Chase Lockard ties school record against Coalfield
Both the Clinton High School Dragons and Lady Dragons have shown they can respond from adversity—a quality trait for a basketball team. Clinton hosted District 3AAA foe Powell last Tuesday, yet Powell earned girls and boys wins over Clinton.
However, Clinton was able to get back on track, as both teams defeated Coalfield on Friday. Basketball is an emotional game of runs and momentum—teams that do not let these emotions get too high or too low are more likely to bounce back from a loss.
If Clinton continues to focus on themselves and approach each game on a clean slate, both the Dragons and the Lady Dragons could be very dangerous when February rolls around.
The Clinton Lady Dragons (5-4, 1-2) led the Lady Panthers 44-41 heading into the fourth quarter. However, Powell would come back to defeat Clinton 57-53.
The one positive is, the Lady Dragons did not dwell on the loss and came out Friday night against Coalfield with intensity.
An 18-point second quarter would put Clinton on top 24-20 at the half. The Lady Dragons carried that momentum into the third quarter and extend their advantage to 39-28 heading into the final quarter of play.
Coalfield would catch fire in the fourth quarter, and come roaring back to within five of the Lady Dragons.
It would be Clinton’s free throw shooting that would seal the win, as the Lady Dragons visited the charity stripe 21 times in the fourth quarter.
Clinton hit 15 of those 21 attempts to hold off the Lady Jackets 59-54. Senior Danyel Joy would lead Clinton with 19 points, and her fellow Senior Kinley Martin followed with 15.
The Clinton Dragons (6-3, 1-2) struggled against a well-rounded Powell team, and suffered a 63-44 defeat.
However, similar to the Lady Dragons—the positive is, Clinton’s poor performance did not carry into Friday’s matchup against Coalfield. The Jackets took an early 15-11 lead, but the Dragons responded with 20-plus points in each of the three remaining quarters. The story of the night: Chase Lockard. At one point in the second half, the Junior was unconscious from behind the ark. Lockard would tie the Clinton High School record for most three-point attempts made in a single game—downing nine of his 16 attempts.
The Junior’s historic performance would lead all scorers with 33 points, and propel the Dragons to a 82-57 win over Coalfield. Chase was able to add his own name to the book of the rich Lockard tradition that is Clinton Basketball.
“It does not feel real, because I am not used to scoring that much. It is hard without my papaw here. That was for him,” said Lockard. It was truly a special night for Chase, and the Lockard family.
