three blocked shots.
"It seems like it is someone different every game," Eaton said. "We had almost four players in double figures, and we shared the basketball.
"Thomas did a great job passing the ball. I told him at halftime, 'it's OK not to score, just keep being a contributor.'"
In the first half, the Tigers led 14-9 after the first quarter and at the halftime break took a 30-23 lead.
For the game, MHS totaled 23 rebounds (five offensive), five blocks, one taken charge (Schrader), eight steals and 18 assists. The Tigers also committed 16 turnovers.
"We are playing better offensively because we aren't thinking as much," Eaton said. "Things are flowing better, and we aren't afraid to go down the floor to score. We are also capable of executing a set and getting a good shoot, too.
"We are in a good place and just need to keep getting better."
MP was led by Stephen Lemieux and Alex Williams with 11 points each, while Davis followed with 10 points. MP totaled 20 rebounds, eight steals, 13 assists and two taken charges, along with 15 turnovers committed.
MHS will begin their postseason games in the Division II tournament on Friday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m., where the No. 5 seeded Tigers will face No. 4 seeded Unioto at Southeastern High School in their sectional contest.
The Tigers (9-12) have one final game remaining in the regular season, as they will host Southeastern on Saturday night, but coach Brent Eaton spoke about how the game wasn't the most important thing about Friday night.
MHS honored the Mischal family in memory of David Mischal with special T-shirts with the No. 22 printed on them, worn during warmups.
"This game … it's a small moment in time," McClain head coach Brent Eaton said. "The best part about this game is honoring the family of the Madison-Plains player and the Mischal family from our side.
"These games … nobody is going to remember them 20 years from now, but these families will remember the support they got from this game."
In what was the Golden Eagles' final time playing McClain as members of the South Central Ohio League, it was the final quarter where the Tigers were able to break away for the win, as they outscored the Eagles, 21-13, extending their third-frame lead of 47-43.
The star of the game was senior John Turner as he had the "game of his career" as he scored a game-high 22 points, with balanced scoring throughout the game, coming off the bench and giving his teammates the extra push they needed at various times as he added four assists and three steals. Turner also overcame an injury in the second half.
"John, oh my, he was phenomenal, and only thing I can tell you is I lost my breath when he fell down," Eaton said. "He was the absolute spark plug. If there was a game ball to be given, he was the man to get it."
As for the aforementioned second half, the Tigers opened the third with a 3-pointer by Brent Shannon, as the senior finished the game with 12 points off four treys.
[[In-content Ad]]
After MP answered with seven straight points, Evan Mustard sank a 3-pointer for the Tigers, and later in the quarter, Turner added four straight points to put the Tigers ahead, 41-34 with 3:49 left in the quarter. Mustard ended the game with nine points.
MHS answered with a 3-pointer by Ryne Davis, but Turner was there, again, offsetting MP points with a 3-pointer of his own, putting MHS back up by seven points.
MP was there with six straight points, but the quarter ended like it began, with Shannon sinking a trey with 3.0 left on the clock for a four-point advantage.
After the Golden Eagles began the fourth with a jumper, Turner responded with a jumper and two free throws, and later, after MP got to within three points of tying the score, MHS eventually pulled away with a put-back bucket by Ryan Faulconer (who totaled 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists) and a layup by Turner for a lead of 60-50 with 2:21 left in regulation.
Later, Faulconer, Schrader and Tyler McGuire scored six straight points for a 66-52 advantage as eventually time ran out on the Golden Eagles in their final SCOL game. Both Schrader and McGuire totaled nine points each, as Schrader had four rebounds and McGuire totaled three blocked shots.
"It seems like it is someone different every game," Eaton said. "We had almost four players in double figures, and we shared the basketball.
"Thomas did a great job passing the ball. I told him at halftime, 'it's OK not to score, just keep being a contributor.'"
In the first half, the Tigers led 14-9 after the first quarter and at the halftime break took a 30-23 lead.
For the game, MHS totaled 23 rebounds (five offensive), five blocks, one taken charge (Schrader), eight steals and 18 assists. The Tigers also committed 16 turnovers.
"We are playing better offensively because we aren't thinking as much," Eaton said. "Things are flowing better, and we aren't afraid to go down the floor to score. We are also capable of executing a set and getting a good shoot, too.
"We are in a good place and just need to keep getting better."
MP was led by Stephen Lemieux and Alex Williams with 11 points each, while Davis followed with 10 points. MP totaled 20 rebounds, eight steals, 13 assists and two taken charges, along with 15 turnovers committed.
MHS will begin their postseason games in the Division II tournament on Friday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m., where the No. 5 seeded Tigers will face No. 4 seeded Unioto at Southeastern High School in their sectional contest.