Clinton traveled to Trask High School on Monday afternoon for a game that was made up from last Friday, when a power outage in Rocky Point lead to the game being postponed.
After an intense, physical battle, it was the home team coming away with a 61-59 win.
Trask (14-1, 6-0) lead 17-15 after the first quarter before the now Dark Horses (9-6, 4-2) closed the gap to 27-26 at halftime. Clinton took the lead after a solid third quarter, and took the 42-41 lead into the final frame.
In the end, it was the Titans making free throws down the stretch, clinging to the slim lead, which eventually led to the two point win.
Clinton was 4-11 at the foul line, while Trask shot a whopping 42 free throws, making 29 of them. The foul disparity proved to be the difference in the game, but Randy Jordan, the Dark Horse coach said that was no excuse.
“It’s two really good teams going at it, and yeah they shot a lot more free throws, but if we shoot our normal 65% from the free throw line, then we win the game. It’s that simple,” he said.
“I think we did a good job defensively, but maybe not such a great job of being smart and tough,” he continued. “There are always peaks and valleys in a basketball season, and we are not in a peak or a valley right now, we are somewhere in the middle of them. However, we have a really good chance to bounce back this week, and I think we will be able to do that. I think this team is going to be really good and where they are capable of being by the end of the season.”
Clinton was led by freshman Xzavier Howard, who has played very good ball of late. He scored 13 points and Jeremiah Pope added 12. Kris Williams scored 10 for the Dark Horses.
Clinton is set to host Wallace Rose-Hill on Wednesday for an intense rivalry game, and then are slated to head to Pender on Friday.
In a very balanced conference, hardly any game is a ‘gimme’ for any team. The Horses have a tough slate this week, but also, as mentioned by Coach Jordan, have a chance to bounce back and get back to winning ways.
The game with Wallace is set for a 7:30 tip.