Tigers end Tribe's hope in postseason

(Continued from last week.)

Four key regular season games remained for the Tribe in the 1994-95 campaign. They were to play at Western Brown, where Coach Snyder had never won, Feb. 3. The next night, they would travel to Greenfield for a rematch with McClain, before meeting Williamsburg, Feb. 10, then winding up the regular season Feb. 17, at home, against New Richmond.

The Indians, who were down 17-6 at one point in the first half at Western Brown, came roaring back, and trailed by only one at halftime (33-32). They scored 8 unanswered points to open the second half, and hung on for dear life until Bronco Brian Hanlon’s last-second shot (which would have tied the score) fell harmlessly to the floor. The red and white came home with a tough 64-62 win.

C.J. Captain, T.J. Turner and Kyle McConnaughey all turned in good performances for the Indians, who returned home with an 11-6 overall record and a 10-2 SBAC mark.

The next evening, Hillsboro headed across the county to Greenfield to lock horns with McClain. The Tigers had bested the Tribe 70-62 in overtime back on Dec. 17, at Hillsboro. In that game, McClain’s super guard, Andy Smith, burned the nets up in the Hillsboro gym, as he totaled 27 points. The Indians would try to hold him in check this time and hope for a better outcome.

But, the Tigers raced to a 20-12 first quarter lead and the visitors played catch-up all evening. Hillsboro made several runs at the purple and gold, but were never able to quite get over the hurdle. McClain came out on top, 73-63. The Tigers were 2-0 against Hillsboro, this season.

McClain had four men in double figure scoring, led by Smith’s 22 points. C.J. Captain and T.J. Turner were Hillsboro’s scoring leaders, totaling 19 and 17 points, respectively.

The Indians made up for a Jan. 10 defeat by thumping Williamsburg, 87-61 on the Hillsboro hardwood, Feb. 10. Turner led the Tribe in scoring with 21 markers, but Captain added 17 and Kelch had 10. The locals went on an impressive 19-0 run in the third quarter, to post the win.

In order to have a chance to win the SBAC title, the Indians would have to beat New Richmond on the Hillsboro court the final weekend of the season. This was a torrid, hard-fought battle, which was tied at 69-all with 12 seconds remaining, when Lion Troy Hinkston drove the baseline for a layup which would win the game.

The Hillsboro big men collapsed on him, forcing him to miss the shot. But, inexplicably, nobody picked up the loose ball. New Richmond center, John Duncan, grabbed the ball and put up a fade-away jump shot, which banked in at the buzzer, giving the visitors a 61-59 win, and a share of the league championship.

Hillsboro drew West Union in a February 25 sectional tournament game at Chillicothe. This was a great game for three quarters. Hillsboro held a one-point lead at halftime (27-26), West Union outscored the Indians 17-16 in the third quarter, so the score was 43-43 going into the final stanza. But the Indians came to life in the fourth quarter and blew the Dragons away, outscoring them 26-9, to take a comfortable 69-52 win. This victory enabled the Indians to meet the McClain Tigers for the third time, this time in the Convocation Center at Ohio University, in Athens.

West Union defensed Turner and Captain well, holding them to eight points each. But Kyle McConnaughey scorched the nets for 20 points, while Chris Fauber added 15 and Brian Burba (playing with a broken hand) posted 12. Jeremy Hazelbaker led the Dragons with 20 points and A.J. Stout followed closely, with 19. But nobody else scored much for the Dragons.

Coach Snyder was optimistic going into the third matchup of the season with McClain in a district semifinal game at Ohio University. “But,” he commented, “we have to keep Andy Smith under control, and we have to rebound.”

Inability to cash in on free throw attempts cost the Indians dearly in this game. The Tribe battled back from a ten point deficit thanks mostly to T.J. Turner, who dominated the boards, and C.J. Captain, who scored 22 points and racked up 5 assists.

Both teams had 18 free throw attempts. The Tigers cashed in on 13. The Indians hit only 9 (3 of 9 in the fourth quarter).

With only two seconds on the clock, McClain’s Richie Price rebounded teammate Troy Seely’s off-balance jump shot and put it back in, to seal the Tigers’ third win over the Indians in three tries this season. This last second defeat ended Hillsboro’s season at 14-8. McClain advanced to 16-6. They would meet Rock Hill the following Saturday night in the Convo.

(Continued next week.)

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