A double-double kind of night

Luke Harrison proved unstoppable vs. Campbell

February 13, 2019 by Conner McCarty

Clinton senior Luke Harrison had a career night last Tuesday against Campbell County High School.

After scoring the first nine points of the ballgame, he knew. “I felt like I could take over,” said Harrison. Simply, the Campbell County defense could not stop him.

Harrison was dominant on the offensive end of the floor for three quarters.

During the second half, there was a point where Clinton’s offense seemed to have one plan: Give the ball to Luke.

That plan worked, as Harrison would go off for a career-high 38 points and led Clinton to an 84-68 District 3-AAA victory over Campbell County.

Additionally, Harrison would tally a double-double, as the senior pulled down ten boards. He would also add five assists and two steals in the win.

The Dragons (15-13, 7-6) needed a win over the Cougars, as Clinton fights with Powell and Anderson County to obtain the District-3AAA Tournament fourth seed — which comes with an automatic bye.

It would not take much time for Clinton to realize who their go-to guy would be.

Harrison would start the game four-of-four from the floor.

On the first possession of the game, point guard Evan Winchester would find Harrison open along the baseline — who rose up and knocked down the 15-foot jumper.

The next four Clinton points came on back-to-back possessions which started with Harrison defensive rebounds.

On both buckets, Harrison would go rim-to-rim and finish around his defender with a smooth euro step.

Clinton’s next three points came as a result of Harrison flashing to the high-post, turning, taking one dribble, and rising to the rim for a contested layup.

He would make the bucket, be fouled, and drain his ensuing free throw to complete the old fashioned three.

Harrison would finish the first quarter with 11 of Clinton’s 17 points, and the Dragons led 17-16 over the Cougars after one quarter of play.

In the second quarter, Harrison would be scoreless.

However, the Dragons would put up 18 more points on Campbell County, with the help of four makes from beyond the arc.

Clinton led the visiting Cougars 35-31 at the halfway point. The second half of the ball game described in a few words—The Luke Harrison Show. While his third quarter points did not come in a short, quick burst—like his first nine—every time the six-foot-four senior touched the ball, something good happened.

Because Harrison can play every position on the floor for the Dragons, he has multiple ways that he can attack a defense and score. Yet, in the third quarter, Harrison seemed to realize that Campbell County could not stop his inside game, and from in and around the paint, he would dominate the Cougars for the rest of the game. “(Campbell County) could not stop me from going to the rim. My teammates noticed it and let me do my thing all night,” said Harrison. In the third, Harrison finished the quarter with 12 points—going five-of-nine from the floor and hit his two free throw attempts. Heading into the fourth quarter, Harrison had 23 points and Clinton led 58-50.

By the start of the fourth, Clinton’s “Get the ball to Luke” game plan was in full effect, and the Dragons started to pull away from Campbell County. At the halfway point of the quarter, Harrison had scored nine of Clinton’s 11 fourth quarter points. He would six more points in the last four minutes of the fourth to reach his career high of 38 points. Harrison made six-of-ten field goals and would also go three-of-five from the charity stripe. Harrison’s performance as a whole—impressive. “It felt great—Evan (Winchester) kept telling me that I was going to get 40, and my teammates kept feeding me the ball I ended up with 38 points, and a district win,” said Harrison

Here are more impressive numbers: In the career-high, double-double performance, Luke Harrison finished the night 16-of-25 from the floor. His 25 attempts fell only two shots short of the rest of the team’s attempts combined. Harrison’s 16 makes tied the number of combined made shots by the rest of his team. Also, Harrison never attempted a shot from three-point land. However, he would complete three three-point plays the old-fashioned way.

Harrison’s performance was the perfect way for the senior to spend his last home regular-season game as a Dragon. Because it might be one of, if not his last memory as a player on the hardwood of the Donny Dome—it will be a night that Harrison will remember for a long time. Nevertheless, Harrison will feed off his performance as Clinton prepares for the District-3AAA Tournament. “A game like that is a real confidence booster for me. I was able to do what I wanted when I wanted,” said Harrison. He will look to continue playing at a high level, as post-season play begins this week.