’Cats pull win from Dragons
Clinton’s Trace Thackerson takes the rock to the hoop against Oak Ridge last Friday
It was a heated match, with both teams talking heatedly on the court and Dodi Truss taking an elbow to the face from an Oak Ridge player in an apparently uncalled foul that led to an uproar in the stands.
The two teams went back and forth for the first two quarters, with Clinton taking the lead multiple times.
During the third quarter, though, the Dragons stumbled, not hitting their shots and pulling multiple fouls even as they struggled to keep Oak Ridge out of the paint and gave up multiple uncontested shots. The Dragons pushed hard to close the gap, but with multiple fouls called against them, they began to sag on the court.
Lane Harrison was the only Clinton player to foul out of the game, but, with everything pushing down on them, the Dragons couldn’t recover.
Clinton came up short in every stat but blocks, where the Dragons went 2-1 against Oak Ridge; and treys, where Clinton made 10 to Oak Ridge’s three. Oak Ridge even won in personal fouls, giving Clinton 28 free throws.
The majority of those fouls were against Dragons Jackson Garner and Rishon Bright, the two players with the most minutes in the game.
Garner finished with nine free throws, of which he made eight, while Bright had eight free throws, of which he made four.
The highest-scoring Dragon was Trace Thackerson, who finished with 16 points, followed by Bright and Harrison with 12 apiece.
Garner finished third with 11 points and two assists, along with six defensive rebounds, the highest on the team.
Thackerson, Garner, and Dodi Truss each finished with a steal as well.
Chris Lockard, head coach of the Dragons, said the game was tough – and only made tougher by circumstances outside the team’s control.
“I thought our boys held their composure and played hard, but just didn’t shoot the ball well enough,” Lockard said. “Some of that credit goes to Oak Ridge and their defensive pressure, but part of it was just us not shooting well.
“Jackson Garner didn’t get to practice since coming out of quarantine, and Tyler Morgan got quarantined the day before the game, so that changed up our rotation,” he said. “But this is COVID basketball, and it’s the teams that adapt the best that ultimately succeed.
“Still, the first half, the score was close. I thought we did a very poor job at the free-throw line. We had guys that typically shoot 80-percent or better from the line that just missed free throws, so instead of being ahead by three or four, we were down by eight, and — to a team like Oak Ridge — that deficit can really change the complexity of the game. It forces you into a higher tempo to create shots.
“When we were down 12 or 13, I made a decision to try to cut the deficit by speeding up the tempo even more, and I think that made the game look more out of hand than it actually was.”
Still, even with the Dragons not shooting well, Lockard had plenty of positive things to say about the team.
“I thought Rishon Bright did a great job for us getting to the rim and breaking down their defense,” he said. “He just had one of those nights where he was missing shots he usually makes. Lane Harrison hit three straight threes. Trace Thackerson played well, but was in foul trouble. Dodi Truss came in and did what we needed him to do. He’s a tempo changer for sure. For so many of our guys, with the exception of kids like Garner and Thackerson, they haven’t played a game like that with that level of intensity.
“Really, though, I thought the biggest spark for us was Jeremiah Blauvelt. He had his biggest night on both sides of the court. I was really pleased with his overall play.”
Lockard still thought it was a hard-fought game, though, and said he’s happy to see that intensity back.
“The last eight or nine years, Oak Ridge has been one of the more-dominant teams, not only here, but across the state, and so some of the games had lost their intensity. Last year, I felt like we really got that back and re-established the old rivalry I’m used to where the games were sort of knock-down, drag-out games. My first 10 or 12 years coaching, I felt those games were so intense and were just good games to be a part of and watch, and I felt like that was the case again Friday.
“Even one of the officials who talked to me after the game, said that there’s nothing like officiating a Clinton-Oak Ridge game. It rivals college games. And that let me know that the intensity is back for that type of ballgame. Now we just have to settle down and execute better than what we did Friday.”
The team will have to wait until January to start executing better, though, as Anderson County schools are closed until then, which means all extra-curricular are suspended as well.
“With school shut down, we’re not allowed to practice,” said Lockard. “So I had a Zoom meeting with the team and told them it’ll be up to them to keep themselves in good condition. Find a way to continue lifting weights and get stronger at home and if you have a basketball goal at home, continue to try to work on your skills. We have to do the best we can. We’ll send them videos of stuff we can continue to do at home.
“The last thing I told them was that I’m sorry, and it hurts me as much as it does them,” Lockard said. “I wished them all a Merry Christmas and told them all to be safe and wear their mask and avoid large crowds. It’s hard for younger kids to look that far in the future, so it’s really hard on them when you take something they really love away.
“Three weeks to them can seem like a lifetime, so we’re trying to keep them involved the best we can.”