Win eludes Hamilton in fourth quarter

Big Blue dominates first three periods, but falls to Miamisburg 49-46.

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1:14 AM Sunday, January 8, 2012

By Rick Cassano

Staff Writer

MIAMISBURG — Hamilton High School’s road to victory remains littered with potholes.

The Big Blue boys basketball team found a pretty good shooting touch for three quarters Saturday night and built a 10-point lead at Miamisburg, but ultimately went down in exasperating fashion.

HHS got outscored 15-7 in the fourth quarter and missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds as the Vikings, who sank just 5-of-17 free throws, held on for a 49-46 nonleague triumph.

“We’re just not used to being there at the end,” said Hamilton coach Tim Robinson, whose squad slid to 2-8. “It seems like when you’re 2-8, you never get that one break that puts you over the top at the end.”

Breon Boyd had 15 points and eight rebounds for Big Blue, while Christian Jones scored 11 points and Keimon Sims added nine.

HHS did hit 9-of-10 foul shots, but its last field goal came with 56.8 seconds remaining in the third period.

“It’s heartbreaking,” admitted Boyd, a senior center. “We are getting better week by week. The seniors have got to keep pushing and stay positive and keep our heads on straight.”

Hamilton’s double-digit edge (29-19) came on a Boyd stickback early in the third stanza. Miamisburg rallied by drilling five of its six 3-pointers after the break.

Nathan Chambers (18) and John Giles (13) paced the scoring for the Vikings (6-2), who extended their winning streak to six.

Miamisburg coach Tim Fries said his team “defied basketball logic” by grabbing the win.

“They shoot 90 percent from the line, and we’re 5-of-17. They totally control the tempo of the game. They crush us inside. They lead almost the whole game. And we still come out with the win?” said Fries, shaking his head. “We’re very fortunate. We’ve been that team that’s 2-8 and plays hard and struggles to win. We know what it feels like.”

The Vikings moved ahead for good on Raymond Stallings’ 3-pointer with 1:58 remaining. It was his only basket of the contest and made the score 47-46.

Miamisburg was 2-of-4 from the charity stripe the rest of the way. HHS had the ball and called a timeout with 11.4 on the clock, but could do no better than a 25-footer in the closing seconds.

“I know it’s tough when you lose to come back to practice and work hard, but we’ve got good kids,” Robinson said. “ I think they still want to battle and wear the Big Blue uniform. We’re going to stay positive and try to move forward.”

Marcus Oliver collected six rebounds and Torrell Sutton blocked five shots for Hamilton, which returns home to face Sycamore on Friday.

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