John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
PIKETON — Being efficient at any job is vital for success.
On Wednesday, Piketon (6-6) set a new standard for efficiency while shooting over 70 percent from the field in an impressive 65-58 win over visiting Hillsboro.
“The court just felt wide open out there,” Piketon’s Brent McGuire said. “When we’re attacking the hole, it just feels great. I think I maybe hit two 3’s tonight and it just felt great.”
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
The Indians (7-6) were actually the team who started out hot as Tate Davis and Nic Burns connected from downtown on their opening two possessions. Piketon responded with buckets from Leighton Kelley, McGuire and Mason Thacker to stay tight.
Hillsboro would use a balanced attack to extend its lead in the opening quarter as Steven Kibler, Jack Howland and Brayden Hunter got into the scorebook, topped off by a triple from Hunter to give the Indians a 15-8 lead late in the first.
But they’d never hold a larger lead.
Piketon’s Garrett Legg scored inside before Declan Davis finished off the quarter with an old-fashioned three-point play to make it a 15-13 game after one.
The second stanza saw five lead changes as Howland and McGuire went head-to-head with scores before Legg hit a cutting Bo Henry for a layup to give the Redstreaks a two-point lead — one they never gave up.
McGuire splashed a pair of treys from the right wing to extend the Redstreaks’ lead to 29-23 at the break.
In the opening 16 minutes, Piketon shot 12-for-20 from the field for a strong 60 percent — but they would blow that number out of the water in the second half.
“It feels good,” Davis said. “When we don’t take a lot of 3’s, getting into the paint, it makes us feel good because we’re knocking down shots. We can rely on 3-point shot if we need to, but getting to the paint is our main structure. We can then get kick out 3’s.”
The third quarter saw Hunter and Kibler get going offensively for the Indians, but they were unable to stop the ‘Streaks. Piketon was sparked by McGuire’s 10-point explosion to hold onto a 43-38 lead through three quarters.
The final eight minutes saw an offensive expose from Piketon with their only miss of the quarter being successfully put back by Henry around the basket. Each time the Indians scored, Piketon swiftly found their way to the bucket, typically on a pass from Legg to either a cutting Davis or Henry.
A final push from the Indians saw Hunter connecting on his third triple of the contest to cut Piketon’s lead to three. However, the ‘Streaks immediately answered when Legg connected with a streaking McGuire for a layup on the other end.
Not only were the ‘Streaks efficient on the offensive end, but they also shot 11-for-14 from the free throw line to keep Hillsboro at bay for their sixth win of the season.
McGuire led Piketon with a game-high 22 points, while Davis (16), Henry (12) and Legg (11) were also in double-digit scoring figures for the ‘Streaks. Legg flirted with a triple-double on the night, pulling down 12 rebounds and passing out eight assists.
“I kind of just get the ball, get in the middle and look to hit [my teammates] for 3’s on the opposite sides,” Legg said. “They usually knock them down. I can always count on them [to knock down shots]. And I just try to read the ball pretty well [when rebounding]. Sometimes, it goes my way and sometimes it doesn’t. There’s some luck in that.”
Hillsboro was led in scoring by Howland as the freshman scored 17 markers for the Indians. Kibler notched 15 points and a team-high six boards, and Hunter also reached double figures with 13 points.
Both teams are back in action this coming week.
Piketon hosts Adena in conference play on Tuesday while the Indians try to get back in the win column on Wednesday, traveling to Circleville.
“I say we just keep our effort up,” Davis said. “No steps back. We just have to keep the foot on the gas pedal and keep going.”
BOX SCORE
Hillsboro: 15-8-15-20 — 58
Piketon: 13-16-14-22 — 65
Hillsboro scoring: 21-53 FG, 7-30 3pt., 9-12 FT. Scoring: Howland 17, Kibler 15, Hunter 13, Davis 7, Burns 4, Dumpert 2.
Piketon scoring: 26-37 FG, 2-5 3pt., 11-14 FT. Scoring: McGuire 22, Davis 16, Henry 12, Legg 11, Kelley 2, Thacker 2.
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