Homestanding Hornets pull away late to end Dragons’ campaign
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Clinton’s Lebron Booker gets tangled with a Hornet during last Tuesday night’s region semifinal game at Carter High School. - Ken Leinart
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Clinton guard Teegan Bollinger runs into a traffic jam a the top of the key against Carter last week. - Ken Leinart
The 2022-23 basketball season has concluded for the Clinton High School boys.
The Dragons wrapped up their campaign with a 59-42 loss to Carter in the Region 2-AAA semifinals at the Jim Williams Gymnasium in Strawberry Plains.
They finish with a 10-21 overall record with a young squad. Clinton lost all of its starters from a team that reached the state tournament in Murfreesboro last year.
The Dragons had their share of ups and downs in the recently completed season, and despite the loss to the Hornets, the year ended on a high note.
Clinton upset top-seeded Knoxville Halls in the District 4-AAA Tournament semifinals, notching a 44-41 win over the Red Devils as the No. 4 seed.
The Dragons lost to rival Anderson County in the tournament championship game before upending Northview Academy 59-53 in the region quarterfinals at the Don W. Lockard Gymnasium on Saturday, Feb. 25.
Against the Hornets, the District 3-AAA regular-season and tournament champions, the Dragons were competitive early as Carter led 9-7 after the first quarter. They were down 21-17 at halftime.
But the Hornets, who lost to the Red Devils in the region title game, would prove to be too much for Clinton in the second half.
Lebron Booker had 14 points for the Dragons in their season finale, while Jeremiah Lee scored 11.
Senior forward Barrett Maddox, who will move on to play football at Vanderbilt in the fall, closed out his high school career by scoring six points and pulling down seven rebounds against the Hornets.