Wilmington, Tribe manage 64 turnovers

(Continued from last week.)

On Dec. 10, 1991, Miami Trace met Greeneview at Jamestown. Greeneview forward Tom Spitler grabbed an inbounds pass with one second remaining in overtime and hit a 17-foot jumper to win the game, 63-62.

SCOL games began on Friday the 13th (December). Miami Trace began the defense of their league championship on the Wilmington hardwood, while Washington entertained McClain. Hillsboro played a non-league game at East Clinton.

In 1990-91, Miami Trace won the SCOL at Wilmington. This, however, was a new season with many new players. The enthusiasm and intensity that characterized the 1990-91 Panthers seemed to be missing this season, as the ’Cane clearly outplayed the MT team, defeating them by a score of 54-48. Brothers Sean and Brian Long combined for 26 points for Wilmington, while Terrell Baker led the Panthers with 14 points and Jason King added 12.

Washington showed an effective man-to-man defense that gave McClain problems, and the Blue Lions downed the Tigers without much trouble, 68-45. The Lions had four men in double figures, led by Jason Pittser, who scored 17.

Richie Highley and Jimmy Vanzant led the way for the visiting Tigers with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Also on Friday the 13th, the Hillsboro Indians visited East Clinton, where they enjoyed a 14-10 first-quarter lead but were unable to maintain the pace. The Tribe shot only 36 percent for the game and turned the ball over 22 times. It is nearly impossible to win under those circumstances. They didn’t, as the Astros won 50-42.

On Dec. 17, Washington traveled to West Jefferson where they thumped the Roughriders, 93-74. Pittser’s 25 markers led the Lions, but Jeff Sword chipped in with 22. Grant Wilkinson’s 16 was best for West Jeff.

Hillsboro got their first win of the season on the 17th, when Paint Valley provided the opposition on the Hillsboro court. Sean Longstreth led all scorers with 18 points to go with nine rebounds for the victorious Indians. John Morris led PV with 8, as the red-and-white took the contest by a score of 44-39.

McClain traveled to Miami Trace Dec. 20. This was the home opener for the Panthers. The Tigers slowed the game down and played rugged defense. They actually tied the score in the fourth quarter, but the Panthers hung on and eventually came out with a 34-29 win over the purple-and-gold. Terrell Baker scored 20 of the 34 points for Trace. Vanzant’s 10 was McClain’s best.

Hillsboro clipped Wilmington on the same evening, 42-40 on the Hillsboro court. The two teams combined for a total of 64 turnovers in one of the most error-plagued games in SCOL history. Wilmington apparently made one error more than the Indians.

Chad Price led the winners by scoring eight points.

Casey Chroust rang up the same number for the ’Cane.

Also on the 20th, Washington hosted Xenia. This game was a real barnburner, but the Lions hung on and edged the Buccaneers, 68-64.

Pittser had a field day against the Xenia defense, totaling 30 points.

Sophomore guard Travis Robertson hit a key 19-foot shot for the Lions with 15 seconds remaining. Thigpen’s 18 points was best for the visitors.

The next night, Dec. 21, Washington faced a formidable challenge when they journeyed to Unioto to battle the undefeated Shermans.

Unioto’s Matt Combs and Dan Cox were both outstanding players who led the Shermans to the state tournament finals a year earlier.

Pittser led the Blue Lions with 29 points, but only one other Lion reached double figures (Mike Patton’s 11 points). Combs hit for 23 Unioto points and Cox added 20, as the Shermans remained undefeated,downing Washington, 80-68.

Elsewhere, Miami Trace visited Springfield Northeastern, where the visiting Panthers drubbed Northeastern, 63-34. For the fifth straight game, Terrell Baker led the Panthers in scoring, with 23 points.

Wilmington played at Clinton-Massie and squeaked out a narrow 46-44 victory over the Falcons on the Massie court.

Hillsboro challenged Whiteoak on the Mowrystown court. The Indians, who had turned the ball over 34 times against Wilmington, turned it over another 30 times in the Whiteoak gymnasium. The Wildcats took a 79-62 win over the Indians. Brian Allen scored 21 points for Whiteoak, while Longstreth’s 14 was enough to lead the Indians.

After the Christmas break, Washington moved into the league’s top spot with a decisive 78-50 win over Hillsboro on the WCH hardwood.

Hillsboro’s lack of size was a difficult hurdle to overcome, as the Lions consistently pounded the ball inside to their bigger players.

When the Indians collapsed their defense in an attempt to cover the underneath players, people like Jason Pittser (24 points), Jason Harris (12 points) and Travis Robertson (8 points) burned them from outside.

Tim Parry chalked up 10 points for the Indians.

In another game, Miami Trace played well in spurts as they used an outstanding first half to claim a 69-64 win at Dayton Stebbins.

Trace held a comfortable 34-23 halftime lead at halftime, before Stebbins came to life in the second half and made a game of it.

(Continued next week.)

Bob Patton is a Highland County sports historian and a contributing writer to The Highland County Press.