Clinton drops Lakewood in tight game

Shortly after the ladies match, The Dark Horses came out onto the court to face the Lakewood Leopards in their season opener game. The bleachers were filled with fans as they were ready for an exciting match between these inner county teams. Lakewood came up short after tying up late in the game and Clinton narrowly escaped defeat, 47-44.

Lakewood came in ready and drew blood first as Shamell Little scored. Some clean passing from Dark Horse Ashir Muhammad led to their first points of the year, with a precision pass to Gregory Coxum for two, tying it up.

The game started to get out of hand for Lakewood as the Dark Horses caught some steam. Ny’Darion Blackwell hit for two then Coxum followed that up with a three to put them quickly ahead of the Leopards. Lakewood called a timeout and the crowd roared for the home team. It looked like all was lost for the away team as the break had no effect on the high powered Clinton squad. Daniel Adasiak stole the ball and passed it off to Samir Register who put it in for two. He missed the free throw from foul. Clinton put up another two pointer to put Lakewood behind by nine with a little over halfway to go in the quarter, 11-2. The Leopards weren’t about to just take that, and began a scoring rally of their own putting up six points quickly to make it a manageable, 11-8. The Dark Horses came back and scored seven unanswered, including a buzzer beater three by Walker Spell to end the quarter at 19-8.

The second quarter was a little slower pace as Lakewood stiffened up on defense. The Leopards scored first after pressing against Clinton to make it 19-11. From here it was an exchanging of points with some tough play on both sides. Lakewood continued to drive to the paint and bodies hitting the court was the norm for the second quarter. Lakewood had plenty of rebounds but couldn’t put them back in to close the gap. The quarter ended with Lakewood trailing by ten 30-20

The third quarter was an even tighter affair as Lakewood made some adjustments that held Clinton to only nine points. Both teams played a little wiser this quarter, making better passing choices and exhibiting patience when setting up plays.

Blackwell started off the third, driving to the net but fouled during his layup so he lined up for the free throw, he made one.

Clinton took a back seat for a bit, while Lakewood went on a scoring run following more physical charges to the paint. They quickly brought the score within reason, 31-26, including a nice no look pass from Eason to Kristofer Robinson. Adasiak was fouled and made both of his free throws, following that Zane Faircloth hit a three to bring them up by ten 36-26.

Dark Horse Jeriah Goodman was blocked by Leopard Robinson, this led to loss of possession that would be quickly taken back by Lakewood’s Little and driven in for two.

Blackwell would fire back with a shot from the perimeter for three, following that Little again would find room and put up two to end the quarter with the score, 39-30 Clinton leading.

The fourth quarter was a high energy affair. The bleachers rumbled as the crowd and cheerleaders erupted in support of their respective team.

Lakewood’s White started off the quarter with a layup that he made while being fouled. He lined up and sunk the free throw to add three to the board. The foul frenzy began when Henry hit a layup shortly after and was fouled as well. He’d miss the free throw and Williams snatched the rebound and attempted the put back. He was fouled on the try and missed both free throws. After the frenzy, Lakewood was within four at 39-35.

Clinton would hit a two pointer and a scoring lull ensued as both teams tried to gather bearings as the clock ticked. Bobby Henry was fouled and nailed both free throws to keep it close. Register made a free throw from a foul and Goodman would put back a rebound to bring it to 44-37.

Lakewood would catch fire, Williams and drive to the net to put two on the board, he was fouled. Clinton would foul White as he attempted to score off the missed shot. He made one of two to bring the score to 44-40. Henry would break out into a fastbreak and sprint to the net for an easy two, Lakewood was within a score to tie it up with 2:17 left in the game. The Leopards would take possession and make it count. A couple of quick passes and Eason would get the ball and put it in to tie it up. The crowd roared as the Lakewood crew stomped their feet in the bleachers and cheered in elation.

Clinton struggled as they missed a shot and was fouled. Unable to make the free throw because the noise was deafening in the gym, the horses called a timeout with less than a minute left in the game. It got even louder as the crowd’s roar reverberated throughout the school. Adasiak would come up big and silence the Lakewood crew by making a layup while being fouled. Despite the noise, his shot didn’t even touch the net and went straight through, putting Clinton up by three, 47-44.

Lakewood couldn’t recover in time and the clock bled down to zero and buzzer sounded. Clinton escaped the Leopards claws by three and win their season opener, 47-44.

Clinton (1-0) will be at home on Wednesday Nov. 30 to defend the court against the James Kenan Tigers at 8 p.m.

Lakewood falls to 0-2 after the tough loss on the road, they’ll be at home on Wednesday Nov. 30 to take on the Pender Patriots at 7:30 p.m.

Be sure to check out the highlights on our website clintonnc.com, our Youtube and Instagram channel.

JV

Lakewood Junior Leopards would travel to take on the Junior Horses of Clinton in the opening game of the evening. Clinton would come out on top in JV winning in a fierce competition against Lakewood 55-48. The Junior Horses will be at home on Wednesday Nov. 30 to take on the James Kenan Junior Tigers at 5:15 p.m. The Junior Leopards fall to 0-2 and will be at home on the Pender Junior Patriots at 4:30 p.m.