Sports Today: 5 boys basketball games slated for Friday night
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Friday night for Highland County basketball fans will be an excellent way to start the weekend as all five high school boys basketball teams will take the court, including three games being played at home.
The Hillsboro Indians, Fairfield Lions and Whiteoak Wildcats all have home games this evening, and the McClain Tigers and Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs will be on the road. All five games will have conference standing implications, and one of the teams — the Fairfield Lions — will be looking to keep their undefeated record going.
[[In-content Ad]]
Looking back at Thursday night, the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs and Fairfield Lady Lions both gained quality Southern Hills Athletic Conference wins. For LC, they defeated Ripley (59-22), and the Lady Lions defeated Peebles (53-47). The win by FHS keeps them in first place in the Division II standings of the SHAC.
As for the LC game, it was the second straight game where junior Peyton Scott tallied a 30-plus point game with 35 points against Peebles on Monday (Dec. 11), and on Thursday vs. Ripley she totaled 30 points.
Looking forward to tonight’s games, there is a lot to take in with so many games on the schedule, but here is a quick look at the games.
GAMES FOR TODAY
(Friday, Dec. 15, 2017)
Boys Basketball
- Hillsboro vs. Miami Trace
The Hillsboro Indians have lost their past two games, both by single digits and their most recent game vs. Jackson in overtime. But it is time to turn the pages on those games and look forward to tonight when they take on the visiting Miami Trace team, who is coming off their first win this season against the McClain Tigers.
This is a good opportunity for the Indians to get back on track after winning their first four games of the season, plus an even better opportunity to gain a Frontier Athletic Conference victory as they are 2-1 in the conference and 4-2 overall. For HHS, Phillip Mycroft is averaging 16.8 ppg, and Ethan Watson is coming in at 13 ppg.
- McClain at Chillicothe
The Tigers hasn’t won since their first game of the year when they defeated Westfall. Since then, the Tigers have lost three straight and are looking for their first FAC win of the season. Their most recent game saw them lose to Miami Trace by a 53-45 score. To make matters worse for MHS, their leading scorer, Dalton Mischal, left that game early with an injury. Mischal is averaging 13.8 ppg.
In Chillicothe, the Tigers will be taking on a team that is a favorite to be in the top spot of the FAC at season’s end, and they will be a tough challenge for the Tigers.
- Lynchburg-Clay at Manchester
LCHS hasn’t played since last Saturday, and in that game, not only did Eric McLaughlin gain his 1,000th career point, but the Mustangs gained their first win of the season too, defeating Miami Trace. LC has played competitive basketball all season long, but a couple of quarters have been part of the difference in them having more wins than losses.
The Mustangs have two of the Top 5 scorers in Highland County on their roster with McLaughlin averaging 18 points per game and Damin Pierson at 13.3 ppg. Raymond Conner is also on the list in ninth at 12 ppg.
- Fairfield vs. Fayetteville
Are the Fairfield Lions the most exciting team in Highland County or even the SHAC thus far this season? They are an exciting team to watch for the way they play the game as a team. They share the basketball and the scoring duties and play the game at a nice pace, and to see many of them do so in their first year playing varsity is exciting to see.
They have begun the season at 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the SHAC, leading the SHAC Division II standings. Tonight will be just as important with Fayetteville on the schedule, a team they will play twice this season. This is an important game in the conference standings, and with the Lions coming off an overtime win over Peebles this past Tuesday, they have some momentum entering this game.
Sam Buddelmeyer leads FHS with 15 ppg, and Cody Gragg is next at 13 ppg. There is also Tucker Ayres at 11.2 ppg, James Bentley at 10.2 ppg and Wyatt Willey at 9.2 ppg. That is what is called balanced scoring and a big reason why they Lions have had such a good start to their season thus far.
- Whiteoak vs. Peebles
This is another game with the SHAC with the Peebles Indians playing in Highland County for their second straight game. This time, it is the Whiteoak Wildcats hosting the Indians. The Wildcats have one win this season, while the Indians are coming into the game with an overtime loss to the Lions as their most recent game.
For Whiteoak, the players to watch are Traeten Hamilton at 12.3 ppg and Stephen Ross at 11.3 ppg, with those two being their top two scorers this season after three games.
The Hillsboro Indians, Fairfield Lions and Whiteoak Wildcats all have home games this evening, and the McClain Tigers and Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs will be on the road. All five games will have conference standing implications, and one of the teams — the Fairfield Lions — will be looking to keep their undefeated record going.
[[In-content Ad]]
Looking back at Thursday night, the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs and Fairfield Lady Lions both gained quality Southern Hills Athletic Conference wins. For LC, they defeated Ripley (59-22), and the Lady Lions defeated Peebles (53-47). The win by FHS keeps them in first place in the Division II standings of the SHAC.
As for the LC game, it was the second straight game where junior Peyton Scott tallied a 30-plus point game with 35 points against Peebles on Monday (Dec. 11), and on Thursday vs. Ripley she totaled 30 points.
Looking forward to tonight’s games, there is a lot to take in with so many games on the schedule, but here is a quick look at the games.
GAMES FOR TODAY
(Friday, Dec. 15, 2017)
Boys Basketball
- Hillsboro vs. Miami Trace
The Hillsboro Indians have lost their past two games, both by single digits and their most recent game vs. Jackson in overtime. But it is time to turn the pages on those games and look forward to tonight when they take on the visiting Miami Trace team, who is coming off their first win this season against the McClain Tigers.
This is a good opportunity for the Indians to get back on track after winning their first four games of the season, plus an even better opportunity to gain a Frontier Athletic Conference victory as they are 2-1 in the conference and 4-2 overall. For HHS, Phillip Mycroft is averaging 16.8 ppg, and Ethan Watson is coming in at 13 ppg.
- McClain at Chillicothe
The Tigers hasn’t won since their first game of the year when they defeated Westfall. Since then, the Tigers have lost three straight and are looking for their first FAC win of the season. Their most recent game saw them lose to Miami Trace by a 53-45 score. To make matters worse for MHS, their leading scorer, Dalton Mischal, left that game early with an injury. Mischal is averaging 13.8 ppg.
In Chillicothe, the Tigers will be taking on a team that is a favorite to be in the top spot of the FAC at season’s end, and they will be a tough challenge for the Tigers.
- Lynchburg-Clay at Manchester
LCHS hasn’t played since last Saturday, and in that game, not only did Eric McLaughlin gain his 1,000th career point, but the Mustangs gained their first win of the season too, defeating Miami Trace. LC has played competitive basketball all season long, but a couple of quarters have been part of the difference in them having more wins than losses.
The Mustangs have two of the Top 5 scorers in Highland County on their roster with McLaughlin averaging 18 points per game and Damin Pierson at 13.3 ppg. Raymond Conner is also on the list in ninth at 12 ppg.
- Fairfield vs. Fayetteville
Are the Fairfield Lions the most exciting team in Highland County or even the SHAC thus far this season? They are an exciting team to watch for the way they play the game as a team. They share the basketball and the scoring duties and play the game at a nice pace, and to see many of them do so in their first year playing varsity is exciting to see.
They have begun the season at 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the SHAC, leading the SHAC Division II standings. Tonight will be just as important with Fayetteville on the schedule, a team they will play twice this season. This is an important game in the conference standings, and with the Lions coming off an overtime win over Peebles this past Tuesday, they have some momentum entering this game.
Sam Buddelmeyer leads FHS with 15 ppg, and Cody Gragg is next at 13 ppg. There is also Tucker Ayres at 11.2 ppg, James Bentley at 10.2 ppg and Wyatt Willey at 9.2 ppg. That is what is called balanced scoring and a big reason why they Lions have had such a good start to their season thus far.
- Whiteoak vs. Peebles
This is another game with the SHAC with the Peebles Indians playing in Highland County for their second straight game. This time, it is the Whiteoak Wildcats hosting the Indians. The Wildcats have one win this season, while the Indians are coming into the game with an overtime loss to the Lions as their most recent game.
For Whiteoak, the players to watch are Traeten Hamilton at 12.3 ppg and Stephen Ross at 11.3 ppg, with those two being their top two scorers this season after three games.