Mustangs fend off Green Devils for tourney win
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
WAVERLY — The Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs overcame a lot Monday night in their opening round Division III SE District Sectional matchup. LC fended off not only a strong start by the North Adams Green Devils, but a strong finish by NA for a 47-44 win.
This was the three-peat for the Mustangs (8-13) against the Green Devils this season, as they previously defeated their neighboring Adams County rival twice in the regular season during Southern Hills League games.
"Beating a team three times is not an easy thing to do," LC head coach Jason McLaughlin said.
On Monday, each team had their troubles, at times, shooting the basketball from the field and in the paint, but both teams did make shots at clutch times throughout the sectional contest.
Turnovers hurt the Green Devils, as they tallied 30.
"There wasn't a turning point in the game, I think we got off to a good start, they handled it well. You won't beat many people with 30 turnovers," North Adams head coach Dave Young said. "Some of it was against half-court pressure, and some of it was us not being smart with the ball. We just didn't play with what appeared to be any basketball I.Q."
LC senior Austin Fawley stole the show in the first half with five 3-pointers, but the aforementioned shooting troubles crept up on LC in the fourth quarter, though they made the baskets when they needed them the most.
Fawley led all scorers with a game-high 17 points.
"Austin did that last year (five 3-pointers) in one quarter against West Union, so he's a streaky shooter," McLaughlin said.
The game seemed to be well in hand for the Mustangs as the first quarter was set to begin as they led 41-33, but the Green Devils had other plans, not letting their season end without a fight.
NA opened the final frame with eight straight points, along with Anthony Richendollar taking a charge to tie the game at 41 with 3:58 remaining in regulation.
The drive began with a steal and layup from Kris King, followed with points from Skylar Mefford and Richendollar. The game-tying basket came when Caleb Harper launched and sank a 3-pointer.
LC's Dallas Puckett connected twice from the free-throw line, but once again, the game was tied when Richendollar made a put-back basket with 2:19 left in the quarter.
Then things got a little more interesting when both teams had trouble holding onto the basketball, but a deflection by Harper in the LC inside lane, recovered by Richendollar, led to a foul on the other side of the court when Richendollar went to the hoop. All of that led to a 1-of-2 trip to the free-throw line by Richendollar, lifting NA up 44-43 with 41.5 seconds remaining.
"We just couldn't get into the defense we wanted to get into, and I think that hurt us some in the fourth," McLaughlin said.
LC senior Dylan Noll, who scored 10 points, extended the LC season with inside points off a pass by Tyler Davidson with 26.5 on the clock. Fawley put LC up three points (47-44) with two free throws.
The Green Devils had one final opportunity to tie the game, but a 3-point attempt as the buzzer sounded bounced off the back of the rim.
Though the Mustangs won the game, it was the Green Devils who broke through with a fury of points in the opening quarter, leading 10-0 with 4:54 left in the first quarter. Harper made the final points of the run with a 3-pointer. Harper led LC with 14 points.
"I thought we started well. We played hard and played smart, but when Lynchburg answered the bell and showed they weren't going away, we just didn't answer the call back to us," Young said.
Following a timeout, the scoring drought by LC stopped when Noll converted two free throws, followed with the first of five first-half 3-pointers from Fawley, cutting the NA lead to five points. Shain Gragg added two points in the quarter for LC.
"I just told the guys during the timeout to 'we need to settle down, run an offense, and try to score inside," McLaughlin said. "We finally got a couple free throws, and as soon as we could play a little bit of our basketball we we OK."
Later in the frame, Fawley made his second trifecta with a 3-pointer with 48 seconds left in the first, chipping away the Green Devils' lead to 14-12.
LC took their first lead of the game in the early stages of the second quarter when Steven Collins made inside points and Fawley sank back-to-back 3-pointer for a 20-16 lead with 5:42 left in the first half. Both of Fawley's treys came from the same spot where Wes Pierson made his 3-pointer 30 seconds later. He followed that with two more points, and Davidson stole the ball at mid-court and went away on a fast break for a lead of 27-16.
Sheridan Carroll, who finished with 10 points, helped bring the Green Devils closer to LC, but with 2.9 seconds left in the first half, Fawley made his fifth 3-pointer to give LC a halftime lead of 30-22.
Throughout the game, both teams had trouble making baskets in the paint.
"We've got not-consistent scoring in the post all year long. We've tried different people, but it's just been an adventure … It's like going to Disney World," Young said. "We are just trying to find somebody that wants to play in there, and for 21 games, it still never happened."
Both teams tied in the third at 11. One of the bigger shots in the quarter was a 3-pointer by King, but a layup by Puckett, via quick passes by Noll and Davidson, gave the Mustangs a nine-point lead at 34-25. Davidson put LC up 41-31 with 38.2 seconds left in the quarter with a 3-pointer.
"One of the things we wanted to do was to pressure them," McLaughlin said. "We wanted them to throw up shots while under pressure, and we did a good job of that tonight. We made them miss easy shots, but we missed a ton of easy shots."
The Green Devils finish the season with six wins at 6-15 overall.
"We were inexperienced, and I was disappointed that we didn't show some gradual progression as the season went on," Young said. "Anytime we'd take a step forward, we would take two steps backwards. There is nobody to blame for that other than me. I didn't find the right thing to take this team up a notch each night we took the floor."
Four North Adams seniors played their final game for the Green Devils Monday. The seniors were: Anthony Richendollar, Skylar Mefford, Drew Dollich and Jordan Shreffler.
"All are great kids. All have been through the program, and I appreciated the time they put in," Young said. "They are quality young men, and they will be missed because they were character guys who you want around."
The Mustangs will tip-off with the No. 1 seed Peebles Indians on Friday at 6 p.m. for the sectional title. Peebles finished the regular season with a 19-1 record and SHL Division I champions. Monday's win improved LC to 8-13 overall.
GAME NOTES: Dollich entered the game scoring nearly 15 ppg but was held to five points, Monday … In their previous two games, LC defeated NA, 73-37 and 77-67 … LC had just four first-half fouls … In the fourth, LC was outscored, 11-6 … LC was 8-for-8 from the free-throw line … NA was 7-of-9 in free throw shooting.[[In-content Ad]]
This was the three-peat for the Mustangs (8-13) against the Green Devils this season, as they previously defeated their neighboring Adams County rival twice in the regular season during Southern Hills League games.
"Beating a team three times is not an easy thing to do," LC head coach Jason McLaughlin said.
On Monday, each team had their troubles, at times, shooting the basketball from the field and in the paint, but both teams did make shots at clutch times throughout the sectional contest.
Turnovers hurt the Green Devils, as they tallied 30.
"There wasn't a turning point in the game, I think we got off to a good start, they handled it well. You won't beat many people with 30 turnovers," North Adams head coach Dave Young said. "Some of it was against half-court pressure, and some of it was us not being smart with the ball. We just didn't play with what appeared to be any basketball I.Q."
LC senior Austin Fawley stole the show in the first half with five 3-pointers, but the aforementioned shooting troubles crept up on LC in the fourth quarter, though they made the baskets when they needed them the most.
Fawley led all scorers with a game-high 17 points.
"Austin did that last year (five 3-pointers) in one quarter against West Union, so he's a streaky shooter," McLaughlin said.
The game seemed to be well in hand for the Mustangs as the first quarter was set to begin as they led 41-33, but the Green Devils had other plans, not letting their season end without a fight.
NA opened the final frame with eight straight points, along with Anthony Richendollar taking a charge to tie the game at 41 with 3:58 remaining in regulation.
The drive began with a steal and layup from Kris King, followed with points from Skylar Mefford and Richendollar. The game-tying basket came when Caleb Harper launched and sank a 3-pointer.
LC's Dallas Puckett connected twice from the free-throw line, but once again, the game was tied when Richendollar made a put-back basket with 2:19 left in the quarter.
Then things got a little more interesting when both teams had trouble holding onto the basketball, but a deflection by Harper in the LC inside lane, recovered by Richendollar, led to a foul on the other side of the court when Richendollar went to the hoop. All of that led to a 1-of-2 trip to the free-throw line by Richendollar, lifting NA up 44-43 with 41.5 seconds remaining.
"We just couldn't get into the defense we wanted to get into, and I think that hurt us some in the fourth," McLaughlin said.
LC senior Dylan Noll, who scored 10 points, extended the LC season with inside points off a pass by Tyler Davidson with 26.5 on the clock. Fawley put LC up three points (47-44) with two free throws.
The Green Devils had one final opportunity to tie the game, but a 3-point attempt as the buzzer sounded bounced off the back of the rim.
Though the Mustangs won the game, it was the Green Devils who broke through with a fury of points in the opening quarter, leading 10-0 with 4:54 left in the first quarter. Harper made the final points of the run with a 3-pointer. Harper led LC with 14 points.
"I thought we started well. We played hard and played smart, but when Lynchburg answered the bell and showed they weren't going away, we just didn't answer the call back to us," Young said.
Following a timeout, the scoring drought by LC stopped when Noll converted two free throws, followed with the first of five first-half 3-pointers from Fawley, cutting the NA lead to five points. Shain Gragg added two points in the quarter for LC.
"I just told the guys during the timeout to 'we need to settle down, run an offense, and try to score inside," McLaughlin said. "We finally got a couple free throws, and as soon as we could play a little bit of our basketball we we OK."
Later in the frame, Fawley made his second trifecta with a 3-pointer with 48 seconds left in the first, chipping away the Green Devils' lead to 14-12.
LC took their first lead of the game in the early stages of the second quarter when Steven Collins made inside points and Fawley sank back-to-back 3-pointer for a 20-16 lead with 5:42 left in the first half. Both of Fawley's treys came from the same spot where Wes Pierson made his 3-pointer 30 seconds later. He followed that with two more points, and Davidson stole the ball at mid-court and went away on a fast break for a lead of 27-16.
Sheridan Carroll, who finished with 10 points, helped bring the Green Devils closer to LC, but with 2.9 seconds left in the first half, Fawley made his fifth 3-pointer to give LC a halftime lead of 30-22.
Throughout the game, both teams had trouble making baskets in the paint.
"We've got not-consistent scoring in the post all year long. We've tried different people, but it's just been an adventure … It's like going to Disney World," Young said. "We are just trying to find somebody that wants to play in there, and for 21 games, it still never happened."
Both teams tied in the third at 11. One of the bigger shots in the quarter was a 3-pointer by King, but a layup by Puckett, via quick passes by Noll and Davidson, gave the Mustangs a nine-point lead at 34-25. Davidson put LC up 41-31 with 38.2 seconds left in the quarter with a 3-pointer.
"One of the things we wanted to do was to pressure them," McLaughlin said. "We wanted them to throw up shots while under pressure, and we did a good job of that tonight. We made them miss easy shots, but we missed a ton of easy shots."
The Green Devils finish the season with six wins at 6-15 overall.
"We were inexperienced, and I was disappointed that we didn't show some gradual progression as the season went on," Young said. "Anytime we'd take a step forward, we would take two steps backwards. There is nobody to blame for that other than me. I didn't find the right thing to take this team up a notch each night we took the floor."
Four North Adams seniors played their final game for the Green Devils Monday. The seniors were: Anthony Richendollar, Skylar Mefford, Drew Dollich and Jordan Shreffler.
"All are great kids. All have been through the program, and I appreciated the time they put in," Young said. "They are quality young men, and they will be missed because they were character guys who you want around."
The Mustangs will tip-off with the No. 1 seed Peebles Indians on Friday at 6 p.m. for the sectional title. Peebles finished the regular season with a 19-1 record and SHL Division I champions. Monday's win improved LC to 8-13 overall.
GAME NOTES: Dollich entered the game scoring nearly 15 ppg but was held to five points, Monday … In their previous two games, LC defeated NA, 73-37 and 77-67 … LC had just four first-half fouls … In the fourth, LC was outscored, 11-6 … LC was 8-for-8 from the free-throw line … NA was 7-of-9 in free throw shooting.[[In-content Ad]]