’Cats hand Dragons fourth loss to end regular season
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Clinton’s Jackson Garner splits the Oak Ridge defense on his way to the hoop Monday night in the regular season finale at Oak Ridge. - Ken Leinart
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Clinton’s Jeremiah Blauvelt looks for a lane to the basket or an opening for a pass against Hardin Valley Academy last Thursday. - Ken Leinart
The Clinton Dragons ended the regular season with a 64-55 loss at Oak Ridge.
“I was extremely pleased with our effort,” said Chris Lockard, head coach of the Dragons. “Our effort was there. We just didn’t make the shots.”
Clinton opened the game on a 9-2 run as Jackson Garner, Jeremiah Blauvelt, and Lane Harrison scored.
The Wildcats answered with a 9-1 run before a 3-pointer by Garner ended the run to help the Dragons to a 14-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Oak Ridge opened the second quarter on a 12-1 run before Rishon Bright rolled off six points and a late 3-pointer by Garner sent Clinton into the half trailing 30-26.
A 3-pointer by Bright tied the game at 34-34 with 4:27 left in the third quarter but that was as close as the Dragons could to the lead as the Wildcats went on a 10-2 run to lead 44-36 at the end of the quarter.
The fourth quarter saw very physical play with the Clinton faithful clearly upset at no calls in the paint as the Dragons went cold from the floor. Oak Ridge stretched its lead down the stretch, scoring its final 10 points at the free throw line.
“In the first part of the game I was a little nervous. We were ahead but I felt like we should have been ahead seven or eight or even 10. We missed a couple of easy baskets and I think four free throws at the beginning of the game,” said Lockard.
“In the second quarter, we took a couple of ill-advised shots and missed a couple where we had a good look at the rim. We just couldn’t get over the hump. We would cut it to within four or so and couldn’t get any closer. It came down to us making key plays and big shots and we didn’t do it,” he said.
Lockard lauded the scoring efforts of Bright and Harrison and the defensive efforts of Blauvelt, Dodi Truss, and Tyler Morgan.
Bright led the Dragons with 17 points while Harrison added 15 and Garner 12.
Clinton will open play in the district tournament Friday at Anderson County when they face the host Mavericks at 7:30 p.m. The winner of the game will play in the district championship game on Tuesday, Feb 22 at 7:30 p.m. The loser of the game will play Monday, Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m.
CHS 14 12 10 19 55
OR 12 18 14 20 64
CHS - Rishon Bright (17), Lane Harrison (15), Jackson Garner (12), Jeremiah Blauvelt (8), Trace Thackerson (3)
Oak Ridge - Game stats not available at press time
The Dragons rolled to a 76-59 win over visiting Hardin Valley on Senior Night last Thursday.
“The boys focused in … We were able to get into our actions and our sets,” said Lockard.
“We got what we wanted for the most part. We didn’t shoot it great but we shot it well in spurts. I thought we defended pretty well. It was a good win for us,” Lockard continued.
The Dragons took a 16-14 lead early but built their advantage to 36-24 at the half. Both teams shot the ball well in the third quarter but Clinton managed to extend its lead to 65-45. The Hawks scrapped in the fourth quarter but the Dragons had the game well in hand by that point.
Clinton’s Jackson Garner led all scorers with 20 points while Jeremiah Blauvelt added 19 and Rishon Bright 13.
HVA 14 10 21 14 59
CHS 16 20 29 11 76
HVA - Dale Henley (18), Hudson Stokes (9), Barron A. Scheetz (7), Nick Liakonis (6), Jack Smith (6), Ben Brophy (4), Hakeem Rashid (2)
CHS - Jackson Garner (20), Jeremiah Blauvelt (19), Rishon Bright (13), Hunter Rupert (8), Trace Thackerson (6), Lane Harrison (6), Tyler Morgan (2), Barrett Maddox (2)