Nick McClain scored 20 points and had a big fourth quarter in the Trojans' district semifinal win. 

MADISON, Fla. — The Hamilton County basketball team is headed to the state playoffs for the seventh consecutive season. 

The Trojans were challenged the entire way by Lafayette in Tuesday’s district semifinal game, trailing most of the second half and into the beginning of the fourth quarter, but some late-game magic from Nick McClain, Javiel Jones and Tony Stockton kept Hamilton County’s playoff streak alive.   

HCHS scored 31 points in the final period to gain a 69-59 victory and a spot in Friday’s district championship.  

Box score

Lafayette	12	14	15	18	—	59
Hamilton County	13	12	13	31	—	69

HCHS – N McClain 20, Jones 17, Stockton 17, B McClain 6, Hawkins 6, Ealy 2, Merrill 1

LHS – Siverain 20, Clark 13, Mercedes 8, Smith 6, Massey 6, Gay 2, Edwards 2, James 2

 

McClain finished with 20 points and seven rebounds while Jones and Stockton scored 17 apiece. McClain, a sophomore, pulled out his entire offensive arsenal to lead the Trojans in scoring. He pulled off acrobatic layups by hanging in the air, eurostepped his way past defenders in transition, and made clutch jump shots and free throws late in the game.  

After starting the game with a long 3-pointer and six first-quarter points, McClain’s confidence only continued to grow. 

“Once I got my rhythm early, I just kept going from there,” said McClain. 

“We came out executing a lot better after halftime. “We talked in the huddle, knew this was the last go-around for our seniors. We had to give it our all.”

Ylusse Siverain paced the Hornets with four 3-pointers and 20 points. Lafayette committed just six turnovers in the first half and took a 26-25 lead into halftime.

The Hornets continued to take care of the ball in the third quarter even as the pace of the game increased and both teams began scoring more in the fast break. But things started to unravel for LHS with six minutes left in the fourth quarter.   

“We preached all week, we can not give them more opportunities. We’ve got to keep control of the ball,” said LHS coach Ehrin Beach. “We just couldn’t. We lost two starters (Juantavious Smith and Ben Massey fouled out). We got a little fatigued and ball handling was the issue down the end.” 

First-year HCHS coach Mike Cohen was proud of the way his team responded after halftime. 

“At halftime I told the guys, ‘this is it. Do you want it to end tonight or do you want to play some more?’” 

“Brandon (McClain) gave us a lift. His little brother Nick, and Javiel and Tony — they carried us through it.” 

UP NEXT: Hamilton County will face Madison County at MCHS on Friday for the district championship.