Tigers fall just short against Blue Lions in OT
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
WASHINGTON C.H. — It was a bit of old school basketball where defense was king for the McClain Tigers and Washington Blue Lions on the court at WCH Tuesday evening.
The game focused heavily on defense with a bit of scoring sprinkled in, and as the game went into overtime, it was the Blue Lions who slowed the game even more and scored on a slight miscue by the Tigers, eventually winning the South Central Ohio League contest, 40-36.
Washington's win keeps them undefeated in the SCOL and in first place with a 5-0 record in league games. The Tigers fall to 2-2 in the league and 5-6 overall, as they have lost their past four games.
The Blue Lions gained possession of the ball first in OT and passed the ball … and passed the ball some more on the outside of the three-point line, as the Tigers refused to let the hosts anywhere near the inside of the paint.
The game of keep-away and keep-out continued until the clock read 36.1, when Washington's Christian Johnson was fouled in the paint, underneath the hoop. Johnson proceeded to sink both free throws to put the Blue Lions ahead for good, breaking a 36-36 tied score.
McClain had their opportunities to tie the game or take the lead with their final shot coming off a 3-pointer with around 3.0 seconds left on the clock, falling just short of going through the hoop. As the ball bounced off the rim, the Blue Lions gained possession and were fouled in transition.
Tyler Slone sank the ensuing free throws for the four-point win by Washington. Slone led the Blue Lions with 16 points. Connor Eckles followed with nine points.
"We had a stretch in the overtime where I didn't think we executed very well in getting inside," MHS head coach Joe Wisecup said. "We got in a couple reverses, but it was a possession there where we could have executed a little better, but any close game like that is going to come down to one or two possessions."
Wisecup continued to talk about how proud he was of his team.
"I'm proud of the kids and the way they played. That might be as well as we played from beginning to end defensively and offensively," he said. "I know offensively there weren't a lot of points scored, but we wanted it that way."
Ryan Faulconer, a junior, led the Tigers with a double-double by scoring 15 points and collecting 11 rebounds. Thomas Schrader followed with 12 points and six boards.
The game was played very close, even from the first quarter, with the score being tied twice in the first quarter as Washington led 9-7.
MHS was first to score with Evan Mustard scoring two points off a Blue Lions turnover, and later, Faulconer broke a 2-2 tie with a put-back basket with 4:54 left on the clock to give MHS back the early lead.
Washington responded with four consecutive points from Slone to put the hosts ahead 6-4. The four points by Slone turned into a 7-0 run by the Blue Lions following a 3-pointer by Gavin Wissinger with 2:41 left in the quarter.
At the 1:54 mark, the Tigers answered with a three-point play from Faulconer as he made the layup and ensuing free throw following a foul.
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With Washington ahead by two points at the start of the second frame, they continued their chess game-type of battle with the Tigers until they led 18-17 at the break.
For the Tigers, they took an 11-10 advantage with points by Faulconer, but WCH came back with a 6-2 run in a span of a couple minutes with Slone and Alec Wayne putting the Blue Lions back in front at 16-13 with under 4:00 left in the opening half.
The Tigers rallied back with four straight points from Jeremiah Savage and Schrader for a 17-16 lead with 1:10 left on the scoreboard. Max Knisley put WCH ahead with two free throws at 18-17.
Washington ended the third with a 28-26 advantage, outscoring MHS 10-9 in the frame with Schrader and Mustard combining for six points and a 3-pointer from Bryce Duff at the 3:59 mark of the third.
In the fourth, MHS outscored the Blue Lions, 10-8 with Faulconer scoring six points in the quarter and Schrader adding four points.
Schrader tied the game at 36-36 with 47 seconds left in regulation with two free throws. MHS finished 5-of-5 from the free-throw line in the game.
Washington had an opportunity to win the game in the fourth but were unable to get a clean look at the hoop.
The Tigers will play again on Friday when they host East Clinton in SCOL play. On Saturday, the Tigers will host the Miami Trace Panthers.
The game focused heavily on defense with a bit of scoring sprinkled in, and as the game went into overtime, it was the Blue Lions who slowed the game even more and scored on a slight miscue by the Tigers, eventually winning the South Central Ohio League contest, 40-36.
Washington's win keeps them undefeated in the SCOL and in first place with a 5-0 record in league games. The Tigers fall to 2-2 in the league and 5-6 overall, as they have lost their past four games.
The Blue Lions gained possession of the ball first in OT and passed the ball … and passed the ball some more on the outside of the three-point line, as the Tigers refused to let the hosts anywhere near the inside of the paint.
The game of keep-away and keep-out continued until the clock read 36.1, when Washington's Christian Johnson was fouled in the paint, underneath the hoop. Johnson proceeded to sink both free throws to put the Blue Lions ahead for good, breaking a 36-36 tied score.
McClain had their opportunities to tie the game or take the lead with their final shot coming off a 3-pointer with around 3.0 seconds left on the clock, falling just short of going through the hoop. As the ball bounced off the rim, the Blue Lions gained possession and were fouled in transition.
Tyler Slone sank the ensuing free throws for the four-point win by Washington. Slone led the Blue Lions with 16 points. Connor Eckles followed with nine points.
"We had a stretch in the overtime where I didn't think we executed very well in getting inside," MHS head coach Joe Wisecup said. "We got in a couple reverses, but it was a possession there where we could have executed a little better, but any close game like that is going to come down to one or two possessions."
Wisecup continued to talk about how proud he was of his team.
"I'm proud of the kids and the way they played. That might be as well as we played from beginning to end defensively and offensively," he said. "I know offensively there weren't a lot of points scored, but we wanted it that way."
Ryan Faulconer, a junior, led the Tigers with a double-double by scoring 15 points and collecting 11 rebounds. Thomas Schrader followed with 12 points and six boards.
The game was played very close, even from the first quarter, with the score being tied twice in the first quarter as Washington led 9-7.
MHS was first to score with Evan Mustard scoring two points off a Blue Lions turnover, and later, Faulconer broke a 2-2 tie with a put-back basket with 4:54 left on the clock to give MHS back the early lead.
Washington responded with four consecutive points from Slone to put the hosts ahead 6-4. The four points by Slone turned into a 7-0 run by the Blue Lions following a 3-pointer by Gavin Wissinger with 2:41 left in the quarter.
At the 1:54 mark, the Tigers answered with a three-point play from Faulconer as he made the layup and ensuing free throw following a foul.
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With Washington ahead by two points at the start of the second frame, they continued their chess game-type of battle with the Tigers until they led 18-17 at the break.
For the Tigers, they took an 11-10 advantage with points by Faulconer, but WCH came back with a 6-2 run in a span of a couple minutes with Slone and Alec Wayne putting the Blue Lions back in front at 16-13 with under 4:00 left in the opening half.
The Tigers rallied back with four straight points from Jeremiah Savage and Schrader for a 17-16 lead with 1:10 left on the scoreboard. Max Knisley put WCH ahead with two free throws at 18-17.
Washington ended the third with a 28-26 advantage, outscoring MHS 10-9 in the frame with Schrader and Mustard combining for six points and a 3-pointer from Bryce Duff at the 3:59 mark of the third.
In the fourth, MHS outscored the Blue Lions, 10-8 with Faulconer scoring six points in the quarter and Schrader adding four points.
Schrader tied the game at 36-36 with 47 seconds left in regulation with two free throws. MHS finished 5-of-5 from the free-throw line in the game.
Washington had an opportunity to win the game in the fourth but were unable to get a clean look at the hoop.
The Tigers will play again on Friday when they host East Clinton in SCOL play. On Saturday, the Tigers will host the Miami Trace Panthers.