Mavericks get key road win against Dragons
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Anderson County’s Trent Strickland had five points against the Dragons during Friday night’s clash at Don W. Lockard Gymnasium. The annual matchup is one of the most-anticipated meetings each season for players and fans. - Tony Cox
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Clinton’s Bryson Maddox put on his own aerial display on his way to scoring 18 points against the Mavericks. Maddox was the top scorer for the Dragons. - Tony Cox
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Cam Lawson (3) takes a contested shot against Clinton’s Jaxson Alcorn (4). Lawson scored nine points against the Dragons in Friday night’s game. Alcorn scored 13 points for the Dragons. - Tony Cox
Anderson County High School’s boys basketball team secured a crucial district road victory Friday night, defeating crosstown rival Clinton 71-61 at the Don W. Lockard Gymnasium.
And the Mavericks aimed to wrap up the first half of their District 4-AAA season this week on a high note.
They were set to play Union County on Tuesday. Results were unavailable at press time.
With the Mavericks entering the matchup with an unblemished district record, the Union County game held significant weight.
Adding to the drama, the Patriots ended Anderson County’s season last year on a last-second desperation shot in the Region 2-AAA semifinals.
“Your goal is always to go undefeated in the first half of the league season,” said Mavericks Coach Jordan Jeffers. “If we beat Union, we’ll do that. To do that, you have to win on the road.”
As for Friday’s game at Clinton, “I was proud of our guys for how they played over there,” Jeffers said. “That’s a tough place to play. You don’t win over there very often.”
Anderson County set the tone early, opening an 18-11 lead in the first quarter.
Clinton, which has struggled offensively in recent games, clawed back to face a 32-28 deficit at halftime.
Despite the loss, Clinton Coach Chris Lockard found positives, as his team showed signs of offensive improvement, he said.
The Dragons had routed Scott 70-44 earlier in the week, on Tuesday.
“We’ve scored points in our last two games after making some changes to our offense, and those changes seem to be working,” Lockard said.
“Offensively, we’re getting better. We scored 61 points against Anderson County, and they’re a good team with solid defense.
“We missed some free throws and some shots,” Lockard said. It’s not like I have a team of non-shooters, but they made eight threes, and we made four. That’s 24-12 from the 3-point line, which was basically the difference in the game.”
Ethan Nelson led Anderson County with 21 points, one of three Mavericks scoring in double figures.
Hayden Craig added 19 points, and Brandon Dake finished with 15. Cam Lawson chipped in nine points.
Bryson Maddox paced Clinton with 18 points, while Jaxson Alcorn added 13 and Braylen Hayden contributed 10.
Kaden Ison scored seven for the Dragons, who hosted Cumberland Gap on Tuesday and will travel to Scott County on Friday.
Anderson County also defeated Gibbs 71-65 on Tuesday, and played Oliver Springs in a non-district matchup Monday, with results unavailable at press time.
The Mavericks will face the Eagles in Corryton on Friday, with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
