Tournament Preview: Winner takes all Tuesday between Hillsboro and McClain
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The season is on the line Tuesday night at Southeastern High School, when the Hillsboro Indians face the McClain Tigers in the Division II SE District semifinals for a chance to play for a sectional title this Friday.
This will be the third installment of the legendary basketball rivalry between the Indians and Tigers this season. These two teams have played each other twice this season, with the Indians winning both games.
The Indians have compiled a seven-game winning streak against the cross-county rival from Highland County. Before Hillsboro's current streak, the Tigers won eight-of-nine times against the Indians (dating back to the 2004-05 season).
In their first meeting on Dec. 22, HHS won 49-43 at McClain High School, while defeating the Tigers the second time 46-36 at Hillsboro High School on Jan. 18. In that second meeting, HHS outscored MHS, 34-24 in the second half. In the second game, both coaches said full-court pressure was the difference in the game.
The Indians enter the game as the co-South Central Ohio League champions with an overall record of 13-7 and league mark of 9-3. The Tigers finished the season at 9-11 overall with three wins in the SCOL.
"It was a great win (Friday), but now that everyone's record is 0-0, we have to go back and refocus on Greenfield. As great as winning the SCOL title was, we have to put it behind us the best we can and start the one-game season all over again at Southeastern," HHS head coach Tim Davis said.
For the Tigers, it has been a season of learning with many ups-and-downs. They began the season with seven straight losses but came back to win nine of their final 13 games, including a win against co-SCOL champ Miami Trace, which could be a potential opponent of the winner of this game. MT takes on Waverly in the game before the HHS-MHS matchup. The winners of these two games play on Friday night at 7 p.m.
This season (through 16 games), the Indians have been led by senior Aric Carroll with 11.8 ppg, followed by Tyrand Cumberland with 11.3 ppg and Devante Ames at 11.3 ppg.
On Friday night (the regular season finale), HHS senior Eli Hogsett led with a game-high 17 points against London.
"Hillsboro is an extremely talented team with great quickness (offensively and defensively), perimeter shooting, and offensive rebounding prowess," MHS head coach Brent Eaton said.
HHS enters the game with a four-game winning streak to end the regular season, defeating Eastern Brown, Clinton-Massie, Fairfield and London. Three of those wins came on the road. HHS has no more than two straight losses this season, which happened three times.
"They have beaten us twice for good reason. They are well coached and are talented," Eaton said. "In order to be successful against Hillsboro, we will have to execute. My hopes for the game are that both communities bring a large crowd and an exciting atmosphere for the student athletes to experience."
MHS ended the regular season winning six of their final seven games, including a five-game winning streak.
For the Tigers, it was senior Zach Matracia who led MHS in scoring with 13.3 ppg and 6.5 rebounds per game headed into the final week of the regular season. Another key scorer for MHS is senior Jared Loftis, with 9.8 ppg before the weekend games. Loftis also led MHS with 3.1 assists per game.
The Tigers haven't defeated the Indians since the 2007-08 season, but in this current season, MHS finished the season with a win over Southeastern, a day after losing to the Washington Blue Lions 47-43 at WSHS.
"The main difference (playing a team a third time) is the familiarity," Davis said. "We know what Greenfield is going to do, they know what we are going to do, so it's all about execution."
Davis also talked about the actual game itself between the two county rivals. McClain's last meeting with HHS was on Jan. 18 when Matracia led with 17 points at HHS.
"Hillsboro-Greenfield games are very physical, and both teams play extremely hard," Davis said. "The team that executes is going to be the team that comes out on top."
The Indians and Tigers will tip-off at 8 p.m. Tuesday at SEHS.[[In-content Ad]]
This will be the third installment of the legendary basketball rivalry between the Indians and Tigers this season. These two teams have played each other twice this season, with the Indians winning both games.
The Indians have compiled a seven-game winning streak against the cross-county rival from Highland County. Before Hillsboro's current streak, the Tigers won eight-of-nine times against the Indians (dating back to the 2004-05 season).
In their first meeting on Dec. 22, HHS won 49-43 at McClain High School, while defeating the Tigers the second time 46-36 at Hillsboro High School on Jan. 18. In that second meeting, HHS outscored MHS, 34-24 in the second half. In the second game, both coaches said full-court pressure was the difference in the game.
The Indians enter the game as the co-South Central Ohio League champions with an overall record of 13-7 and league mark of 9-3. The Tigers finished the season at 9-11 overall with three wins in the SCOL.
"It was a great win (Friday), but now that everyone's record is 0-0, we have to go back and refocus on Greenfield. As great as winning the SCOL title was, we have to put it behind us the best we can and start the one-game season all over again at Southeastern," HHS head coach Tim Davis said.
For the Tigers, it has been a season of learning with many ups-and-downs. They began the season with seven straight losses but came back to win nine of their final 13 games, including a win against co-SCOL champ Miami Trace, which could be a potential opponent of the winner of this game. MT takes on Waverly in the game before the HHS-MHS matchup. The winners of these two games play on Friday night at 7 p.m.
This season (through 16 games), the Indians have been led by senior Aric Carroll with 11.8 ppg, followed by Tyrand Cumberland with 11.3 ppg and Devante Ames at 11.3 ppg.
On Friday night (the regular season finale), HHS senior Eli Hogsett led with a game-high 17 points against London.
"Hillsboro is an extremely talented team with great quickness (offensively and defensively), perimeter shooting, and offensive rebounding prowess," MHS head coach Brent Eaton said.
HHS enters the game with a four-game winning streak to end the regular season, defeating Eastern Brown, Clinton-Massie, Fairfield and London. Three of those wins came on the road. HHS has no more than two straight losses this season, which happened three times.
"They have beaten us twice for good reason. They are well coached and are talented," Eaton said. "In order to be successful against Hillsboro, we will have to execute. My hopes for the game are that both communities bring a large crowd and an exciting atmosphere for the student athletes to experience."
MHS ended the regular season winning six of their final seven games, including a five-game winning streak.
For the Tigers, it was senior Zach Matracia who led MHS in scoring with 13.3 ppg and 6.5 rebounds per game headed into the final week of the regular season. Another key scorer for MHS is senior Jared Loftis, with 9.8 ppg before the weekend games. Loftis also led MHS with 3.1 assists per game.
The Tigers haven't defeated the Indians since the 2007-08 season, but in this current season, MHS finished the season with a win over Southeastern, a day after losing to the Washington Blue Lions 47-43 at WSHS.
"The main difference (playing a team a third time) is the familiarity," Davis said. "We know what Greenfield is going to do, they know what we are going to do, so it's all about execution."
Davis also talked about the actual game itself between the two county rivals. McClain's last meeting with HHS was on Jan. 18 when Matracia led with 17 points at HHS.
"Hillsboro-Greenfield games are very physical, and both teams play extremely hard," Davis said. "The team that executes is going to be the team that comes out on top."
The Indians and Tigers will tip-off at 8 p.m. Tuesday at SEHS.[[In-content Ad]]