OWENSVILLE — In a matchup of undefeated SBAAC National Division rivals, Clermont Northeastern cruised to a 73-58 victory Tuesday night over Blanchester.
CNE (6-0 overall, 4-0 SBC) jumped out to an 18-8 lead after one quarter. Blanchester (5-1, 3-1) didn’t cut its deficit back into single digits the rest of the way. The Rockets led by as many as 20.
“Definitely not what I expected,” BHS head coach Adam Weber said. “I don’t mind losing, but I hate losing when we never even played.”
Skyler Schmidt dominated the game, scoring 26 points and pulling down 20 rebounds. He fouled out with 2:46 remaining with CNE leading 62-48.
With Schmidt on the bench, Blanchester had one last chance at a comeback. The Wildcats got as close as 11, 64-53, with 1:55 remaining.
The Rockets put the game away at the free throw line, making 9 of 10 over the final 1:43 to lock up the victory.
Schmidt was one of three Rockets in double digits in scoring. Mason Martin added 16 points and seven rebounds. Bryce Reece had 13 points.
Brayden Sipple led Blanchester with 31 points. Jay Ashcraft and Hunter Bare each had eight points, while Ashcraft pulled down 12 rebounds. Blanchester was outrebounded 49-35, including 20-13 in offensive rebounds.
Blanchester had nine turnovers in the first quarter and finished with 21.
“We just threw the ball away unforced,” Weber said. “They were running a 2-2-1, not even really bringing pressure. And we were throwing the ball directly to them.”
SUMMARY
Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019
At Clermont Northeastern HS
Clermont NE 73, Blanchester 58
B^8^16^11^23^^58
C^18^20^13^22^^73
(58) BLANCHESTER (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Brison Lucas 0-0-1-1 Tanner Creager 2-0-0-4, Hunter Hartman 1-1-0-3, Brayden Sipple 9-0-13-31, Jacksson Waialae 1-0-1-3, Jay Ashcraft 3-0-2-8, Hunter Bare 4-0-0-8. TOTALS 20-1-17-58.
(73) CLERMONT NE (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Jerryd Burns 1-1-0-3, Logan Pottorf 2-1-4-9, Skyler Schmidt 10-2-4-26, Bryce Reece 2-2-7-13, Mason Martin 7-0-2-16, Blake King 3-0-0-6. TOTALS 25-6-17-73.
FIELD GOALS: B 20/56 (Sipple 9/20, Bare 4/8, Ashcraft 3/5); C 25/54 (Schmidt 10/18, Martin 7/14)
3 POINT FIELD GOALS: B 1/14; C 6/21 (Schmidt 2/3, Reece 2/4)
FREE THROWS: B 17/25 (Sipple 13/19); C 17/27 (Reece 7/11)
REBOUNDS: B 35 (Ashcraft 12, Bare 6, Creager 6, Sipple 5); C 49 (Schmidt 20, Pottorf 8, Martin 7)
ASSISTS: B 6; C 12 (Schmidt 4)
STEALS: B 10 (Creager 3, Waialae 3); C 8 (Schmidt 3)
BLOCKED SHOTS: B 3 (Bare 3); C 4 (Schmidt 3)
TURNOVERS: B 21; C 18
