The Hillsboro Indians knew they would have to batten down the hatches when the Wilmington Hurricane came through, and they did for much of the game, managing to hold the lead for most of three quarters — until Dylan Beaugard and his teammates found momentum in the fourth with a last-minute comeback, blowing the Hillsboro boys over with a 61-55 South Central Ohio League win.
The Indians fall to 4-15, 4-8 for the season, while the Hurricane cruises to 11-8, 9-3.
Beaugard topped out scoring for both teams with 32 points on the night, while Ty Haithcock led scoring for Hillsboro with 14 points.
The Indians jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first four minutes of the first quarter, but by the buzzer, the Hurricane had caught up thanks to some intense shooting from Beaugard, tying the score at 11-11 for the period. Cam Reed knocked out two 2-pointers to lead scoring for the Indians in the first quarter.
The second quarter saw Wilmington take their first lead of the game near the half, but it wasn’t long before Hillsboro’s Marshall Ward shut it down with a quick three at two minutes. It was Ward who led scoring for the Indians in the quarter with two 3-pointers and a two.
At the half, the scoreboard favored Hillsboro by 7 points at 24-17.
The Hillsboro fellows managed to keep the lead for most of the third quarter with the exception of two ties, although the ‘Cane wouldn’t allow the Indians more than a 7-point lead for the period. By the end of the third quarter, the score still favored Hillsboro at 37-31. Haithcock led scoring for Hillsboro in the third quarter with two threes and a 2-pointer.
The visitors staged a comeback late in the fourth quarter, though, with Beaugard knocking down back-to-back twos near the four-minute mark, tying up the score and starting an offensive surge from the Hurricane. In the last few moments, Wilmington managed to take as much as an 8-point lead, before Ethan Watson finished out the game with a 2-point buzzer beater in the last split second. Still, the Hurricane swirled out of town with 6 points to spare at 61-55 on the night. Watson led scoring for the Indians in the quarter with two 2-pointers and a three.
“I told the guys in the locker room, I couldn’t be more proud of our effort,” said Hillsboro head coach Bruce Miles. “We had a couple good days of practice and preparation, and that’s a great team… We had them on the ropes, there’s no doubt about it. I can’t be more proud of our guys and the way we executed our game tonight, defensively, we did a lot of good things.”
Elsewhere, the McClain Tigers traveled to Miami Trace for an SCOL matchup against the Panthers Tuesday night, taking a 64-37 loss home and dropping to 6-13, 3-9 on the season.
Summary
Wilmington — 11 6 14 30 — 61
Hillsboro — 11 13 13 18 — 55
WHS: Gauche 1-2/3-4; M. Smith 1-2/2-4; Beaugard 5(6)-4/6-32; Mansfield 4-1/2-9; Wolary 5-2/3-12
Totals: 16(6)-11/16-61
HHS: Reed 2(1)-7; Ward 3(2)-12; Watson 3(2)-12; Anderson 1-2; Haithcock 1(4)-0/3-14; Keets 3-2/2-8
Totals: 13(9)-2/5-55
Reach David Wright at 937-402-2570, or on Twitter @DavidWrighter.