Dragons still looking for offensive consistency

December 6, 2023 by Ken Lay

As the 2023-24 high school basketball season continues, Clinton High School’s boys are continuing to have more than their share of troubles.

The Dragons lost two of their three games last week as they struggled to find their shooting touch.

“Our kids are playing hard, and I haven’t been mad about our effort,” said longtime Clinton Head Coach Chris Lockard.

“We’re just not making shots. We’re getting open shots and we’re getting shots from the right people.

“We’re just missing them, and hopefully, we’ll get it figured out before we play a district game,” he said. “But I use these games to get us ready for our district games.”

Clinton closed out last week with a 78-65 loss to geographic and one-time district rival Powell. It was the Dragons’ second loss to the Panthers this season.

“Against Powell, over there, we took the exact same number of shots as they did, but they made two more than we did,” Lockard said.

“They made more s free throws than we did, and a one-possession game turned into a 13-point loss,” he said.

“We played really good defense and we outrebounded them. We just missed shots.”

Clinton had three players post double figures in the scoring column against the Panthers.

Jeremiah Lee scored 25 points. He also grabbed six rebounds.

Lebron Booker chipped in with 14 points, three rebounds and two steals.

Carter Nelson finished with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.

The Dragons picked up their second win of the season as they routed Meigs County 64-31 Thirsday in the friendly confines of the Don W. Lockard Gymnasium.

“Against Meigs County, we made shots,” Lockard said.

In that game, the Dragons opened an 18-7 lead in the first quarter and expanded their advantage to 35-13 by halftime.

Booker had a double-double Thursday night as he had a team-high 16 points. He also grabbed 11 rebounds.

Lee and Kaden Ison each scored 13 points.

Ison also pulled down seven rebounds, while Jacob Dooley had six points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

The Dragons opened the week on Tuesday, Nov. 28, with a heartbreaking 60-57 loss to Karns at home.

“That Karns game was kind of a back-and-forth game, and I feel like we let that one kind of slip through our fingers,” Lockard said.

“We played well enough to win, but again, we missed shots and we had a scoring drought,” he said.

“I really feel like we should’ve won that game.”

Booker scored 21 points and had six rebounds and two assists.

Dooley and Nelson had eight point each against the Beavers.