Eastern Eagles swoop in on Mustangs to take away win

LEESBURG — Holding an eight-point lead with 1:02 left in the fourth quarter, the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs were unable to hold on to the advantage in that final minute, as the Eastern Eagles of Pike County swooped in with a 9-0 run, taking home the victory by a 54-52 score in the second game of the Chad Hodson Classic at Fairfield High School, Saturday, Jan. 3.

The non-conference game played on a neutral site between the Mustangs and Eagles saw the Mustangs hold the lead after the first, plus the score was tied at halftime at 26-26. Eastern Pike led after the third frame by two points, and in the fourth frame each team scored 17 points. 

The Mustangs were led in scoring by senior Denver Clinton with 19 points, totaling nine two-point baskets, and he was 1-of-1 from the free-throw line. Clinton scored 13 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter. Clinton also added four rebounds, three assists and a steal. This season, Clinton is averaging 14.9 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per game.

Elam Faust was next with 12 points as he made three two-point baskets, a 3-pointer and he was 3-of-4 from the free-throw line, plus he collected one rebound, one assist and three steals. 

Quin Wells totaled seven points for the Mustangs (3-of-4 from the FT-line), plus he added three rebounds and one assist. Tanner Roberts totaled six points off three baskets, plus he had 10 rebounds, one assist, three steals and five blocks. For the season, Roberts now is averaging 4.8 blocks per game and 7.3 rpg thus far this season. 

Linkin Barnett finished with four points, one rebound and one steal. Trevor Niehaus also had four points against Eastern, plus seven rebounds and four assists. Harley Lewis finished with one steal, while teammate Caden Boone collected one rebound. 

The first quarter for the Mustangs (3-6) saw them trail 8-0 with 5:26 left in the frame following a run of scoring by the Eagles (3-5) that included points from Eric Manley, Aiden Werner, Eli Shaffer and Boston Webb.

LCHS came back with points from Wells and a steal and bucket by Faust. Carson Peters scored inside points for the Eagles, but the Mustangs came back with six straight points from Roberts off a rebound and jumper, two free throws by Faust and a basket by Wells for a 10-9 score with EHS still in front. 

After a free throw by the Eagles, the quarter ended with baskets by LC’s Roberts and Niehaus for a 13-11 Mustangs lead. 

The Mustangs’ start to the second quarter mirrored that of the start Eastern had in the first quarter, as it was LCHS scoring the first nine points of the frame, beginning with a 3-pointer by Faust, followed by consecutive buckets by Barnett, then two made free throws by Wells for a 22-11 LCHS lead with 4:35 left in the half. 

The remainder of the frame saw the Eagles outscore the Mustangs 12-4 in a span of 3:16 for a 26-26 tied score at halftime. 

The third quarter saw the Eagles outscore Lynchburg-Clay 11-9 for a two-point lead of 37-35. LCHS didn’t lead in the quarter, but never trailed by more than four points, cutting the EHS lead to one point with 2:28 left in the quarter. 

In the fourth frame, the score was tied five times at 37, 39, 41, 43 and 52. The fourth started with back-to-back baskets from Clinton, including a basket while falling to the ground that put LCHS in front at 39-37 with 6:55 left in regulation. 

After EHS tied the score at 39, Clinton added another basket to his total at the 5:36 mark for a 41-39 lead. Again, Eastern tied the score, this time with a steal and layup at the 5:07 by Webb with 5:07 left in the quarter. Eastern then took the lead with a bucker in the paint by Manley, only to see Faust score two points with a layup for a 43-43 score. 

The Eagles once again tied the score with another basket by Manley, and this time it was a three-point play by Clinton that pushed the Mustangs ahead for a one-point lead with 2:27 left in the game. 

That basket by Clinton was the start of a 10-0 run by the Mustangs that saw a steal and layup by Faust, then two more jumpers by Clinton for a 52-45 advantage with 1:02 left in the game. 

Following a full timeout on the court, the Eagles ramped up their play in pursuit of the win, scoring the next nine points with two free throws by Webb, a steal and layup by Werner, a three-point play by Webb (tying the score at 52), and they took the final two-point lead with two free throw conversions by Webb, who forced a turnover and was fouled with 4.5 left on the clock. 

Eastern was led by Webb with 26 points, as he made five two-point baskets, four 3-pointers, and he was 10-of-12 from the free-throw line. EHS had Manley totaled 13 points with five two-pointers and a 3-pointer. 

Werner totaled nine points for the Eagles with three two-point baskets and one 3-pointer. The remainder of the final scoring by Eastern included Carson Peters (4) and Cade Leist (2). 

The Chad Hodson Classic game MVPs for both teams were Clinton of Lynchburg-Clay and Webb of Eastern. 

The loss moves the Mustangs to 3-6 overall, while Eastern is now 3-5 overall. 

Next for Lynchburg-Clay is an away game on Tuesday, Jan. 6 on the road against the Whiteoak Wildcats in Southern Hills Athletic Conference action. LCHS enters the rivalry game with a 1-3 mark in the SHAC Div. I standings, while Whiteoak (4-4 overall) is 1-3 in the SHAC Div. II standings. 

BOX SCORE
EHS      11 15 11 17 — 54
LCHS    13 13 09 17 — 52

EASTERN PIKE (54) — C.Peters 2 (0) 0-0 4, B.Webb 5 (2) 10-12 26, A.Werner 3 (1) 0-0 9, E.Shaffer 0 (0) 0-2 0, E.Manley 5 (1) 0-0 13, C.Leist 1 (0) 0-0 2. TOTALS: 16 (4) 10-14 54. 

LYNCHBURG-CLAY (52) — D.Clinton 9 (0) 1-1 19, E.Faust 3 (1) 3-4 12, T.Roberts 3 (0) 0-2 6, Q.Wells 2 (0) 3-4 7, L.Barnett 2 (0) 0-0 4, T.Niehaus 2 (0) 0-0 4. TOTALS: 21 (1) 7-11 52. 
 

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