Tigers frustrated in overtime loss to Zane Trace
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — Following their 57-56 overtime loss Saturday night to the Zane Trace Pioneers, McClain head coach Brent Eaton said he and his team are frustrated with their close losses, and they need to develop a winning attitude.
The non-league loss was frustrating for the fact the Tigers (4-6) led by five points with 3:00 left in regulation, but a three-point play by Pierce Mowery off a steal by Tyler Hinty with 1:28 on the clock and a layup by Zane Trace's Connor Smith with 1:15 left sent the game into overtime as MHS was unable to make the final shot of regulation.
Then came the overtime period where the Pioneers outscored the Tigers, 11-10.
"We were satisfied at halftime, and I had to explain we had 16 minutes left to play," Eaton said. "We just keep losing our focus and had too many mental errors down the stretch.
"It's frustrating for me as a coach … If I give a message and they don't do it, I don't know what to do. I make mistakes too, but when I give a direct message and we lose our focus … we have to get a winning mentality."
Overtime began with Mowery sinking a 3-pointer with 3:44 on the clock, and after a free throw by Ryan Faulconer, the Pioneers scored five consecutive points with Mowery hitting another 3-pointer and a fast break layup off a steal with 2:09 on the clock, putting the visitors ahead, 54-47.
Mowery finished with 21 points, as he scored 18 points in the second half.
Brent Shannon kept the Tigers in the game with a 3-pointer to make it a four-point deficit. Wes Beam (who scored 11 points) followed with a free throw for the Pioneers, but the Tigers continued to keep the score close with a 3-pointer by Evan Mustard with 38 seconds left in OT.
Shannon and Mustard led MHS in scoring with 17 points each. Shannon also had three rebounds, three assists and one steal. Mustard had three rebounds and one assist.
Two seconds later, ZT (8-2) had a turnover, but the Tigers followed by losing possession of the ball with 15 seconds remaining. With 12.7 seconds left on the clock, it was Mowery who gave ZT a four-point lead.
Shannon sank a 3-pointer with less than a second left, but the Tigers never regained possession as time ran out. Shannon finished with five 3-pointers, as MHS totaled nine on the night. ZT totaled seven 3-pointers.
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"We need to be locked in for an entire game, and right now we aren't," Eaton said. "We want to win, and I know we can win, but we have to execute what we do well in practice to win these close games.
"As the coach, it is my job to put this team into situations to win games, and we've had opportunities all season … it is my job to turn things around."
The first quarter was close as the Tigers led 12-10 and MHS led 30-19 at the half.
Then came the third frame where the Pioneers began the quarter with a 6-0 run, cutting the Tigers' lead to five points at 30-25 as they outscored MHS, 20-8. After two free throws by Mustard, the Pioneers went on an 8-0 run for a score of 33-32 for a combined scoring run of 14-2 with 3:17 left in the third.
In the 8-0 part of the 14-2 run, Mowery and Hinty each made a 3-pointer, and Mowery gave ZT the lead with a jumper, leaving 3:17 left in the quarter. Hinty totaled 11 points, while teammate Connor Smith scored 10 points. Mowery made four 3-pointers, while Hinty totaled three 3-pointers.
The Pioneers ended the third with the lead off a 3-pointer by Hinty with 40 seconds left in the quarter.
In the fourth, the Tigers missed their first five shots as ZT took a 41-38 advantage. Shannon came back with a 3-pointer, and following a block by Faulconer (who scored seven points), Shannon sank another 3-pointer to put MHS ahead 44-41 with 3:41 left in the fourth. Turner gave MHS the aforementioned five-point fourth-frame lead with points by John Turner with the assist from Thomas Schrader. Schrader finished with two points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Faulconer finished with four rebounds, two blocks, one steal and one assist, while Turner had five rebounds, one steal and one assist. Also for MHS, Wyatt Jones totaled two points, two assists and one rebound, while Philip Thompson had one rebound.
For the game, MHS tallied 22 rebounds, 12 assists, five steals and two blocked shots. MHS had just eight turnovers, with two in the first half. For ZT, they totaled 27 rebounds, one block and three steals. ZT finished with 15 turnovers.
In the freshman game, MHS won, 34-23, with Randal Mischal leading with 13 points with the freshman team moving to 3-1 overall. Josh George led ZT with six points.
In the JV game, MHS won 35-21 over ZT. Lincoln O'Connor led MHS with 11 points, and Mikel Pritchard followed with 10 points as the JV team moves to 5-4. Brian Hall led ZT with seven points.
The Tigers will play again on Tuesday as they host the London Red Raiders in South Central Ohio League play.
The non-league loss was frustrating for the fact the Tigers (4-6) led by five points with 3:00 left in regulation, but a three-point play by Pierce Mowery off a steal by Tyler Hinty with 1:28 on the clock and a layup by Zane Trace's Connor Smith with 1:15 left sent the game into overtime as MHS was unable to make the final shot of regulation.
Then came the overtime period where the Pioneers outscored the Tigers, 11-10.
"We were satisfied at halftime, and I had to explain we had 16 minutes left to play," Eaton said. "We just keep losing our focus and had too many mental errors down the stretch.
"It's frustrating for me as a coach … If I give a message and they don't do it, I don't know what to do. I make mistakes too, but when I give a direct message and we lose our focus … we have to get a winning mentality."
Overtime began with Mowery sinking a 3-pointer with 3:44 on the clock, and after a free throw by Ryan Faulconer, the Pioneers scored five consecutive points with Mowery hitting another 3-pointer and a fast break layup off a steal with 2:09 on the clock, putting the visitors ahead, 54-47.
Mowery finished with 21 points, as he scored 18 points in the second half.
Brent Shannon kept the Tigers in the game with a 3-pointer to make it a four-point deficit. Wes Beam (who scored 11 points) followed with a free throw for the Pioneers, but the Tigers continued to keep the score close with a 3-pointer by Evan Mustard with 38 seconds left in OT.
Shannon and Mustard led MHS in scoring with 17 points each. Shannon also had three rebounds, three assists and one steal. Mustard had three rebounds and one assist.
Two seconds later, ZT (8-2) had a turnover, but the Tigers followed by losing possession of the ball with 15 seconds remaining. With 12.7 seconds left on the clock, it was Mowery who gave ZT a four-point lead.
Shannon sank a 3-pointer with less than a second left, but the Tigers never regained possession as time ran out. Shannon finished with five 3-pointers, as MHS totaled nine on the night. ZT totaled seven 3-pointers.
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"We need to be locked in for an entire game, and right now we aren't," Eaton said. "We want to win, and I know we can win, but we have to execute what we do well in practice to win these close games.
"As the coach, it is my job to put this team into situations to win games, and we've had opportunities all season … it is my job to turn things around."
The first quarter was close as the Tigers led 12-10 and MHS led 30-19 at the half.
Then came the third frame where the Pioneers began the quarter with a 6-0 run, cutting the Tigers' lead to five points at 30-25 as they outscored MHS, 20-8. After two free throws by Mustard, the Pioneers went on an 8-0 run for a score of 33-32 for a combined scoring run of 14-2 with 3:17 left in the third.
In the 8-0 part of the 14-2 run, Mowery and Hinty each made a 3-pointer, and Mowery gave ZT the lead with a jumper, leaving 3:17 left in the quarter. Hinty totaled 11 points, while teammate Connor Smith scored 10 points. Mowery made four 3-pointers, while Hinty totaled three 3-pointers.
The Pioneers ended the third with the lead off a 3-pointer by Hinty with 40 seconds left in the quarter.
In the fourth, the Tigers missed their first five shots as ZT took a 41-38 advantage. Shannon came back with a 3-pointer, and following a block by Faulconer (who scored seven points), Shannon sank another 3-pointer to put MHS ahead 44-41 with 3:41 left in the fourth. Turner gave MHS the aforementioned five-point fourth-frame lead with points by John Turner with the assist from Thomas Schrader. Schrader finished with two points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Faulconer finished with four rebounds, two blocks, one steal and one assist, while Turner had five rebounds, one steal and one assist. Also for MHS, Wyatt Jones totaled two points, two assists and one rebound, while Philip Thompson had one rebound.
For the game, MHS tallied 22 rebounds, 12 assists, five steals and two blocked shots. MHS had just eight turnovers, with two in the first half. For ZT, they totaled 27 rebounds, one block and three steals. ZT finished with 15 turnovers.
In the freshman game, MHS won, 34-23, with Randal Mischal leading with 13 points with the freshman team moving to 3-1 overall. Josh George led ZT with six points.
In the JV game, MHS won 35-21 over ZT. Lincoln O'Connor led MHS with 11 points, and Mikel Pritchard followed with 10 points as the JV team moves to 5-4. Brian Hall led ZT with seven points.
The Tigers will play again on Tuesday as they host the London Red Raiders in South Central Ohio League play.