Dragons win, halt Mavs’ nine-game streak
Anderson County’s Cam Lawson is closely guarded by Clinton’s Camden Nelson during Friday’s rivalry matchup. (photo:Dwane Wilder )
The Dragons have won six of their last seven games, including six straight. Their biggest victory of the season came Friday night when they outlasted crosstown rival Anderson County 60-54 in front of a packed and energetic crowd at ACHS.
In addition to extending its winning streak, Clinton (16-10, 9-1 District 4-AAA) snapped the Mavericks’ nine-game run and ensured at least a share of first place in the district standings.
The Dragons started strong, but Anderson County (16-9, 8-1) held a narrow 16-13 lead after the first quarter. Clinton responded with a dominant second period, using a 15-6 run to take a 28-22 advantage into halftime.
The Dragons extended their control in the third quarter, outscoring the Mavericks 15-7 to push the lead to 43-29 heading into the fourth.
Anderson County, which had handed Clinton its only district loss earlier this season, mounted a late comeback. However, the Dragons held firm to secure their first win over the Mavericks since the 2022-23 regular season.
Mavericks Coach Jordan Jeffers was obviously disappointed as he and ACHS were hoping to clinch their second-straight outright regular-season league title on their home floor and conclude a perfect run through their league schedule.
“They did a good job beating us at our own game,” Jeffers said. “If you would’ve told our guys that Clinton was going to come in here and try to run up and down, we would’ve said, ‘OK.’
“But we just didn’t have the focus, and we didn’t do a good job — from the coaches all the way down,” he said. “We didn’t shoot well. We didn’t get a lot of shots, but when we did, we just didn’t shoot well. We lacked focus, and that falls on me. They killed us. They killed us to the point that we couldn’t even get matched up.”
For longtime Clinton Coach Chris Lockard, the 2024-25 season has been a steady progression.
“This was a big confidence boost for us,” Lockard said. “We played really hard and really well until the fourth quarter.”
Clinton had a balanced offensive attack, with three players in double figures. Carson Richardson led the Dragons with 13 points, followed by Bryson Maddox with 12 and Kaden Ison with 10 points and five rebounds. Braylen Haden contributed six points, five rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
Anderson County’s Brandon Dake led all scorers with 15 points. Ethan Nelson added 11, while Cam Lawson and Hayden Craig each scored nine. Trent Strickland finished with eight points.
Clinton also picked up a 61-51 home win over Gibbs on Tuesday, Feb. 2.
The Mavericks won their other two games last week, edging Powell 74-70 on the road Tuesday, Feb. 3, and routing Oneida 85-42 on Feb. 2.
