Tigers grind out season-opening win on remodeled court
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
GREENFIELD — Though the McClain Tigers have a remodeled look on their basketball court and a new head coach roaming the bench, the McClain Tigers played a little old-school McClain basketball.
The Tigers took their time offensively, played defense and grounded out a 58-45 victory over the visiting Jackson Ironmen Saturday evening, giving head coach Joe Wisecup his first victory as McClain head coach.
The Tigers (1-0) controlled the paint, and that was due to the play of junior post player Ryan Faulconer, who totaled a game-high 25 points in the Tigers' 13-point win.
"Ryan played a great game," Wisecup said. "It's no secret we have to get the ball inside as much as possible to Ryan."
[[In-content Ad]]The Tigers opened the non-league game with the Ironmen with an 11-0 run in the first four minutes of the game. The scoring began with a 3-pointer by senior Evan Mustard, followed by a layup by Faulconer and two more points by Mustard for a 7-0 advantage.
MHS continued the run with four more points from Faulconer. JHS broke the run with a 3-pointer, but that was answered with two points from Jeremiah Savage and a free-throw by Thomas Schrader for a 14-3 lead with 3:01 left in the opening quarter.
As the quarter dwindled down, it was Mustard connecting with a layup, then sinking a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 19-5 advantage after eight minutes. Mustard ended the game with 10 points.
The second quarter belonged to the Ironmen, outscoring the hosts, 17-10 with Tyler Neal knocking down two 3-pointers in the quarter. Chandler Jenkins also sank a 3-pointer in the frame for JHS.
Neal ended the game with a team-high 23 points, including five 3-pointers.
One plus for MHS in the second frame was a 3-pointer by Wyatt Jones with 2:11 left in the quarter, putting MHS ahead, 27-16.
After the halftime break, the Tigers rallied to outscore JHS, 15-5 with Schrader beginning the third-quarter scoring for MHS. Later in the quarter, Faulconer went on a run of his own, where he outscored the Ironmen, 7-2 in a span of three minutes for an MHS lead of 38-27.
MHS actually ended the quarter with an 11-0 run for a 44-27 advantage with points also by Josh Todd and Mikel Pritchard.
In the fourth, MHS was outscored by JHS, 18-14. Of the 14 points in the fourth by MHS, Faulconer scored 10 of the points. Lincoln O'Connor made a 3-pointer in the fourth, and Schrader connected from the free-throw line.
"A win is a win," Wisecup said when asked about winning game one. "We played well in spots. The first and third quarter were our best quarters, but the second and fourth weren't so much, and I take the blame for that.
"That comes down to our conditioning … we didn't finish, and that's the most disappointing thing. We have to realize the kids are still getting experience, and they'll continue to fix the mistakes."
MHS plays next on Friday, Dec. 6 at East Clinton in a South Central Ohio League game.
The Tigers took their time offensively, played defense and grounded out a 58-45 victory over the visiting Jackson Ironmen Saturday evening, giving head coach Joe Wisecup his first victory as McClain head coach.
The Tigers (1-0) controlled the paint, and that was due to the play of junior post player Ryan Faulconer, who totaled a game-high 25 points in the Tigers' 13-point win.
"Ryan played a great game," Wisecup said. "It's no secret we have to get the ball inside as much as possible to Ryan."
[[In-content Ad]]The Tigers opened the non-league game with the Ironmen with an 11-0 run in the first four minutes of the game. The scoring began with a 3-pointer by senior Evan Mustard, followed by a layup by Faulconer and two more points by Mustard for a 7-0 advantage.
MHS continued the run with four more points from Faulconer. JHS broke the run with a 3-pointer, but that was answered with two points from Jeremiah Savage and a free-throw by Thomas Schrader for a 14-3 lead with 3:01 left in the opening quarter.
As the quarter dwindled down, it was Mustard connecting with a layup, then sinking a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 19-5 advantage after eight minutes. Mustard ended the game with 10 points.
The second quarter belonged to the Ironmen, outscoring the hosts, 17-10 with Tyler Neal knocking down two 3-pointers in the quarter. Chandler Jenkins also sank a 3-pointer in the frame for JHS.
Neal ended the game with a team-high 23 points, including five 3-pointers.
One plus for MHS in the second frame was a 3-pointer by Wyatt Jones with 2:11 left in the quarter, putting MHS ahead, 27-16.
After the halftime break, the Tigers rallied to outscore JHS, 15-5 with Schrader beginning the third-quarter scoring for MHS. Later in the quarter, Faulconer went on a run of his own, where he outscored the Ironmen, 7-2 in a span of three minutes for an MHS lead of 38-27.
MHS actually ended the quarter with an 11-0 run for a 44-27 advantage with points also by Josh Todd and Mikel Pritchard.
In the fourth, MHS was outscored by JHS, 18-14. Of the 14 points in the fourth by MHS, Faulconer scored 10 of the points. Lincoln O'Connor made a 3-pointer in the fourth, and Schrader connected from the free-throw line.
"A win is a win," Wisecup said when asked about winning game one. "We played well in spots. The first and third quarter were our best quarters, but the second and fourth weren't so much, and I take the blame for that.
"That comes down to our conditioning … we didn't finish, and that's the most disappointing thing. We have to realize the kids are still getting experience, and they'll continue to fix the mistakes."
MHS plays next on Friday, Dec. 6 at East Clinton in a South Central Ohio League game.