Tigers pick up non-conference win over Lynchburg-Clay

The McClain boys varsity basketball team had to fight and claw all night to defeat Lynchburg-Clay, 38-34 in a defensive, hard-fought non-conference battle on the Tigers’ home floor Saturday night.

It was a game where both teams played extremely hard, especially on defense, forcing numerous turnovers, which attributed to the low-scoring final tally.

“Sometimes when you’re trying to build a new culture, a win like this means more than a blowout,” said McClain head coach Jarrod Haines. “It’s a close game and things aren’t going your way, you’re throwing the ball away and it’s kind of ugly, but you still find a way to win, and that’s a great way to continue building a culture. We’ll take it, and we’ll learn from it and get better.”

Both teams showcased some outstanding and aggressive defense the entire game, where points were hard-earned and at a minimum all night.

Only one player from each team hit double-figures in scoring, as Denver Clinton had 12 points to lead Lynchburg-Clay, and McClain’s Zane Adams also scored 12 points to lead the Tigers in that department.

Lynchburg-Clay led early and took a 5-2 advantage after a long trifecta by Braedon West, but McClain took their first lead at 6-5 at the 3:30 mark of the opening quarter on an old-fashioned 3-point play by senior Owen Sykes. The opening quarter ended with the score knotted at 8-8.

Defense continued to dominate the game in the second period when the Tigers outscored Lynchburg-Clay 8-6 and took a 16-14 lead into intermission.

A key factor for the Tigers in the second period was the play of Julien Evans, who came in off the bench scoring four points on back-to-back baskets and also contributing on the defensive end.

“Julien (Evans) gave us some big bench play minutes tonight,” Haines said. “Because as soon as he came into the game, he was a ball of fire and really sparked us.

“When you’re not playing very well and things are not going your way, you need someone like that, and he definitely answered the call, so I’m super proud of him.”

Evans led the Tigers with six points at the half, and Clinton led the Mustangs at the half with seven points.

The third period was the biggest scoring frame for both teams, as McClain outscored Lynchburg-Clay 13-11 and extended their lead slightly to 29-25. Senior Zane Adams was the big offensive catalyst for the Tigers, scoring nine of his team’s 13 points, including a pair of long balls.

“Zane (Adams) had a huge third quarter for us after not shooting the ball much the entire first half,” Haines said.

The Mustangs were able to take their first lead of the contest since the opening quarter on a shot by Clinton at the one-minute mark, but it was short-lived after Adams closed out the period with four straight points.

McClain was able to pull away a little midway through the fourth quarter when they took their largest lead of the game 35-29 after two converted free-throws by Jordan Bell with just 45 seconds remaining.

The Tigers held off the pesky Mustangs down the stretch and held on for the hard-earned 38-34 non-conference victory.

After the game, Coach Haines praised several of his players whom he thought contributed a lot to the win.

“I thought Owen Sykes had another great all-around game for us and Jordan Bell did a nice job of running the point,” Haines said. “Even though he had an off night offensively, he also did some good things defensively, as did Riley Cummins.

“Brandon Greene came in and did a really good job defensively on the (Denver) Clinton kid too.”

McClain, now 5-3 on the season, will host Clinton-Massie in another tough non-conference game Tuesday, Jan. 14.

Individual scoring for McClain: Zane Adams 4,2,12, Owen Sykes 3,3,9, Julien Evans 4,0,8, Jordan Bell 2,2,6, Riley Cummins 0,1,1. Totals: 14,8,38.

Individual scoring for Lynchburg-Clay: Denver Clinton 5,2,12, Elam Faust 3,0,7, Braedon West 2,0,6, Trevor Niehaus 1,1,3, Asher Faust 1,0,2, Caden Boone 1,0,2, Max Baker 1,0,2. Totals: 14,3,34.

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