McClain Wins 1st District Boys Hoops Crown Since 2005

Presented By Ross-Chillicothe Convention & Visitor’s Bureau

The McClain Tigers have advanced to the Division 2 Boys Basketball Sweet 16 with a 53-41 win over Sheridan, Saturday night at Southeastern High School. The title was the first for McClain since the 2004-05 season.

Coach Joe B. Stewart’s squad was in a back-and-forth battle until they were able to pull away midway through the fourth quarter.

The Tigers took a 4-0 lead to start the game and after being tied 8-8, Sheridan went on a 6-0 run for a 14-8 lead after one quarter. That lead got to 16-8 for the Generals, but McClain closed the first half on a 16-8 spurt making it 24-24 at the break.

The third period saw the Generals with a 6-0 start for a 30-24 lead at 5:31 in the period. Following a McClain timeout, the Tigers caught fire and their defense shut down Sheridan. McClain went on a 10-2 run for a 34-32 lead at 3:17 in the third quarter and were up 36-32 after three.

The fourth quarter was all McClain except for one short stretch. The Tigers built a 42-32 lead, but saw Sheridan trim that deficit to 42-38, only to see McClain regain the momentum with a finish of 11-3 for the 53-41 victory.

McClain had three players in double figures, led by Kendyll Toney’s 19 points- before fouling out. Bryson Badgley scored 13 and Braden Wright had 11. Preston Saunders and Wesley Potts added 5 and 4 points respectively. 11 of Badgley’s 13 came in the second half.

Sheridan was led by Reed Coconis’ 13 points while Blaine Hannan scored 9.

McClain controlled the glass with a 27-15 rebound advantage and were 14/19 at the foul line while Sheridan was only 4/10.

It will be a Southeast District Regional Semifinal on Thursday, March 10th as the #2 seed McClain Tigers face the #1 seed Waverly Tigers at 8pm.