Hawks’ tournament run ends in close battle
After reaching the sectionals last season, the Clinton Middle School boys basketball team aimed to make a return trip in 2024-25.
The Hawks came up just short, falling to Lincoln Heights 34-31 in the third-place game of their area tournament on Saturday, Jan. 25, at Northview Junior Academy in Kodak.
Despite the loss, Coach Bobby Williams said he was proud of his team’s performance this season.
“We set a goal to finish in the top three in the regular season, and we did that,” Williams said.
“We wanted to finish in the top three in the district tournament and make it back to the sectionals. We just came up a little short. The defense was there. We just had problems on offense.”
Clinton opened tournament play with a 49-39 victory over Union Grove.
As the tournament’s No. 2 seed, the Hawks also defeated Seymour 33-29. They fell to No. 3 seed Maryville 31-29 in the semifinals before their season-ending loss to Lincoln Heights.
“We played good defense,” Williams said. “We held all those teams to under 40 points.”
The Hawks finished second in the regular season, and concluded their campaign with an overall record of 17-3.
“We had a great season,” Williams said. “We just came up short in the tournament. You couldn’t ask for anything more from this group of kids. The culture is there, and I’m excited about Clinton Middle School’s future. This was our best season in a number of years.”
Clinton’s roster featured 11 players, including 10 eighth graders and one seventh grader, Deacon McGhee. The eighth graders were Logan Hill, Abel Forsyth, Corbin Anderson, Kade Webb, Tucker Hamering, Cal Kirkpatrick, Demetrius Willis, Zander Ford, Leo Gatho, and Benji Yarbrough.
Robertsville boys’ season closes
Robertsville Middle School’s boys basketball team saw its 2024-25 season come to an end last week in the semifinals of its area tournament.
The Rams came up on the short end of a 59-49 decision against Jacksboro early last week.
La’meire Porter led Robertsville with 15 points. He scored eight in the third quarter.
Josiah McClure finished with 10 points for the Rams, who were the second seed in the area tournament.
