Dragons clinch
Clinton pulls away late at Halls to take regular season crown
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Clinton’s Rishon Bright was one of four Dragons to hit double digits in scoring during Friday night’s win at Halls. - Ken Leinart
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Dragon scoring machine Jackson Garner broke his own single-game three-point record Wednesday against Cocke County when he drained 12 treys en route to a 41-point night. He then lit up Halls for 27 points, hitting nine three-pointers. - Ken Leinart
The Clinton Dragons added two more wins last week — a non-district game at Cocke County and a game at Halls.
On Tuesday, the Dragons made the trek to Newport and came away with a 91-57 win over Cocke County.
“We shot the ball well,” said Chris Lockard, head coach of the Dragons. “We played well. Offensively, we got going off of our defense.
“My sole focus that night was about our defense,” he said. “It was something I felt like we needed to do, and I really think it just sparked us. It got us out in transition, and offensively we just got flowing.”
Clinton buried 20 3-point shots in the game with Jackson Garner breaking his own single-game record with 12 treys in the contest.
The game was close early as the Fighting Cocks kept pace with the Dragons in the first quarter as Clinton held a 24-21 lead. However, the wheels came off for Cocke County in the second quarter as the Dragons pulled away to a 53-28 halftime lead. The Fighting Cocks put up respectable numbers in the second half, but Clinton proved to have far more firepower.
“I was really pleased with how we played. I was glad to see us improve in an area where we’ve been a little bit inconsistent,” Lockard said.
Garner led all scorers with 41 points while Trace Thackerson had 13. Rishon Bright and Dodi Truss each added 11 points.
CHS 24 29 19 19 91
CC 21 7 14 15 57
CHS - Jackson Garner (41), Trace Thackerson (13), Rishon Bright (11), Dodi Truss (11), Lane Harrison (8), Barrett Maddox (7)
CC - Kyler Hayes (24), Rolando Campos (11), Major Woods (7), Cayden Fisher (4), Zeke Ramos (4), Baylor Baxter (2), Brazen Stewart (2), Oren Hazlewood (2), Jordan Woods (1)
On Friday, the Dragons clinched the regular season district title with a 64-49 win at Halls.
“I think it [winning the regular season district title] relieves a little bit of pressure. Obviously, there have been high expectations and lofty goals we have set for ourselves this year. It’s tough for high school kids and we’ve been shorthanded the past couple of weeks due to injury and illness. To be able to lock that in does relieve a little pressure and it’s my job to keep them focused on still playing at a high level,” Lockard said.
Clinton trailed the Red Devils by two at the end of the first quarter but bounced back in the second frame to lead 34-31 at the half. The Dragons extended their lead to 54-46 in the third quarter and played keep away in the fourth quarter to take the win.
“I felt like defensively what we improved on at Cocke County carried over to the Halls game. Halls played an outstanding game but I felt defensively we were right on track. I thought Barrett Maddox and Brent Reynolds did an outstanding job on Halls’ center. They held him to seven points. I felt like we won with our defense,” Lockard said.
Garner, who knocked down nine 3-pointers, led all scorers with 27 points. Lane Harrison had 12 points while Thackerson and Bright each scored 11 points to round the double-digit scoring for Clinton.
The Dragons (18-2, 5-0 in district) return to action Friday when they visit Scott for a huge district game. They host Cocke County Saturday and Fulton on Tuesday, Feb. 1. Tip-off for all three games is 7:30 p.m.
CHS 12 22 20 10 64
Halls 14 17 15 3 49
CHS - Jackson Garner (27), Lane Harrison (12), Trace Thackerson (11), Rishon Bright (11), Brent Reynolds (2), Barrett Maddox (2)
Halls - Cassen Rogers (10), Ben Thomas (8), Bennett Lane (8), Luke Simpson (7), Caleb Shaffer (6), Tommy Hicks (4), Jake Lane (3), Kaiden Stanton (3)