Tashuan Berkley scored 14 of his game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as Clarkton School of Discovery rallied for a 44-36 overtime victory in Bladen Five Middle School Boys Basketball action at East Arcadia Thursday night.
Corey Carter’s basket gave the Panthers a 30-21 lead early in the final quarter, before the Blue Devil full-court pressure defense sparked a Clarkton rally.
Berkley drove to the basket for four lay-ups, and teammate Lawson Hester sank 2 free throws during a 10-2 Blue Devil spurt.
Kasey Price’s driving lay-up kept East Arcadia up 32-31 until the final minute when a technical foul on the Panther coach sent Clarkton’s Jake Evans to the foulline. Evans canned the second free throw to tie the score and send the game to overtime after a scoreless final minute.
Berkley powered in two baskets and two free throws in the overtime, and two baskets by Javant McDowell and one by Xavier McKoy helped Clarkton outscore the Panthers 12-4 in the extra period. Price and Luis Castellanos tossed in the Panther baskets in overtime.
Price sank 4 free throws and a basket in the opening quarter for the Panthers, and teammate Sterling Thomas threw in 2 more baskets. McDowell and McKoy dropped in 2 baskets each for CSD in the opening quarter and a Berkley bucket kept the score tied 10-10 at the quarter break.
Thomas connected for 3 free throws and one basket in the second quarter, and Price and Carter added buckets as the Panthers took a 19-16 halftime lead. Hester canned 2 free throws and a basket, and McKoy scored one basket in the period for Clarkton.
Charles Brown bombed in a 3-point shot for East Arcadia in the third quarter, and Thomas and Price chipped in with baskets as the Panther lead grew to 28-21 on a Thomas free throw.
Two baskets by McDowell and a Hester free throw accounted for the Blue Devil scoring. McDowell finished with 12 points, McKoy followed with 8 points, and Hester totaled 7 points.
Price topped the Panther scoring with 14 points, and Thomas followed with 12 points. Carter had 4 points.
Clarkton improves to 5-1 in the league and will host Tar Heel Tuesday, while East Arcadia will entertain Bladenboro Wednesday in a make-up game.
CSD (44) – Jake Evans 1, Javant McDowell 12, Lawson Hester 7, Tashuan Berkley 16, Xavier McKoy 8, Jackson Bostic, Jacob Priest, Jake Garrison, Juwan Baldwin, J. T. Junious, Donevin Keith, Justis Campbell.
EA (36) – Sterling Thomas 12, Kasey Price 14, Charles Brown 3, Luis Castellanos 2, Charles Dixon 1, Corey Carter 4, Cody Long, Anthony Gregg.
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