Mustangs take control to defeat Ripley

DODSONVILLE — The Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs built a nearly 20-point lead in the first half, lost it and managed to rally to win by double figures, all in 32 minutes of game time Friday night against the visiting Ripley Blue Jays.

The Mustangs eventually won by a 66-53 score against the Southern Hills Athletic Conference opponent, but getting there saw the Mustangs travel off the beaten path to get the victory.

Before the game, the Mustangs celebrated Hall of Fame night, as they inducted Kim Roberts, who played for Lynchburg-Clay from 1989-1993, into their Hall of Fame in the school's fifth HOF induction ceremony.

LC (11-7) led by 15 points after the first quarter, starting the game with an 8-0 run with six points from Joe Giordano and two points by Zach Blankenship. Giordano finished the game with 10 points, all coming in the first quarter. Blankenship was the Mustangs' second-leading scorer for the night with 18 points.

The Blue Jays responded with four consecutive points, only to have the Mustangs respond with a 10-0 run in the final 2:47 of the first frame with Blankenship beginning this run with a 3-pointer.

From there, Giordano sank a jumper off the glass and through the hoop, followed by Devin Pierson making it a 15-4 lead with two points. Giordano then scored two points on a steal and fast break to the basket, and Tristan Wilbanks sank a free throw to push the Mustangs ahead 19-4.

"The effort was there from the beginning," LC head coach Matt Carson said. "We can talk about how we got out to a 15-point lead, and how they tied it … we can talk about all that, but I don't want to get all caught up in that. All I want to get caught up in is our effort for 32 minutes, especially on defense.

"That's what I wanted to see out of us defensively. Like I told the kids in the locker room, every person who stepped onto the court played hard, played defense and did what we had to do to win the basketball game, and this was very good for us (Friday)."

By the end of the second quarter, LC led by eight points, though with 3:45 left in the quarter they had built a lead of 18 points, the third time in the quarter they held such a lead.

RHS chipped away at the Mustangs' lead with a run of 10-2 in the final 3:15.

To start the third frame, the Blue Jays continued to pressure the Mustangs on the LC home court with the first four points of the quarter, eventually tying the game at 37 with 3:29 left in the third with a free throw from Austin Whitt, who led RHS with 17 points.

Next in scoring for the Blue Jays was Chandler Slowey with 13 points.

Even with the score tied and an 18-point lead erased, the Mustangs stood their ground, scoring eight straight points by Josh Ahrmann and Pierson for a 45-39 lead with 50 seconds left in the third. After two points by the Blue Jays, Pierson ended the quarter with a put-back basket with 32 seconds left in the third.

Pierson was the Mustangs' leading scorer with 23 points, with 19 coming in the second half.

LC continued to keep setting the pace in the final eight minutes, not allowing the Blue Jays to get any closer than four points to the lead. LC ended the final frame with a 10-5 run in the final 2:59 of regulation.

"It was good to see our guys come back," Carson said. "At the end of the game with three and a half minutes to go, we were in the bonus … some of those situations have plagued us this year. We've worked on those things in practice, and we executed at free throws when we had to.

"The times when we are the most physical team on the court … things work out for us. I thought we were the most physical team for a majority of the night. Credit Ripley, they may not come in here with the best record, but those kids know how to play basketball. They'll fight, scrap and claw, and credit Coach Adams for keeping his team in there."

For the game, LC was 14-of-19 from the free-throw line, while RHS was 2-of-6.

LC returns to the court on Saturday night vs. Zane Trace.