Mustangs fall to Piketon, bow out of sectionals
Lead Summary
By
The Highland County Press-
WAVERLY — A season of vast improvement for the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs came to an end on Saturday night, falling to Piketon 53-41 in their Division III SE District Sectional final at Waverly High School.
LC finished the season 11-11 overall.
"We have improved each of the past four seasons," LC head coach Jason McLaughlin said. "This year, our players bought in to what we were trying to do, and we made some big strides as a program.
"We had some big wins against quality teams this year, and over the summer, our young kids have to get in the gym and improve their skills to continue what we have been able to accomplish this past season."
As for Saturday's game against Piketon (14-7), the Redstreaks led 17-13 after the first quarter, followed by each team scoring four points in the second, giving PHS a halftime lead of 21-17.
In the third, PHS outscored LC 11-10, and in the fourth, the Redstreaks outscored LC 21-14.
With six minutes remaining, the game was tied at 34.
"I felt the game was won with their ability to pressure us the entire game and wear us out," McLaughlin said. "I felt we just got tired … their bench play really stepped up and helped them throughout the game."
Leading LC in scoring were three players in double figures, with Alec Smith leading with a team-high 14 points. Smith added a double-double with 11 rebounds and one blocked shot.
Senior Tyler Davidson followed with 12 points, four assists, two rebounds and two steals.
Fellow senior Wes Pierson added 11 points, four rebounds and one assist.
Austin Gorman scored three points (a 3-pointer) for LC, along with tallying two rebounds and one blocked shot. Gage Waits scored one point, along with two steals, one rebound and one assist.
Ryan Inman totaled 13 rebounds and one blocked shot.
LC was 12-of-20 from the free-throw line, along with making five 3-pointers.
For the game, the Mustangs were 28 percent from the field.
Leading all scorers was Zach Farmer with 21 points, making four two-point field goals and one 3-pointer. Farmer was 10-of-12 from the free-throw line.
[[In-content Ad]]"Our game plan was to slow them down, and I felt our zone did that," McLaughlin said. "I felt good about our defensive effort throughout the game. We made them take difficult shots under pressure, and we rebounded well.
"Their (PHS) athleticism and size made it difficult to get uncontested shots. They are a very well-coached ball club and play good defense."
PHS was 20-of-24 from the free-throw line.
Piketon will continue their season on March 5 in the district semifinal at Ohio University when they face Portsmouth. Portsmouth advanced with a 50-34 win over Wheelersburg.
GAME NOTES: LC totaled 32 rebounds (eight offensive), six assists, five blocked shots, four steals and 21 turnovers.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
LC 13 04 10 14 — 41
PHS 17 04 11 21 — 53
INDIVIDUAL STATS
PHS (53)
C.Williams 1 (0) 0-0 2
E.Ferguson 1 (0) 3-4 5
I.Brabson 3 (0) 3-3 9
C.Moore 2 (0) 3-4 7
T.Collier 1 (0) 0-0 2
Z.Farmer 4 (1) 10-12 21
J.Farmer 3 (0) 1-1 7
TOTALS: 15 (1) 20-24 53
LC (41)
G.Waits 0 (0) 1-2 1
A.Gorman 0 (1) 0-0 3
T.Davidson 2 (1) 5-7 12
W.Pierson 1 (3) 0-1 11
A.Smith 4 (0) 6-10 14
TOTALS: 7 (5) 12-20 41
LC finished the season 11-11 overall.
"We have improved each of the past four seasons," LC head coach Jason McLaughlin said. "This year, our players bought in to what we were trying to do, and we made some big strides as a program.
"We had some big wins against quality teams this year, and over the summer, our young kids have to get in the gym and improve their skills to continue what we have been able to accomplish this past season."
As for Saturday's game against Piketon (14-7), the Redstreaks led 17-13 after the first quarter, followed by each team scoring four points in the second, giving PHS a halftime lead of 21-17.
In the third, PHS outscored LC 11-10, and in the fourth, the Redstreaks outscored LC 21-14.
With six minutes remaining, the game was tied at 34.
"I felt the game was won with their ability to pressure us the entire game and wear us out," McLaughlin said. "I felt we just got tired … their bench play really stepped up and helped them throughout the game."
Leading LC in scoring were three players in double figures, with Alec Smith leading with a team-high 14 points. Smith added a double-double with 11 rebounds and one blocked shot.
Senior Tyler Davidson followed with 12 points, four assists, two rebounds and two steals.
Fellow senior Wes Pierson added 11 points, four rebounds and one assist.
Austin Gorman scored three points (a 3-pointer) for LC, along with tallying two rebounds and one blocked shot. Gage Waits scored one point, along with two steals, one rebound and one assist.
Ryan Inman totaled 13 rebounds and one blocked shot.
LC was 12-of-20 from the free-throw line, along with making five 3-pointers.
For the game, the Mustangs were 28 percent from the field.
Leading all scorers was Zach Farmer with 21 points, making four two-point field goals and one 3-pointer. Farmer was 10-of-12 from the free-throw line.
[[In-content Ad]]"Our game plan was to slow them down, and I felt our zone did that," McLaughlin said. "I felt good about our defensive effort throughout the game. We made them take difficult shots under pressure, and we rebounded well.
"Their (PHS) athleticism and size made it difficult to get uncontested shots. They are a very well-coached ball club and play good defense."
PHS was 20-of-24 from the free-throw line.
Piketon will continue their season on March 5 in the district semifinal at Ohio University when they face Portsmouth. Portsmouth advanced with a 50-34 win over Wheelersburg.
GAME NOTES: LC totaled 32 rebounds (eight offensive), six assists, five blocked shots, four steals and 21 turnovers.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
LC 13 04 10 14 — 41
PHS 17 04 11 21 — 53
INDIVIDUAL STATS
PHS (53)
C.Williams 1 (0) 0-0 2
E.Ferguson 1 (0) 3-4 5
I.Brabson 3 (0) 3-3 9
C.Moore 2 (0) 3-4 7
T.Collier 1 (0) 0-0 2
Z.Farmer 4 (1) 10-12 21
J.Farmer 3 (0) 1-1 7
TOTALS: 15 (1) 20-24 53
LC (41)
G.Waits 0 (0) 1-2 1
A.Gorman 0 (1) 0-0 3
T.Davidson 2 (1) 5-7 12
W.Pierson 1 (3) 0-1 11
A.Smith 4 (0) 6-10 14
TOTALS: 7 (5) 12-20 41