Lynchburg-Clay holds on for one-point win over Whiteoak
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
DODSONVILLE — What was good for Lynchburg-Clay wasn’t good for the Whiteoak Wildcats on Tuesday night. The two Highland County rivals met for the second time this season, and in this non-conference showdown, the Mustangs fended off a late charge by the Wildcats for a 50-49 win.
The game didn’t count in the SHAC standings, but Tuesday night was competitive on both sides. Even with the competitiveness being at a high level, the Mustangs never trailed, as the Wildcats nearly gained the lead on a handful occasions but never held on to the advantage.
For Whiteoak (6-13), this was the second time in consecutive games where they lost by a single point, as Saturday night saw the Wildcats fall in the final second to McClain, and on the ensuing Tuesday against Lynchburg-Clay, they battled back in the final frame and nearly made the final basket as the buzzer sounded.
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Going into the fourth frame, with Lynchburg-Clay having a 34-30 lead, LC’s Brady Chisman sank a 3-pointer, followed by a put-back basket by Ray Conner for a 39-30 lead with 6:23 left in regulation.
That quick scoring by the Mustangs forced the Wildcats to call a timeout, and following that timeout, Whiteoak’s Brayden Yeager scored four straight points. After a timeout by the Mustangs, Nick Bailey scored two points to make it a three-point deficit for the Wildcats. LC came back with a layup by Ian Waits, only to see a 3-pointer from the corner from Whiteoak’s Josh Hughes.
From there, Hughes added another two points off a steal and layup, and after a five-second violation by the Mustangs, Hughes made a one-handed jumper with 2:15 left on the scoreboard for a 44-43 LC lead.
Both teams had numerous chances to score points, with WHS earning three consecutive rebounds — after gaining initial possession from an offensive foul by LCHS — only to miss the basket opportunities in the paint. Conner eventually grabbed the rebounds for the Mustangs, passing to Noah Miller, who drove down the court for two points with 56.7 left in the game.
From there, Waits scored a layup for the Mustangs, and WHS later went to the free-throw line, where Yeager sank two free throws for a 48-45 Whiteoak deficit with 29 seconds on the clock.
LC was fouled by the Wildcats with 20.5 on the clock, sending Miller to the free-throw line. Miller sank both attempts from the free-throw line, sending the Mustangs to a five-point lead at 50-45. Those two free throws proved to be of great importance for the Mustangs.
Following those free-throw conversions, the Wildcats rallied one final time with two points off a layup by Bailey, and after a miss at the free-throw line by the Mustangs, Hughes scored two points by driving to the hoop for Whiteoak for a 50-49 score with 5.5 seconds left in regulation.
“Whiteoak — in a lot of the film I’ve watched and when we played them earlier this season — they are a second half team. They will chip away, chip away and play extremely hard, and that is a testament to their head coach,” Lynchburg-Clay head coach Matt Carson said. “Credit to them, and credit Josh Hughes. When we played them at Whiteoak and tonight, he was the difference maker. We put people in the middle of our zone to take him away and he still made shots, but we found a way to win at the end.”
The Mustangs (4-15) missed two more free throws with 4.4 on the clock, and the Wildcats gained one last chance for the win, but the three-point shot was just off.
“To have two one-point losses, there are a million things you can look at in the game,” WHS head coach Ryan Barnett said. “The kids never laid down, and that is a good sign, but I’m done making the ‘young’ excuses for them because it is almost a full season and they are starting to be veterans. They need to start learning from the previous mistakes.
“You can take any ball game and there are things you can learn from, but the problem is we have to quit making the same mistakes. We have three games left, and then tournament action.”
Waits led the Mustangs with 14 points, while both Miller and Conner each scored 13 points. Whiteoak was led by Hughes with 22 points, with Nick Bailey and Brayden Yeager each scoring 10 points.
As exciting as the final frame was, the first quarter was dominated by the Mustangs with them leading on their home court by a 14-4 score after eight minutes. Conner was first to score points with a layup, and that was answered by Hughes for a 2-2 score.
From there, the Mustangs scored the next 11 points with a 3-pointer by Waits, along with a basket by Brady Chisman, a put-back basket by Blake Marcelino, two points by Miller and a jumper by Conner for a 14-2 lead with 45 seconds left in the quarter. Landon Barnett scored the final points of the frame with a put-back basket to make it a 12-point deficit for the Wildcats.
“The first quarter might be one of the most complete quarters we’ve played all year,” Carson said. “In the first quarter, they started out man-to-man, and we were able to move the ball well. When they went to zone, I thought we got a little stagnant with the basketball.
“I can’t say enough about our kids. They are supportive of each other, they made plays when they needed to, and they are grinding it out. I’m extremely proud of them.”
In the second frame, the Wildcats won the quarter at 15-8, though LC never trailed and led 22-19 at halftime. The score was tied twice in the second at 14-14 and 17-17 with 2:04 on the clock.
The second frame saw LCHS have two points from Waits, a 3-pointer from Miller and a 3-pointer by Patrick Brown. Whiteoak had five points by Hughes, two points from Yeager, two points by Barnett and six points by Bailey, including a 3-pointer, in the second.
Coming out of the locker room for the third frame, Conner scored first with a jumper, while that was answered with a basket by Hughes.
LC scored the next five points with a basket from Conner and 3-pointer by Miller at the 6:07 mark for a 29-21 LC lead. WHS answered with a layup from Yeager, but the Mustangs scored a 3-pointer from Waits at the 4:25 mark of the third for a nine-point Mustang advantage at 32-23.
WHS came back with a 3-pointer from Barnett, only to have Waits score points in the paint with 2:31 left in the quarter, which were LC’s final points in the third. WHS scored the final four points in the third with a steal and layup from Hughes.
“I told Ryan (Barnett) afterward that it will be like this for the next three years with some of the kids we have in our program,” Carson said. “It is enjoyable and fun to play these county games because they mean a lot more.
“Credit to both communities for coming out and supporting a cause more important than basketball in Gabe Allen. He is such an inspiration and I am blessed to have him in class. He is a tough kid and has a lot of goals in life, and I’m just thankful for our FFA for putting this together. If you helped in any way with this, thank you so much. This is a special community to live in.”
For the Mustangs, they totaled 13 two-point baskets, seven 3-pointers and they were 3-of-7 from the free-throw line. Whiteoak totaled 17 two-point baskets, three 3-pointers and they were 6-of-8 from the free-throw line.
In the teams’ meeting earlier this season (their SHAC game), Whiteoak won by two points at home, defeating LC, 61-59.
The game didn’t count in the SHAC standings, but Tuesday night was competitive on both sides. Even with the competitiveness being at a high level, the Mustangs never trailed, as the Wildcats nearly gained the lead on a handful occasions but never held on to the advantage.
For Whiteoak (6-13), this was the second time in consecutive games where they lost by a single point, as Saturday night saw the Wildcats fall in the final second to McClain, and on the ensuing Tuesday against Lynchburg-Clay, they battled back in the final frame and nearly made the final basket as the buzzer sounded.
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Going into the fourth frame, with Lynchburg-Clay having a 34-30 lead, LC’s Brady Chisman sank a 3-pointer, followed by a put-back basket by Ray Conner for a 39-30 lead with 6:23 left in regulation.
That quick scoring by the Mustangs forced the Wildcats to call a timeout, and following that timeout, Whiteoak’s Brayden Yeager scored four straight points. After a timeout by the Mustangs, Nick Bailey scored two points to make it a three-point deficit for the Wildcats. LC came back with a layup by Ian Waits, only to see a 3-pointer from the corner from Whiteoak’s Josh Hughes.
From there, Hughes added another two points off a steal and layup, and after a five-second violation by the Mustangs, Hughes made a one-handed jumper with 2:15 left on the scoreboard for a 44-43 LC lead.
Both teams had numerous chances to score points, with WHS earning three consecutive rebounds — after gaining initial possession from an offensive foul by LCHS — only to miss the basket opportunities in the paint. Conner eventually grabbed the rebounds for the Mustangs, passing to Noah Miller, who drove down the court for two points with 56.7 left in the game.
From there, Waits scored a layup for the Mustangs, and WHS later went to the free-throw line, where Yeager sank two free throws for a 48-45 Whiteoak deficit with 29 seconds on the clock.
LC was fouled by the Wildcats with 20.5 on the clock, sending Miller to the free-throw line. Miller sank both attempts from the free-throw line, sending the Mustangs to a five-point lead at 50-45. Those two free throws proved to be of great importance for the Mustangs.
Following those free-throw conversions, the Wildcats rallied one final time with two points off a layup by Bailey, and after a miss at the free-throw line by the Mustangs, Hughes scored two points by driving to the hoop for Whiteoak for a 50-49 score with 5.5 seconds left in regulation.
“Whiteoak — in a lot of the film I’ve watched and when we played them earlier this season — they are a second half team. They will chip away, chip away and play extremely hard, and that is a testament to their head coach,” Lynchburg-Clay head coach Matt Carson said. “Credit to them, and credit Josh Hughes. When we played them at Whiteoak and tonight, he was the difference maker. We put people in the middle of our zone to take him away and he still made shots, but we found a way to win at the end.”
The Mustangs (4-15) missed two more free throws with 4.4 on the clock, and the Wildcats gained one last chance for the win, but the three-point shot was just off.
“To have two one-point losses, there are a million things you can look at in the game,” WHS head coach Ryan Barnett said. “The kids never laid down, and that is a good sign, but I’m done making the ‘young’ excuses for them because it is almost a full season and they are starting to be veterans. They need to start learning from the previous mistakes.
“You can take any ball game and there are things you can learn from, but the problem is we have to quit making the same mistakes. We have three games left, and then tournament action.”
Waits led the Mustangs with 14 points, while both Miller and Conner each scored 13 points. Whiteoak was led by Hughes with 22 points, with Nick Bailey and Brayden Yeager each scoring 10 points.
As exciting as the final frame was, the first quarter was dominated by the Mustangs with them leading on their home court by a 14-4 score after eight minutes. Conner was first to score points with a layup, and that was answered by Hughes for a 2-2 score.
From there, the Mustangs scored the next 11 points with a 3-pointer by Waits, along with a basket by Brady Chisman, a put-back basket by Blake Marcelino, two points by Miller and a jumper by Conner for a 14-2 lead with 45 seconds left in the quarter. Landon Barnett scored the final points of the frame with a put-back basket to make it a 12-point deficit for the Wildcats.
“The first quarter might be one of the most complete quarters we’ve played all year,” Carson said. “In the first quarter, they started out man-to-man, and we were able to move the ball well. When they went to zone, I thought we got a little stagnant with the basketball.
“I can’t say enough about our kids. They are supportive of each other, they made plays when they needed to, and they are grinding it out. I’m extremely proud of them.”
In the second frame, the Wildcats won the quarter at 15-8, though LC never trailed and led 22-19 at halftime. The score was tied twice in the second at 14-14 and 17-17 with 2:04 on the clock.
The second frame saw LCHS have two points from Waits, a 3-pointer from Miller and a 3-pointer by Patrick Brown. Whiteoak had five points by Hughes, two points from Yeager, two points by Barnett and six points by Bailey, including a 3-pointer, in the second.
Coming out of the locker room for the third frame, Conner scored first with a jumper, while that was answered with a basket by Hughes.
LC scored the next five points with a basket from Conner and 3-pointer by Miller at the 6:07 mark for a 29-21 LC lead. WHS answered with a layup from Yeager, but the Mustangs scored a 3-pointer from Waits at the 4:25 mark of the third for a nine-point Mustang advantage at 32-23.
WHS came back with a 3-pointer from Barnett, only to have Waits score points in the paint with 2:31 left in the quarter, which were LC’s final points in the third. WHS scored the final four points in the third with a steal and layup from Hughes.
“I told Ryan (Barnett) afterward that it will be like this for the next three years with some of the kids we have in our program,” Carson said. “It is enjoyable and fun to play these county games because they mean a lot more.
“Credit to both communities for coming out and supporting a cause more important than basketball in Gabe Allen. He is such an inspiration and I am blessed to have him in class. He is a tough kid and has a lot of goals in life, and I’m just thankful for our FFA for putting this together. If you helped in any way with this, thank you so much. This is a special community to live in.”
For the Mustangs, they totaled 13 two-point baskets, seven 3-pointers and they were 3-of-7 from the free-throw line. Whiteoak totaled 17 two-point baskets, three 3-pointers and they were 6-of-8 from the free-throw line.
In the teams’ meeting earlier this season (their SHAC game), Whiteoak won by two points at home, defeating LC, 61-59.