A 26-2 blitz that spanned 6 minutes propelled unbeaten Clarkton School of Discovery to a 54-34 semi-final victory in the Bladen Five Middle School Conference Tournament Thursday night.
Emonta Smith drilled a 3-point shot from the right wing and sank 2 foul shots to give Tar Heel a quick 5-0 lead.
Guard Greyson Heustess drove for a pair of lay-ups and Seven Campbell put back a rebound to vault Clarkton in front 6-5.
Jaheim Lesane buried a jumper from the key for Tar Heel, but Drew Harris answered with a lay-up for the Blue Devils.
Eddie Perez found Irvin Hernandez cutting to the basket, and Hernandez’ lay-up gave the Panthers their final lead of the night at 9-8 with 2 minutes left in the first quarter.
Adonis Avery buried a 3-pointer from the right wing, then flipped in a baseline jumper to ignite the Clarkton spurt. Pierce Melvin turned a steal into a lay-up, and another Panther turnover produced an Avery lay-up and a 17-9 CSD lead at the quarter break.
Clarkton’s Teyshaun Berkeley muscled in a rebound, then popped in a baseline jumper. Avery drove for a lay-up, and Heustess made a foul shot.
Perez snapped the 16-0 Blue Devil run with a lay-up as the Panthers beat the Clarkton press. Avery put back a rebound, and Heustess stole the ball on the press and passed to Dan Tatum for a lay-up.
Heustess stole the ball again and dropped in a lay-up. Another Heustess steal produced another Tatum lay-up, and Heustess capped the 26-2 spurt and pushed the lead to 34-11 with 2 free throws.
Smith drained a 3-point shot from the top of the key for Tar Heel. After a Heustess free throw, Myles Fulmore powered in a rebound off of a Smith assist.
Smith tossed in a floater and tacked on a free throw to trim the Blue Devil lead to 35-19 at halftime.
A short jumper and a rebound basket by Campbell plus a Harris free throw stretched the CSD lead to 40-19. Johnathan Salvetti banged in a rebound for Tar Heel, but Campbell scored in transition, and Heustess turned a turnover into a lay-up.
Smith lobbed in a floater from the baseline, but Campbell responded with a lay-up. Smith stole the ball and raced for a lay-up, then turned a feed from Lesane into a lay-up and a 3-point play. A Tatum foul shot kept Clarkton up 47-28 at the third quarter break.
Hernandez started the final period with a free throw for the Panthers, and Lesane pumped in a 15-footer. Another Smith 3-point bomb closed out the Panther scoring.
Darrell Banks threw in a 6-footer, Lawson Hester added a lay-up and Harris closed out the scoring with a lay-up and a free throw.
Heustess topped the Clarkton scoring with 12 points, and Avery followed with 11 points. Campbell finished with 10 points, and Harris chipped in with 6 points.
Smith fired in a game-high 18 points for Tar Heel, and Lesane added 4 points.
The Blue Devils will battle Elizabethtown Monday at 5:15 for the Boys Tournament Championship. The Panthers complete their season with a 3-7 record.
TH (34) – Emonta Smith 21, Jaheim Lesane 4, Tyre Boykin, Ryan Taylor, Myles Fulmore 2, Tyler Marcaullier, Zack Everette, Zachariah Goodwill, Eddie Perez 2, Irvin Hernandez 3, Angel Martinez, Uriel Garcia, Johnathan Salvetti 2, Mark Flores.
CSD (54) – Adonis Avery 11, Pierce Melvin 2, Greyson Heustess 12, Drew Harris 6, Seven Campbell 10, Shy Pone, Joshua Pope, Xavier McKoy, Juwan Baldwin, Lawson Hester 2, Dan Tatum 5, Teyshaun Berkeley 4, Jake Evans, Darrell Banks 2.
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