McClain Tigers knock off county rival Whiteoak
Lead Summary
By
Jim Jones-
The McClain Tigers put together one of their best all-around ball games of the season Tuesday night on their home floor and defeated Whiteoak, 63-47.
It was complete domination for most of the game both offensively and defensively along with controlling the boards inside by their three big people Owen Sykes, Drake Stapleton and Andrew Potts. Potts also led the Tigers in scoring with a team-high 20 points, followed by Seth Weller, who had 17, and Sykes also reached double-figures with 10.
“I’m very happy with three players scoring in double figures,” McClain head coach Bob Williams said. “I’ll take that all day.
“We know if we play like we did tonight we can compete with a lot of teams, but we need to put four good quarters of basketball together, not just two or three, which is what has happened in most of our losses.”
McClain led 14-10 after one period of play and increased their advantage to double-digits 30-20 at the half after winning period two, 16-10.
Weller led all scorers at the break with 12 points, followed by Potts, who tallied eight points in that opening half.
Landon Barnett scored eight points to lead the Wildcats at the half, and he finished the contest with a game-high 24 points. Barnett is considered one of the top players in the area and already scored his 1,000th point of his high school career earlier in the season.
“Landon (Barnett) had a great game for them tonight and is probably one of the best all-around players in Highland County,” Williams said. “He can play defense, shoots and handles the ball really well and is very strong, and I think he’s already well over 1,000 points scoring for his career.”
Both teams played pretty even in the third, but the Tigers still won the quarter by outscoring Whiteoak 19-17 and pushed their lead to 49-37.
Things got a little interesting in the fourth period when the Wildcats went to a full-court press and forced the Tigers into several turnovers which resulted into points, and with four minutes left in regulation, McClain’s lead was only six points at 53-47.
McClain was able to right the ship after a couple of quick timeouts and regain the momentum to pull away for the 63-47 win.
“Coaches around this area know we’re still a very young and inexperienced team,” said Williams. “So they recognize how to take advantage of some of our weakness, and you saw that there in the fourth quarter with their press.
“Overall, I was very pleased with our effort and especially that of Drake Stapleton, who played probably his best game of the season. He’s getting better in every game and seems a lot more comfortable on the floor and he was awesome on the boards for us tonight.
“The crowd was great tonight and our student section was loud and proud,” Williams continued. “Just a great atmosphere and a good night to be a McClain Tiger.”
McClain improves to 4-13 on the season, while Whiteoak drops to 6-10 overall.
Andrew Potts led McClain in scoring with 20 points, followed by Seth Weller, who was close behind with 17, and Owen Sykes who added 10. Rounding out the scoring for the Tigers were Riley Cummins (seven), Drake Stapleton (six) and Brandon Greene (three).
Landon Barnett led Whiteoak with a game-high 24 points, followed by Luken Roades, who scored 10. Rounding out the scoring for the Wildcats were Weston Blair (eight), Evan Deatley (three) and Zander Roades (two).
McClain’s next game is Friday, Jan. 27 at Jackson. Whiteoak travels to West Union Friday night.
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It was complete domination for most of the game both offensively and defensively along with controlling the boards inside by their three big people Owen Sykes, Drake Stapleton and Andrew Potts. Potts also led the Tigers in scoring with a team-high 20 points, followed by Seth Weller, who had 17, and Sykes also reached double-figures with 10.
“I’m very happy with three players scoring in double figures,” McClain head coach Bob Williams said. “I’ll take that all day.
“We know if we play like we did tonight we can compete with a lot of teams, but we need to put four good quarters of basketball together, not just two or three, which is what has happened in most of our losses.”
McClain led 14-10 after one period of play and increased their advantage to double-digits 30-20 at the half after winning period two, 16-10.
Weller led all scorers at the break with 12 points, followed by Potts, who tallied eight points in that opening half.
Landon Barnett scored eight points to lead the Wildcats at the half, and he finished the contest with a game-high 24 points. Barnett is considered one of the top players in the area and already scored his 1,000th point of his high school career earlier in the season.
“Landon (Barnett) had a great game for them tonight and is probably one of the best all-around players in Highland County,” Williams said. “He can play defense, shoots and handles the ball really well and is very strong, and I think he’s already well over 1,000 points scoring for his career.”
Both teams played pretty even in the third, but the Tigers still won the quarter by outscoring Whiteoak 19-17 and pushed their lead to 49-37.
Things got a little interesting in the fourth period when the Wildcats went to a full-court press and forced the Tigers into several turnovers which resulted into points, and with four minutes left in regulation, McClain’s lead was only six points at 53-47.
McClain was able to right the ship after a couple of quick timeouts and regain the momentum to pull away for the 63-47 win.
“Coaches around this area know we’re still a very young and inexperienced team,” said Williams. “So they recognize how to take advantage of some of our weakness, and you saw that there in the fourth quarter with their press.
“Overall, I was very pleased with our effort and especially that of Drake Stapleton, who played probably his best game of the season. He’s getting better in every game and seems a lot more comfortable on the floor and he was awesome on the boards for us tonight.
“The crowd was great tonight and our student section was loud and proud,” Williams continued. “Just a great atmosphere and a good night to be a McClain Tiger.”
McClain improves to 4-13 on the season, while Whiteoak drops to 6-10 overall.
Andrew Potts led McClain in scoring with 20 points, followed by Seth Weller, who was close behind with 17, and Owen Sykes who added 10. Rounding out the scoring for the Tigers were Riley Cummins (seven), Drake Stapleton (six) and Brandon Greene (three).
Landon Barnett led Whiteoak with a game-high 24 points, followed by Luken Roades, who scored 10. Rounding out the scoring for the Wildcats were Weston Blair (eight), Evan Deatley (three) and Zander Roades (two).
McClain’s next game is Friday, Jan. 27 at Jackson. Whiteoak travels to West Union Friday night.
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