The McClain Tigers took on South Central Ohio League opponent Miami Trace on Friday night and even after a great start, fell behind in the end and lost to a final of 56-38.
The game started very well for the Tigers as they jumped out to a 7-0 lead. At the end of the first quarter, McClain was on top, 12-4.
McClain twice led by as many as 10 points in the second quarter. The Panthers were as close as five points behind in the early going on the second.
McClain took a 27-18 lead going into the locker room.
The Panthers came back out after halftime with a newfound ferocity, now taking over the court. Ball handling, teamwork, and strategy seemed to improve when they came out after halftime. They were double and triple-teaming any McClain player with the ball.
“We didn’t even talk a bunch of basketball tactics [at halftime] said Panthers’coach Rob Pittser after the game. “I simply told them that we have to have a better attack; we have to have a better mental approach.”
All in all, the Panthers outscored the Tigers 28-4 in the third. The fourth quarter settled down a little for both teams with the Panthers outscoring McClain 10-7 to bring the final total to 56-38.
Box:
MTHS – 4 14 28 10 – 56
MHS – 12 15 4 7 – 38
MIAMI TRACE — Blake Pittser 2 (3)-0-13; DeAndre Pettiford 5-1-11; Tyrae Pettiford 3-3-9; Darby Tyree 3-2-8; Skyler McDonald 0 (2)-1-7; Cameron Carter 2-1-5; Keondrick Bryant 1-0-2; Mitchell Creamer 0-1-1; Brad Card 0-0-0; Jacob Batson 0-0-0; Tiante Connell 0-0-0; Seth Leach 0-0-0. TOTALS — 16 (5)-9-56. Free throw shooting: 9 of 18 for 50 percent. Three-point field goals: Pittser, 3; McDonald, 2. Combined field goal shooting: 21 of 49 for 42 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 5 of 21 for 23 percent. Rebounds: 24 (8 offensive). Assists: 11. Steals: 24. Blocks: 4. Turnovers: 19.
McCLAIN — Mat Barton 1 (4)-0-14; Randall Mischal 1 (1)-2-7; Zach Peck 3-0-6; Jacob Starkey 2-1-5; Cody Hardesty 1-0-2; Owen O’Connor 1-0-2; Landree Gray 1-0-2; Alex Hollar 0-0-0; Jensen Knaff 0-0-0; Lane Hester 0-0-0. TOTALS — 10 (5)-3-38. Free throw shooting: 3 of 5 for 60 percent. Three-point field goals: Barton, 4; Mischal. Combined field goal shooting: 15 of 49 for 30 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 5 of 16 for 31 percent. Rebounds: 32 (13 offensive). Assists: 6. Steals: 10. Turnovers: 30.
On Saturday night, the McClain Tigers rebounded from their tough loss against Miami Trace and played a intense and close game with the Hintington Huntsmen with a 56-55 final, the Tigers on top.
It was an intense game between the two, the first half was tight with a score of 26-22 but McClain kept themselves in check both quarters.
Throughout the game, the Hunstmen and McClain seemed to shadow each other, looking to be an equal match.
The two teams came back from halftime with a new fire, Huntington put McClain to the test, and pushed their limits with the third quarter. Huntington was able to pull ahead by a decent margin, outscoring McClain 32-20 in the third frame.
The fourth and final quarter, the game was back and forth, but in the final few minutes, the Tigers were able to rattle off some unanswered points, some clutch free throws and a trifecta, to win the game with the narrow one-point lead 56-55.
