Garner, Bright lead Dragons in the semis
Bobcats fall to Dragon treys
Jackson Garner shoots past a lunging Central defender in the district semifinals. Dragons won 70-67. (photo:Collin Riggs )
It was close from the start with Clinton edging out Central 14-13 before absolutely blowing the opponents 24-13 in the second quarter to start the second half 36-26. Both teams made adjustments at halftime, though, and changed up their playstyle for an entirely different second half.
Though Clinton came out on top again in the third quarter, an injury that took Jeremiah Blauvelt out of the game gave Central an opening to come roaring back, outscoring the Dragons 29-18 in the fourth quarter after hitting multiple contested treys.
The Dragons outscored the Bobcats 6-4 on treys, but lost on two-point baskets 13-19.
Luckily for the Dragons, they were given plenty of free throw shots (32 to Central’s 28). With an accuracy of 81-percent on free throws, Clinton gained 26 points off free throws to Central’s 17.
Half of those points came from Jackson Garner, who finished with a perfect 14 of 14 free throws. Garner had a total of 26 points, leading the Dragons for the night, as well as one assist, three deflections, and a steal.
Behind Garner, Rishon Bright came in with 20 points, including the team’s only one offensive rebound.
In third place, Lane Harrison finished with 13 points, including an assist and a steal, as well as three defensive rebounds.
The Dragons struggled on rebounds against the Bobcats, with Central’s distinct size advantage.
Trace Thackerson finished with the most rebounds on the team, with four. The team’s point guard also had four assists and two steals, as well as a deflection
Chris Lockard, head coach for the Dragons, said that the team had trouble on rebounds the last time they played Central, and he thought they did much better this time.
“My biggest concern for the night was rebounding, and I thought we did a much better job,” he said. “Tyler Morgan did a great job keeping Ahmaud Belton off of the glass.
“Trace Thackerson, even though he’s our point guard, is one of our strongest rebounders and he did a great job in positioning. He’s one of the main reasons we cut down their offensive rebounding. Especially after Jeremiah [Blauvelt] went out with this wrist, all of a sudden we lost any kind of real size we had with him and Lane [Harrison] in. It made it difficult to rebound, and I think Thackerson really stepped forward and made a difference.”
Lockard said there were positives and negatives in the game, but overall, a win is a win.
“We didn’t shoot the ball great, but I thought we did a great job against their pressure and their zone defenses and attacking the basket,” he said. “We built a 16 point lead, and you know a team of their caliber is going to make a run at you. We missed some shots and they hit some big shots. As they cut the gap, I still felt good about it.
“In tournament time, you just find a way to win and move forward,” said Lockard. “Central has a very athletic team and they’re much bigger than we are in every spot. It’s not the best offensive game we’ve ever had, but defensively our guys did great.
“Obviously, foul trouble changes that, and Central hit some big shots to shrink the lead, but I was really pleased. The things I was concerned about the boys did great with. We just didn’t shoot the ball great. That can be an issue for us since we’re not really big in the post and we give up so much size in certain positions. We have to shoot well.”
The Dragons were to face Oak Ridge at Oak Ridge for the district title on Tuesday, Feb 23.