Back on the hardwood

November 21, 2018 by Conner McCarty

Clinton’s Kinley Martin drives to the basket against Catholic High School last week. (photo:Tony Cox )

The second half of play was much more dominated by momentum, as each team traded runs throughout the third and fourth quarters. Senior guard Nikki Jones led Clinton in the third quarter with a field goal and a deep ball for five points. Moore added four more points in the third as well, and the Lady Dragons took a six-point advantage into the fourth quarter, 39-33. The Lady Irish would have momentum throughout the fourth quarter, and even took the lead. However, Jones would counter with two three’s to keep Clinton around. Also, close fourth quarter ballgames are often won or lost at the free-throw stripe. The Lady Dragons would go seven-of-eight from the line to grind out win number one. Nikki Jones went two-for-four from the charity stripe, knock down three treys, and led the Lady Dragons in scoring with 14 points. Jazmine Moore finished with eight points for Clinton. Senior point guard Danyel Joy controlled much of Clinton’s pace all night, and finished with eight points, three steals, and two assists.

On Saturday, the Lady Dragons faced off against Grace Christian and Farragut. Again, Clinton took an early lead and looked strong, going into the second quarter with a 11-9 lead. The two teams battled back and forth throughout the second quarter, and went into the break deadlocked, 20-20. However, Grace would go on a run late in the third quarter. With momentum, the Lady Rams took a 37-30 lead into the fourth quarter, and never looked back. The Lady Dragons would fall 51-42, and look forward to their upcoming matchup with Farragut. Yet, the Lady Admirals jumped out to a 52-6 lead at halftime, and cruised to a 73-23 win over Clinton. The Lady Dragons (1-2) faced Coalfield on Tuesday night, but the results of that game were unavailable by press time.

As for the boys squad, it was the opposite. The Dragons opened the 2018-2019 campaign against a talented Catholic team, which features six-foot nine-inch Akeem Odusipe. On a basketball level, it is debatable that Clinton was the better team. However, the Dragons were outsized. Catholic’s Odusipe looks like a NBA2K “create-a-player” compared to most high schoolers, and most teams will struggle to stop him—unless they have their own seven-footer to matchup with him. Nevertheless, the Dragons did not back down a bit from the Fighting Irish. Clinton shot 7-of-18 from the floor in the first quarter. Senior forward Andrew Shoopman went three-for-three for six points, but the Dragons trailed going into the second quarter, 17-14. Freshman guard Jackson Garner made a huge impact off the bench for Clinton. Garner went three-for-five in the second, which included two treys, for eight points. However, Catholic continued to win the battle of the boards, and went into the break with a 33-31 lead. The Irish would stretch their lead back out in the third quarter, as Odusipe went six-of-nine from the floor, for 12 points. Heading into the fourth quarter, Clinton trailed 49-41. Catholic pulled in front by ten early in the fourth quarter, and Clinton was unable to close the gap. The Dragons fell 74-56 to the Fighting Irish. Both teams shot above 45 percent from the floor. For Catholic, Akeem Odusipe finished 14-of-21 from the floor, hit five-of-ten from the charity stripe to lead all scorers with 33 points. He also pulled down 20 of Catholic’s 48 rebounds. The Dragons were led by Junior point guard Evan Winchester, who went 7-of-19 for a team-high 15 points, seven boards, and six assists. Senior Luke Harrison finished 6-of-12 for 14 points, four rebounds, and one block.

The Dragons looked to bounce back on Saturday, at Farragut. Clinton’s first contest of the day would come against Whites Creek (Memphis). The Dragons would come out of the gates high flying, with energy. Yet, Clinton shot only 5-of-14 in the first quarter. Luke Harrison led the Dragons with eight points, connecting on all four of his first quarter attempts. Yet, Clinton trailed 13-12 heading in the second quarter. The Dragons would pull in front with a 20-point second quarter, as six different Dragons contributed at least one field goal. Clinton led at the break, 32-28. Harrison would go three-of-five from the floor, for six points in the third quarter. The Senior’s contributions would spark a late third quarter Clinton run, and stretched their advantage to nine points. Clinton led 50-42 heading into the fourth, and would put Whites Creek away. Garner would hit both his fourth quarter attempts from downtown, and the Dragons would seal the win from the free-throw line, for a 68-50 win. The Dragons caused 28 Cobras’ turnovers, and capitalized with 26 points off of them. Luke Harrison went 10-of-15 from the floor, and hit two-of-three from the charity stripe, and led all scorers with 22 points. Plus, he pulled down six boards, and added five assists.

Clinton faced the hosting Farragut Admirals to conclude the Hall of Fame games, and it was a thriller. Five different Dragons hit from the floor, and Clinton pulled out to an early 8-2 lead. However, the Admirals would battle back, and Clinton led by only one at the end of the first quarter, 12-11. Clinton would hit Farragut with another run late in the second quarter, and extended their lead to 11. The Dragons would go into halftime with a 29-20 advantage. The Dragons extended their lead to 12 points at the start of the third quarter. However, Clinton would go scoreless for almost five minutes of the third quarter. During that time, momentum swung Farragut’s way, which gave energy to the home crowd and bench. The Admirals once again battled back, and took a 40-39 lead into the start of the fourth quarter. The first three minutes of the fourth quarter saw multiple lead changes. However, the Dragons would gain a four point lead heading into the last two minutes, and the time would run out on the Admirals. Clinton grinded out a hard fought 58-52 victory over Farragut. Free throws made the difference, as the Dragons had 33 attempts from the charity stripe, and converted on 23 attempts. Clinton also edged out the Admirals physically—scoring six more points in the paint and winning the battle of the boards 32-27. Evan Winchester led the Dragons going three-of-eight from the floor, eight-of-ten from the free-throw line, and hitting both attempts from downtown, for a team-high 16 points. Clinton (2-1) looked to add to their winning streak Tuesday night at Coalfield. Results for that contest were not available by press time.