HILLSBORO — The Hillsboro Indians varsity basketball team dropped their third contest in a row on Friday night against the Miami Trace Panthers 62-53 to drop to 4-3 overall and 1-2 in the Frontier Athletic Conference (FAC).
Miami Trace is now 2-4 overall, 1-2 in the FAC.
Hillsboro was led by Ethan Watson as he poured in 19 points on the night including two three pointers. Phil Mycroft also registered double digits for the Indians as he posted 14 points in the losing effort. He had 10 rebounds to pace Hillsboro.
The Panthers were led by Austin Brown who finished with 17 points including one triple. Cameron Carter (13), Dakota Bolton (12) and Darby Tyree (13) also reached double figures for Miami Trace in the win.
Tyree had a double-double with 15 rebounds. Brown was next on the boards for the Panthers with seven.
Both teams were effective offensively in the first quarter as they traded buckets until the final seconds of the quarter. Brown shot a three pointer that rimmed out but, he was fouled on the play and subsequently sank all three shots at the charity stripe to give the Panthers a 17-16 lead at the end of one.
The second quarter was where the game was decided as Miami Trace picked up the defensive intensity and limited the Indians to only five points.
Meanwhile, Miami Trace continued to execute on the offensive end as they scored 13 points in the second to extend their lead to 30-21 at halftime.
Miami Trace kept the pressure on the Indians in the third quarter as they hit three triples in the frame on their way to 15 points in the third.
Hillsboro tried to keep pace with the Panthers but were unable to get enough stops on the defensive end to cut into the deficit despite putting up 13 in the quarter.
Hillsboro outscored Miami Trace 19-17 in the final quarter.
But, it was a case of too little too late for the Indians in this one as the Panthers hit their free throws down the stretch to keep Hillsboro at bay.
Hillsboro head coach Bruce Miles was complementary of the Miami Trace team after the tough loss. “Hats off to Miami Trace. They had a great game plan and they executed. We simply did not make anything and they shot it really well,” said Miles.
Hillsboro will be back in action Tuesday when they travel to Chillicothe to take on FAC rivals the Cavaliers.
Miami Trace will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Jackson to take on the Ironmen in FAC action.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
MT 17 13 151 17 — 62
H 16 5 13 19 — 53
MIAMI TRACE — Austin Brown 5 (1)-4-17; Darby Tyree 6-1-13; Cameron Carter 4 (1)-2-13; Dakota Bolton 1 (2)-4-12; Heath Cockerill 0 (1)-1-4; Austin Mathews 0 (1)-0-3; Brett Lewis 0-0-0. TOTALS — 16 (6)-12-62. Free throw shooting: 12 of 20 for 60 percent. Three-point field goals: Bolton, 2; Brown, Carter, Cockerill, Mathews. Combined field goal shooting: 22 of 50 for 44 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 6 of 20 for 30 percent. Rebounds: 31 (4 offensive). Assists: 12. Steals: 8. Blocks: 4. Turnovers: 17. Personal fouls: 12. Bench points: 16. Second chance points: 6. Points off turnovers: 7.
HILLSBORO — Ethan Watson 5 (2)-3-19; Phil Mycroft 6-0-12; Josh Keets 2-3-7; No. 20 3-1-7; Marshall Ward 1-2-4; Mason Swayne 1-0-2; Caleb Crawford 1-0-2; Jakwon Clark 0-0-0. TOTALS — 19 (2)-9-53. Free throw shooting: 9 of 13 for 69 percent. Three-point field goals: Watson, 2. Combined field goal shooting: 21 of 55 for 38 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 2 of 14 for 14 percent. Rebounds: 30 (6 offensive). Assists: 13. Steals: 10. Blocks: 1. Turnovers: 13. Personal fouls: 15. Bench points: 4. Second chance points: 0. Points off turnovers: 3.
