Tigers keep it close, but bow out of tournament

CHILLICOTHE — In the latter stages of the season, the McClain Tigers put everything together, which resulted in late-season wins for the squad. That tenacity and team style of play almost turned into victory on Tuesday night.

Though the MHS Tigers (9-14) had a couple of late opportunities to gain the win, they were unable to knock down the final shot needed, falling in the Division II SE District Sectional semifinals, 42-38 at Southeastern High School against the Circleville Tigers.

In the sectional semifinal, the MHS Tigers never trailed by more than seven points at the conclusion of any of the four quarters played.

"I'm proud of the effort the kids played with," MHS head coach Joe Wisecup said following what was his final game as the Tigers' head coach. "Before the game, I told them, with this being a possibility of being your final game, as long as you can walk off the floor giving it everything you could, you have to be proud of yourself."

For the No. 6 seeded McClain squad, they opened the third frame trailing by four points to No. 4 seeded Circleville by a 26-22 score.

That deficit soon turned to eight points with the Tigers of CHS taking a 30-22 advantage with baskets from Michael Camp and Justin Hill with 5:41 left in the third. Hill led CHS with 17 points.

McClain's deficit soon went from eight points to three with Randall Mischal knocking down a basket, followed by Reid Garrison sinking a 3-pointer with 3:00 on the clock to bring MHS within three points of tying the score.

Mischal led all scorers with 18 points.

CHS answered with two points of their own, only to see Ryan Faulconer (who totaled 10 points) convert a three-point play for McClain, making it a 32-30 score with 18.7 left in the quarter.

Though CHS began the fourth with a four-point advantage, the Tigers of McClain didn't let that stay, jumping out to a 5-0 run to start the final frame with Faulconer, Mischal and Tyler Conger all contributing to the run. Conger scored a layup at the 4:34 mark of the quarter, putting MHS ahead 35-34.

Following a timeout by CHS, Hill and his teammates pushed CHS back in front, with Hill sinking a 3-pointer with 2:28 left in regulation, giving Circleville a 39-35 lead.

With CHS now in the lead, Garrison kept MHS close with another 3-pointer to bring MHS within two points of Circleville at 40-38 with 30.3 on the scoreboard.

After CHS missed a free-throw attempt, McClain regained possession of the basketball but then missed their final two shots in an attempt to tie and win the game.

"We could have executed better offensively, especially the last couple possessions, but it's fine," Wisecup said. "Credit Circleville, they are a very good basketball team."

The first half went reasonably well for McClain as well, leading three times in the first frame following baskets by Mischal, who scored all eight of McClain's first-quarter points.

As MHS entered the second frame trailing 15-8, Mischal continued his scoring with a layup and 3-pointer to bring MHS within two points of CHS with 6:14 in the quarter.

CHS eventually built a nine-point lead with 4:05 on the second-quarter clock, only to see Faulconer make a layup while being fouled. Faulconer followed that with the ensuing free throw with just under 4:00 left on the clock.

As the quarter came to a close, MHS had points from Faulconer, Cody Hardesty and Mischal, bringing the MHS Tigers within four points of the lead at the half.

"Our team will compete," Wisecup said. "The last six or seven games, we turned into a pretty competitive basketball team. I'm talking about in learning how to compete.

"That's a credit to our seniors. The seniors stepped up, and it showed in those final games."

As for those seniors, they included: Bryce Duff, Conger, Garrison, Faulconer, Wyatt Jones, Lincoln O'Connor and Josh Todd.

"They are a great group of kids, and I'm sure they will be successful in life," Wisecup said. "They will be missed."

The sectional final game will take place on Friday, Feb. 27 at SEHS, where CHS will face Minford at 7 p.m. Minford defeated the Hillsboro Indians on Tuesday by a 52-49 score.