HILLSBORO — The Washington Blue Lions extended their winning streak to 12 in a row with a 79-48 win at Hillsboro over the Indians in SCOL play Tuesday, Jan. 26.
The Blue Lions improve to 9-1 in the SCOL, in second place behind Wilmington (11-0). The Blue Lions have a two-game lead over third place Chillicothe (having beaten them twice this season.
Hillsboro is in sixth place in the SCOL at 3-7. The Indians are 6-10 overall.
Washington is now 13-2 overall.
The Blue Lions were led by senior Cameron Eckles, who, in fact, was the game’s leading scorer with 23 points.
Senior Max Knisley scored 18 points and junior Kory Proby had nine points.
Sophomore Phillip Mycroft led the Indians with 16 points. Senior D.J. Brown scored 10 points and senior Logan Kibler had nine points.
Washington shot the ball well, making 30 field goals out of 58 attempts for 52 percent.
The Blue Lions led 17-6 at the end of the first quarter.
At the half, Washington held a 33-23 lead.
Washington won the third quarter, 22-12 to go in front, 55-35.
The Blue Lions further extended their lead in the fourth quarter, outscoring Hillsboro 24-13 for the final 79-48.
“We had to make adjustments from the first time we played them because their game plan was to take Max out of the game,” Washington head coach Shannon Bartruff said. “They ran box and one against him and we spent a lot of time on different types of defenses and how we need to attack them.
“Tonight they ran a box and one and a triangle and two, face-guarding Max and Griff (Griffin Shaw),” Bartruff explained.
“Those two did a great job screening and getting teammates open,” Bartruff said. “I felt like our effort was tremendous for all four quarters which is what you want heading down the home stretch of the season.
“Cameron Eckles was tremendous tonight,” Bartruff said. “He guarded well, rebounded well, ran the floor well and most of all finished through contact.”
Eckles acheived a double-double, with 10 rebounds to go along with his 23 points.
“Even though they tried to take him out of the game, Max finished with a quiet and team-oriented 18 points,” Bartruff said. “He passed up multiple shots tonight to get teammates better shots. He could probably be averaging 10 more points a game, but his unselfish nature results in spreading the wealth.
“C.J. (Taylor) and Kory (Proby) had nice hustle play games,” Bartruff said. “Kenny Upthegrove did a nice job getting us into our offense and pushing the ball. Griff, even though his points were down, rebounded the ball well (7 rebounds) and had a couple of blocked shots. It was also nice to get Brian Wilson and Jarett Patton back into the flow somewhat. They’ve both been battling injuries and aren’t near 100 percent. Senior Jacob Knisley and Ryan Flora saw action, as well as freshmen Dillon Steward and Evan Upthegrove.”
The Blue Lions are back in action at home Friday against SCOL opponent Clinton-Massie. The j-v game starts at 6 p.m.
Washington will host the No. 2 team in the State in Division II, Unioto, Saturday. Unioto is now 15-0 and has won 50 consecutive regular season games after a win over Piketon Monday. Unioto is at Paint Valley Friday night.
Hillsboro hosted Chillicothe in a make-up game Wednesday.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
W 17 16 22 24 — 79
H 6 17 12 13 — 48
WASHINGTON — Max Knisley 3 (3)-3-18; Jarett Patton 1-0-2; Kory Proby 4-1-9; C.J. Taylor 1 (1)-1-6; Kenny Upthegrove 3-0-6; Dillon Steward 1 (1)-2-7; Griffin Shaw 1-4-6; Cameron Eckles 10-3-23; Jacob Knisley 1-0-2. TOTALS — 25 (5)-14-79. Free throw shooting: 14 of 22 for 64 percent. Rebounds: 33. Turnovers: 8. Steals: 11. Combined field goal shooting: 30 of 58 for 52 percent. Three-point field goal shooting: 5 of 13 for 38 percent.
HILLSBORO — Britton Haines 1-0-2; Cameron Reed 0 (1)-0-3; Logan Kibler 1 (2)-1-9; Josh Keets 1-1-3; D.J. Brown 4-2-10; Phillip Mycroft 6 (1)-1-16; Matthew Ryan 2-1-5. TOTALS — 15 (4)-6-48. Free throw shooting: 6 of 11 for 55 percent.
