ELIZABETHTOWN – Clinton grabbed an early 13-5 lead and fought off several East Bladen rallies to claim a 57-46 Four County Conference boys basketball victory over the Eagles Friday night.
J. J. Robertson drilled a 3-point shot, and Jeremiah Pope made 3 foul shots to spark the early Clinton spurt. Eian Hines scored in transition, and Demetrius Wooten banked in a leaner for East Bladen.
Sophmore Adonis Avery raced ahead for a transition lay-up, and junior Xavier Wooten hit 2 free throws to trim the margin to 15-10 at the quarter break.
Denzel Johnson drove for a lay-up and drained a 3-point shot, and Avery scored from the paint to pull the Eagles to within 20-17 with 4:42 left in the half.
Clinton answered with an 8-3 run that featured another Robertson 3-pointer. Johnson sank a trio of free throws to keep East Bladen within 28-20 at halftime.
Demetrius Wooten flipped in a runner, and Avery buried a 3-point shot and a free throw to whittle the lead to 30-26. A Demarius McArthur rebound basket kept the Eagles close at 32-28.
Jaden Bell scored twice in the paint as Clinton pushed the lead back to 38-30 at the quarter break.
Hines popped in a pull-up 12-footer, and Johnson nailed another 3-point shot to narrow the gap to 42-35 with 5:48 on the clock.
Dewan Lesane sparked an 8-2 Clinton run that opened up a 50-37 lead with a couple of baskets.
Demetrius Wooten worked the baseline for a 3-point play, and Avery banked in a runner and pumped in a 3-point shot to close out the Eagle scoring.
Avery topped the Eagle scoring with 15 points, and Johnson followed with 12 points. Hines and Demetrius Wooten finished with 7 points each.
Hines grabbed a team-high 9 rebounds, and Demetrius Wooten pulled down 6 rebounds. The Dark Horses held a 45-32 advantage on the boards.
“I told the kids that we are so close – we just need one or two more guys to step up for us and we will turn this thing around,” said Eagle Coach Kenzil McCall. “We started late because I didn’t get the job until August, and we didn’t get the chance to get our rotations and combinations set during the summer.”
“I don’t like losing -playing them close is not good enough,” continued Coach McCall. “We are going to keep working hard.” Coach McCall also hopes to get Ethan Hines who was injured during football back by the first of the year.
Robertson led Clinton with 10 points, and Lesane and Bell scored 9 points each.
The Eagle will play Fairmont at 4 p.m. on December 28th in the Woodmen Life Christmas Tournament at West Bladen.
EB (46) – Demarius McArthur 3, Demetrius Wooten 7, Eian Hines 7, Xavier Wooten 2, Sadrique Ingram, Denzel Johnson 12, Deondre Harris, Aaron Laforte, Joshua McKoy, Jordan Payton, Adonis Avery 15.
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