Mustangs' season comes to sudden close

WAVERLY — Lynchburg-Clay's season came to a sudden stop on Wednesday night, as the No. 6 seeded Mustangs were upset by the No. 11 seed, Wheelersburg Pirates, 52-48 in the Division III SE District Sectional Semifinals.

The Mustangs never led at the completion of any of the four quarters played and never held the lead in the game. LC did force two tied scores in the first quarter.

LC's final loss of the year leaves them above the .500 mark at 13-10 overall, while Wheelersburg moves to 8-13 overall and into the sectional finals against No. 14 seeded Huntington, who also had an upset, defeating No. 3 seeded Zane Trace.

"I thought they took us out of our game plan a little bit with their pressure on the perimeter," LC head coach Matt Carson said. "We were able to do to them late in the game what they did to us with the pressure.

"Game plan-wise, I don't think they were any different than what we were expecting, and we weren't any different than what they were expecting. A few plays here and there … that happens in tournament basketball. You have to be ready to bring it. I thought we played hard, but we just needed to execute better at times. You can't fault the effort."

As for the LC loss in the postseason at Waverly High School on Wednesday, LC trailed by a 13-7 score after the first and 25-19 at the half, but in the second half, the game grew more intense. Though LC didn't advance to the next round, they didn't allow the Pirates to steal the win easily.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Tristan Wilbanks began with a layup 10 seconds into the game to bring LC within four points of the Pirates' lead at 25-21. After WHS answered with two points of their own, Wilbanks wasn't finished, this time sinking a 3-pointer at the 6:50 mark to make it a three-point game.

The Pirates manages to chip away at the Mustangs, building a 12-point lead with 3:35 left in the third, but LC answered with four straight points by Brandon Storer (who scored his two points off a steal) and Zach Blankenship with a layup.

Wheelersburg's perimeter game gave the Mustangs fits at times Wednesday, including a 3-pointer from Jacob Spradlin with 1:03 remaining in the third to push WHS back in front by 11 points at 39-28.

After the third quarter came to a close at 41-30 in favor of the Pirates, LC eventually trailed by 13 points to WHS once the final frame began.

Then LC, knowing their entire season was on the line, managed a rally to make the final eight minutes interesting. What turned into an 11-2 run by the Mustangs began with a layup by Joe Giordano, followed by a Blankenship 3-pointer and two more points by Giordano. Giordano led LC with 15 points (11 points in the fourth), while Blankenship finished with 11.

That part of the run was broken up with two points by WHS to put them ahead by seven points, only to see LC continue their scoring.

Wilbanks, who finished with 10 points, made things interesting with a put-back basket in the paint, and River Mullins stole the ball near mid-court and took it to the hoop on a fast break for two points and a three-point deficit for LC with 1:11 left in regulation.

Later after some points by the Pirates, Giordano sank another 3-pointer with 24 seconds on the clock, bringing LC within one possession of WHS at 48-46.

After two free throws by WHS, Giordano again scored points for LC, this time with a layup with 5.6 on the clock. After WHS made two ensuing free throws, the Mustangs ran out of time in their comeback effort, and with that, the time in their season also came to a close.

Leading WHS in scoring was Brandon Adams with 14 points, followed by Kyle Davis with 13 and Spradlin with 10.

LC had four seniors suit up for the final time of their careers. Those players were: Wilbanks, Noah Buck, Quinton Lewis and Jordan Wilt.

"I love the four seniors to death," Carson said. "They are great kids and work hard.

"The thing that is lost sometimes is we all get caught up in preseason stuff, expectations and what's going to happen in the season. Every school in Ohio does. I have thoroughly enjoyed this season.

"The practices, the interaction with the guys as a teacher and the community settings… the seniors are four great people and will have success in whatever they decide to do in the future," Carson said. "All four of them have not only become better people as a result of being on this team this season, but they've also taught the rest of us a thing or two along the way."