Dragons win in overtime
Lebron Booker had seven points, eight rebounds and two steals in the opening round of the Region tournament. (photo:Tony Cox )
And the Dragons had to come from behind and work a little overtime to survive and advance by the slimmest of margins, leaving the floor with a hard-fought 71-70 victory over Northview Academy in the first round of the Region 2-AAA Tournament at the Don W. Lockard Gymnasium.
The Cougars, who finish the 2023-24 campaign with a 16-14 record, opened a 17-13 lead by the end of the first quarter and maintained a four-point advantage at the end of the opening half, holding a 30-26 advantage at the break.
Northview extended its advantage to 50-43 by the end of the third stanza.
Clinton coach Chris Lockard said that his team struggled over the first 16 minutes of the contest, but credited the Cougars for causing the Dragons’ woes.
“They’re just good,” Lockard said of Northview Academy. “Their inside game was hurting us and we couldn’t get into transition.
The fourth quarter, however, was a different story as the Dragons (12-15) used a 16-9 run in the final stanza to knot the game, 59-59, and force overtime.
“Jeremiah Lee had hit a couple of big shots at the start of the fourth quarter and Bryson Maddox had a couple of steals and they turned into dunks,” Lockard said. “That was a big momentum switch for us. “Teegan Bolinger was really good for us late and Jacob Dooley was phenomenal.”
“He had a tremendous game for us.”
The longtime coach said his team quickly seized the upper hand in the extra frame, and noted that that was, indeed, the difference in the ultimate outcome of the game.
“The thing that helped us in overtime was that we scored first,” Lockard said.
Lee had a team-high 26 points. He also pulled down five rebounds and captured a pair of steals. Dooley finished with 13 points and seven boards, while Maddox totaled 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
Bolinger posted eight points, five assists and three rebounds. LeBron Booker finished with seven points, eight rebounds and two steals.
Clinton was set to play defending Class AAA State Champion Fulton Tuesday at Anderson County. Results were
not available at press time.