Tigers rally in 2nd half; gain win over Panthers
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
EBER - Trailing by as much as 21 points in the third quarter, the McClain Tigers turned things around by taking advantage of Miami Trace miscues, going on scoring run, playing tough defense and holding off a final shot attempt by the Panthers to gain second place in the South Central Ohio League with a 61-60 victory Saturday night at Miami Trace High School.
"We told our guys that our bench is going to win this game for us because we spent a lot of energy Friday against Washington, and that is what happened," McClain head coach Brent Eaton said. "Zach Uhl, Scott Balzer and Caleb Gregory gave us good defensive stops, which we needed. I am happy for those three kids."
Not only did the Tigers trail by 20-plus points, but at the start of the third frame the Panthers, on senior night, went on a 8-0 run in less than two minutes for a 41-20 advantage.
Then the Tigers decided to put the game in their hands and mount a comeback for the ages.
The comeback began with senior Caleb Gregory knocking down a 3-pointer, which bounced off the rim and through the hoop, followed by a free throw by senior Lucas Polley and a rebound and put back by senior Kameron Mace.
The Tigers continued to battle with a 3-ball by junior Scott Balzer at the 3:39 mark. Polley brought MHS within 10 points of tying the game with inside points to give MHS a 11-0 run in a span of 2:08. Polley finished with a team-high 23 points. He was 8 of 11 from the free-throw line.
After the Panthers regained a 12-point lead, the Tigers were back at it with put back points from senior L.T. Walters and a 3-pointer from Polley at the 2:00 mark to bring MHS within seven points of tying the game. On the ensuing possession Polley continued to be a force on the offensive side with a steal at mid-court and scoring on the fast break with 1:47 left in the quarter, bringing out the emotion in not only his teammates, but the MHS fans as well.
The Panthers came back in the final stages of the third to score a 6-2 run, but the fourth brought out another run by the Tigers.
Polley netted a free throw to bring the Tigers within seven, then senior Logan Wise came to life and sparked the Tigers for the next four minutes as he scored nine straight McClain points.
Wise started his personal assault on the Panthers with four total free throws on two separate trips to the foul line, following those four points with a corner 3-pointer and inside points to tie the game at 51 with 3:54 remaining in regulation. Wise netted 12 points overall in the SCOL win.
With both teams exchanging baskets and layups, Polley took the ball down the baseline straight to the hoop for two points for McClain's first lead of the game at 54-53 with 2:41 left in the fourth.
Gregory, who finished with 11 points, followed with two free throws to put the Tigers up three points with 1:29 left in the game.
MT came back again and took a one-point lead with 13.5 remaining with two free throws by Isaiah Carson, but with 7.6 seconds remaining Polley went 2 of 2 from the line to put MHS up for the final time.
Miami Trace had one final chance to win the game with Carson taking the final shot, but the ball bounced off the rim for the MHS win. Carson gained the game-high with 24 points.
"Give Miami Trace huge credit," Eaton said. "They out worked us and deserve more credit than we do. Miami Trace can beat teams in the tournament because they can shoot and put the ball on the floor."
The first two quarters were a bit of a nightmare for MHS as they trailed 18-11 in the first quarter and were held to nine points in the second for a MT lead of 33-20.
The Panthers began the game with a 10-3 run as Ty Leach, Carson and Tucker Hughes all put up points for the Panthers. The three MHS points came from Wise who sank a 3-pointer. Gregory brought MHS closer in the final stages of the opening quarter by knocking down a 3-ball.
In the second Zac Carson scored first for MT with MHS junior Zach Matracia off setting the points by MT with an inside bucket.
Gregory hit his second 3-ball of the game with 2:51 left in the quarter to bring MHS within nine points of tying the game.
Zac and Isaiah Carson scored six straight to put MT up 15 points.
The SCOL win by MHS puts them in second place in the league with Madison-Plains and Hillsboro as each team has a league mark of 8-4.
MHS currently stands at 12-7 overall, with their Division II SE District sectional game against Hillsboro on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. with the game taking place at Southeastern High School.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
MHS - 11 9 21 20 - 61
MTHS - 18 15 16 11 - 60
INDIVIDUAL STATS
MHS (61)
Mace 1 2, Wise 1 (2) 4-4 12, Balzer 0 (1) 3, Polley 6 (1) 8-11 23, Gregory 0 (3) 2-2 11, Uhl 1 1-2 3, Walters 1 2, Beatty 0 (1) 3, Matracia 1 0-2 2. TOTALS: 11 (8) 15-21 61.
MTHS (60)
Frederick 1 1-2 3, Leach 4 2-3 10, Z.Carson 3 (1) 9, Hughes 4 4-5 12, I.Carson 9 6-8 24, Hiser 1 2. TOTALS: 22 (1) 13-18 60.[[In-content Ad]]
"We told our guys that our bench is going to win this game for us because we spent a lot of energy Friday against Washington, and that is what happened," McClain head coach Brent Eaton said. "Zach Uhl, Scott Balzer and Caleb Gregory gave us good defensive stops, which we needed. I am happy for those three kids."
Not only did the Tigers trail by 20-plus points, but at the start of the third frame the Panthers, on senior night, went on a 8-0 run in less than two minutes for a 41-20 advantage.
Then the Tigers decided to put the game in their hands and mount a comeback for the ages.
The comeback began with senior Caleb Gregory knocking down a 3-pointer, which bounced off the rim and through the hoop, followed by a free throw by senior Lucas Polley and a rebound and put back by senior Kameron Mace.
The Tigers continued to battle with a 3-ball by junior Scott Balzer at the 3:39 mark. Polley brought MHS within 10 points of tying the game with inside points to give MHS a 11-0 run in a span of 2:08. Polley finished with a team-high 23 points. He was 8 of 11 from the free-throw line.
After the Panthers regained a 12-point lead, the Tigers were back at it with put back points from senior L.T. Walters and a 3-pointer from Polley at the 2:00 mark to bring MHS within seven points of tying the game. On the ensuing possession Polley continued to be a force on the offensive side with a steal at mid-court and scoring on the fast break with 1:47 left in the quarter, bringing out the emotion in not only his teammates, but the MHS fans as well.
The Panthers came back in the final stages of the third to score a 6-2 run, but the fourth brought out another run by the Tigers.
Polley netted a free throw to bring the Tigers within seven, then senior Logan Wise came to life and sparked the Tigers for the next four minutes as he scored nine straight McClain points.
Wise started his personal assault on the Panthers with four total free throws on two separate trips to the foul line, following those four points with a corner 3-pointer and inside points to tie the game at 51 with 3:54 remaining in regulation. Wise netted 12 points overall in the SCOL win.
With both teams exchanging baskets and layups, Polley took the ball down the baseline straight to the hoop for two points for McClain's first lead of the game at 54-53 with 2:41 left in the fourth.
Gregory, who finished with 11 points, followed with two free throws to put the Tigers up three points with 1:29 left in the game.
MT came back again and took a one-point lead with 13.5 remaining with two free throws by Isaiah Carson, but with 7.6 seconds remaining Polley went 2 of 2 from the line to put MHS up for the final time.
Miami Trace had one final chance to win the game with Carson taking the final shot, but the ball bounced off the rim for the MHS win. Carson gained the game-high with 24 points.
"Give Miami Trace huge credit," Eaton said. "They out worked us and deserve more credit than we do. Miami Trace can beat teams in the tournament because they can shoot and put the ball on the floor."
The first two quarters were a bit of a nightmare for MHS as they trailed 18-11 in the first quarter and were held to nine points in the second for a MT lead of 33-20.
The Panthers began the game with a 10-3 run as Ty Leach, Carson and Tucker Hughes all put up points for the Panthers. The three MHS points came from Wise who sank a 3-pointer. Gregory brought MHS closer in the final stages of the opening quarter by knocking down a 3-ball.
In the second Zac Carson scored first for MT with MHS junior Zach Matracia off setting the points by MT with an inside bucket.
Gregory hit his second 3-ball of the game with 2:51 left in the quarter to bring MHS within nine points of tying the game.
Zac and Isaiah Carson scored six straight to put MT up 15 points.
The SCOL win by MHS puts them in second place in the league with Madison-Plains and Hillsboro as each team has a league mark of 8-4.
MHS currently stands at 12-7 overall, with their Division II SE District sectional game against Hillsboro on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. with the game taking place at Southeastern High School.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
MHS - 11 9 21 20 - 61
MTHS - 18 15 16 11 - 60
INDIVIDUAL STATS
MHS (61)
Mace 1 2, Wise 1 (2) 4-4 12, Balzer 0 (1) 3, Polley 6 (1) 8-11 23, Gregory 0 (3) 2-2 11, Uhl 1 1-2 3, Walters 1 2, Beatty 0 (1) 3, Matracia 1 0-2 2. TOTALS: 11 (8) 15-21 61.
MTHS (60)
Frederick 1 1-2 3, Leach 4 2-3 10, Z.Carson 3 (1) 9, Hughes 4 4-5 12, I.Carson 9 6-8 24, Hiser 1 2. TOTALS: 22 (1) 13-18 60.[[In-content Ad]]