The McClain Tigers played host Tuesday night to Greenfield native and current Chillicothe head coach Eric Huffer as he brought his high-flying Cavalier offense into the McClain gymnasium for a league matchup. Chillicothe pulled out the easy 65-44 win, dominating three of the four quarters in the game.
Greenfield opened the game with a big three from Dalton Mischal at just over a minute in the ballgame to put the Tigers on the board. It would be part of a 7-point quarter for Mischal. After only two buckets by the Cavaliers, the Tigers played the last five minutes of the quarter with a 9-2 run to finish out the first ahead by six points. The score was 12-6, Tigers, at the first buzzer.
The tables turned in the second period when Landree Gray was able to knock down a couple two-pointers and Starkey threw one in for a total of just 6 Tiger points for the quarter. The Cavaliers, on the other hand, could not miss. Five different players would score before the half, with Barnes hitting two threes and a two for 8 points. The momentum had clearly shifted. Along with nine turnovers in the quarter, McClain was also outscored 23-6, losing their first-quarter lead. The teams headed into the locker room with Chillicothe in the lead at 29-18 for the half.
The third and fourth quarters mirrored each other as each team played very similar and scored the same number of points in each period. The Tigers were on Chillicothe’s heels, trying to keep up with the athletic Cavaliers up and down the floor. McClain did not have an answer for the quickness or the precision passing displayed by the Chillicothe boys.
Fouls were never a factor in the game for either team, however, turnovers were a sore spot for the Tigers. Quick scores by the Cavaliers were the result of many miscues by McClain. Coach Jesse Mitchell commented after the game referencing the second quarter saying, “They rely on their press, their half-court press and full-court press, to generate turnovers and score quick shots. We kind of fell in that trap in the second quarter. We never really responded to that. We tried to in the third quarter but we couldn’t.”
Greenfield falls to 5-13 overall and 5-12 in the South Central Ohio League. They will play host to Washington Court House Friday night.
Summary
Chillicothe — 6 23 18 18 — 65
McClain — 12 6 13 13 — 44
CHS: Mauchmer 11; Danzy 2; Barnes 18; Roderick 6; J. Mauchmer 2; S. Roderick 8; J. Benson 9; J. Johnson 2; Coffland 7
Total: 65
MHS: O’Connor 1; Starkey 8; Barton 18; Knaff 2; Mischal 7; Gray 6; Rickman 2
Total: 44
Mark Branham is a contributing sportswriter for The Times-Gazette.
