The Clinton men’s basketball team beat yet another opponent by double digits on Tuesday night, playing in their final home game of the regular season. Although this was anything but a smooth and clean game, they still capped the win on senior night over Wallace, 61-47.
“The best thing I can say about tonight is that it was a win,” said head coach Randy Jordan. “Credit to Wallace for coming out and playing hard, which they did and we didn’t.”
Even though the Horses came away with a big win, the score was not indicative of a dominating performance by Clinton. The first quarter was probably the closest to what anyone would expect to see from the Horses, who opened the first quarter with a 20-11 advantage.
Things changed in the second quarter as Clinton’s offensive effectiveness fell off quite a bit. Going from 20 points and dropping down to just 11 in the second period they began to struggle against the Bulldogs’ defense. Fortunately for them Wallace also had a lackluster quarter with their offense only going for eight. Despite a poor period of play the Horses kept the lead a extended it to 12 by halftime.
The home team found themselves in trouble coming out of the break as Wallace opened up the second half on 6-0 run, which sparked an early timeout from Jordan. The timeout helped some, but Wallace managed to put a dent in the double-digit lead. For the first time in a while, Clinton was outscored in a quarter, going for 12 to the Bulldog’s 17, cutting the deficit to seven.
The Horses didn’t let the rally from the Bulldogs last, as they got back to their usual selves in the fourth. Doubling the scoring done by Wallace, Clinton went for 18 to the visitors nine to close out the night with a 14 point victory.
“We’ve got to learn to put teams away early,” Jordan said. “No matter what team you’re playing, if you let them hang around they can become dangerous.”
Dewan Lesesne tore up the scoreboard, leading all scorers for Clinton with 26 points. Kris Williams and Zion Autry were his help, finishing with 11 and 10, respectively.
“Regardless of tonight’s play, I’m glad for my seniors. It was a great night for them and I’m happy they got the win during their senior night. We’ll be back at it again tomorrow as we continue to try and get better while we get ready for East Duplin,” Jordan concluded.
The Dark Horses men now sit at an impressive 20-1 overall and remain unmatched in the conference at 11-0. They face off against the Panthers of East Duplin, on the road, for the final game of the regular season Thursday.
