Mustangs win Wilkin Tournament opener; top Bearcats
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
DODSONVILLE — After slowly building a first-half lead of 12 points, the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs bolted away in the third frame on Thursday night in the nightcap of the 2011-12 Wilkin Scholarship Tournament. A 22-point third quarter eventually led to a 70-48 win over the Paint Valley Bearcats.
The win sets up a rematch against the Whiteoak Wildcats, who defeated Clermont Northeastern 66-50 in the first game of the four-team tournament.
LC (4-3) outscored Paint Valley by 12 points in the first half, holding PV to 13 points, while scoring 25 in 16 minutes, but each team almost surpassed those totals in the third frame with the Mustangs winning the quarter 22-16. In the fourth, LC outscored PV 23-19.
"The game was tough at the beginning," LC head coach Jason McLaughlin said. "They (PV) wanted to slow us down, but they got into foul trouble, and once that happened, we were able to press and get a lead.
"We just took advantage of their foul trouble and got points in transition."
PV had 19 fouls, 11 in the second half. LC totaled 16 fouls.
Gage Waits led all scorers with a game-high 20 points, including 10 points from the free-throw line, nine coming in the final quarter.
Alec Smith followed with 13 points for LC. Tyler Davidson and Ryan Inman each scored nine points, with Davidson knocking down two 3-pointers.
With those scorers leading the way, not many points were scored in the opening quarter as LC led 13-8 after the opening quarter.
Midway through the first frame, PV led 6-4, but Inman tied the game at six, and Waits put LC up 9-6 on a three-point play around the 2:30 mark.
From that point on, the Mustangs never trailed on the scoreboard.
Waits followed his three-point play with fast-break points, which eventually led to a five-point LC lead after eight minutes.
The Mustangs had five players contribute to their scoring efforts in the second quarter as only eight players suited up for LC.
Scoring the combined 12 points in the second were Waits, Inman, Wes Pierson, Matt West and Smith as no player scored more than three points in the second for LC.
Not only the offense produced for LC in the second with double-figure scoring, but the defense held PV to five points, with three coming from the free-throw line.
The third quarter changed the outlook of the game, as the Mustangs used the stifling defense and their offense wasn't bad either as Smith scored a layup for the first points of the third, off a pass by Inman.
With 6:51 left in the third, it was Smith scoring again, this time on a spin move and jumper, putting the host team ahead 29-15.
Following PV points, Inman went on a 6-1 run against the Bearcats, sinking free throws and converting a layup at the 5:42 mark of the quarter for a LC lead of 35-18.
Gorman scored on fast-break points later in the quarter and followed that with a jump shot with 3:23 left in the third for a 18-point lead for LC. Pierson scored on a fast break with 2:57 left on the clock and came back less than a minute later with more quick points, this time with a behind-the-back pass by Davidson.
West added to the LC scoring in the third with inside points and ended the quarter at the charity stripe, sinking two free throws for a 46-29 lead.
"Our defense was good in the third," McLaughlin said. "We did a good job of stopping their drive. At halftime, we talked about that (stopping the PV drive), which allowed us to build a lead."
In the fourth, Waits added 13 points to the Mustangs' lead, and Davidson added six to the scoreboard in the final eight minutes, including a 3-pointer. Smith added four points in the fourth.
The largest lead of the game came at the 7:02 mark of the fourth after Davidson sank a 3-pointer, putting LC up 23 points.
Defensively for LC, Waits led with eight rebounds, followed by Inman with five and Smith with four rebounds each.
For PV, Clay Stratton led with 13 points and Eli Barker followed with 10. Stratton made three 3-pointers in the fourth.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
PV 08 05 16 19 — 48
LC 13 12 22 23 — 70
INDIVIDUAL STATS
LC (70)
G.Waits 5 (0) 10-13 20
A.Gorman 2 (0) 0-0 4
T.Davidson 1 (2) 1-1 9
R.Inman 1 (0) 7-8 9
W.Pierson 3 (0) 1-2 7
M.West 3 (0) 2-2 8
A.Smith 5 (0) 3-4 13
PV (48)
L.Ackley 2 (0) 0-0 4
C.Stratton 2 (3) 0-0 13
M.McCloy 2 (0) 1-2 5
H.Hermann 3 (0) 3-5 9
Z.Richardson 1 (0) 0-0 2
E.Barker 4 (0) 2-8 10
C.Mooner 0 (0) 1-2 1
R.Markko 1 (0) 2-4 4
TOTALS: 15 (3) 9-21 48[[In-content Ad]]
The win sets up a rematch against the Whiteoak Wildcats, who defeated Clermont Northeastern 66-50 in the first game of the four-team tournament.
LC (4-3) outscored Paint Valley by 12 points in the first half, holding PV to 13 points, while scoring 25 in 16 minutes, but each team almost surpassed those totals in the third frame with the Mustangs winning the quarter 22-16. In the fourth, LC outscored PV 23-19.
"The game was tough at the beginning," LC head coach Jason McLaughlin said. "They (PV) wanted to slow us down, but they got into foul trouble, and once that happened, we were able to press and get a lead.
"We just took advantage of their foul trouble and got points in transition."
PV had 19 fouls, 11 in the second half. LC totaled 16 fouls.
Gage Waits led all scorers with a game-high 20 points, including 10 points from the free-throw line, nine coming in the final quarter.
Alec Smith followed with 13 points for LC. Tyler Davidson and Ryan Inman each scored nine points, with Davidson knocking down two 3-pointers.
With those scorers leading the way, not many points were scored in the opening quarter as LC led 13-8 after the opening quarter.
Midway through the first frame, PV led 6-4, but Inman tied the game at six, and Waits put LC up 9-6 on a three-point play around the 2:30 mark.
From that point on, the Mustangs never trailed on the scoreboard.
Waits followed his three-point play with fast-break points, which eventually led to a five-point LC lead after eight minutes.
The Mustangs had five players contribute to their scoring efforts in the second quarter as only eight players suited up for LC.
Scoring the combined 12 points in the second were Waits, Inman, Wes Pierson, Matt West and Smith as no player scored more than three points in the second for LC.
Not only the offense produced for LC in the second with double-figure scoring, but the defense held PV to five points, with three coming from the free-throw line.
The third quarter changed the outlook of the game, as the Mustangs used the stifling defense and their offense wasn't bad either as Smith scored a layup for the first points of the third, off a pass by Inman.
With 6:51 left in the third, it was Smith scoring again, this time on a spin move and jumper, putting the host team ahead 29-15.
Following PV points, Inman went on a 6-1 run against the Bearcats, sinking free throws and converting a layup at the 5:42 mark of the quarter for a LC lead of 35-18.
Gorman scored on fast-break points later in the quarter and followed that with a jump shot with 3:23 left in the third for a 18-point lead for LC. Pierson scored on a fast break with 2:57 left on the clock and came back less than a minute later with more quick points, this time with a behind-the-back pass by Davidson.
West added to the LC scoring in the third with inside points and ended the quarter at the charity stripe, sinking two free throws for a 46-29 lead.
"Our defense was good in the third," McLaughlin said. "We did a good job of stopping their drive. At halftime, we talked about that (stopping the PV drive), which allowed us to build a lead."
In the fourth, Waits added 13 points to the Mustangs' lead, and Davidson added six to the scoreboard in the final eight minutes, including a 3-pointer. Smith added four points in the fourth.
The largest lead of the game came at the 7:02 mark of the fourth after Davidson sank a 3-pointer, putting LC up 23 points.
Defensively for LC, Waits led with eight rebounds, followed by Inman with five and Smith with four rebounds each.
For PV, Clay Stratton led with 13 points and Eli Barker followed with 10. Stratton made three 3-pointers in the fourth.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
PV 08 05 16 19 — 48
LC 13 12 22 23 — 70
INDIVIDUAL STATS
LC (70)
G.Waits 5 (0) 10-13 20
A.Gorman 2 (0) 0-0 4
T.Davidson 1 (2) 1-1 9
R.Inman 1 (0) 7-8 9
W.Pierson 3 (0) 1-2 7
M.West 3 (0) 2-2 8
A.Smith 5 (0) 3-4 13
PV (48)
L.Ackley 2 (0) 0-0 4
C.Stratton 2 (3) 0-0 13
M.McCloy 2 (0) 1-2 5
H.Hermann 3 (0) 3-5 9
Z.Richardson 1 (0) 0-0 2
E.Barker 4 (0) 2-8 10
C.Mooner 0 (0) 1-2 1
R.Markko 1 (0) 2-4 4
TOTALS: 15 (3) 9-21 48[[In-content Ad]]