LEES CREEK – East Clinton made it a quick turnaround from their Friday night loss to Wilmington, and defeated visiting Jamestown Greeneview, 56-54, Saturday night in non-league boys basketball action.
JT McCarren paced the Astros scoring attack, pouring in 31 points, including 20 in the second half.
His biggest contribution came in the third period when he accounted for 13 of the Astros’ 16 points, enabling East Clinton to stay in front of the Rams at the third period break, 40-39.
“JT really came out of his shell and we knew he was capable of producing big scoring numbers for us,” said Astros head coach Tony Berlin. “We really got things turned around quickly, and turned it over just nine times – only twice in the second half. To be successful, we have to take care of the basketball and we certainly did it tonight.”
Wyatt Floyd added 16 points for East Clinton,and nailed a pair of crucial free throws with just 12 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Astros a four point cushion at 56-52.
Greeneview added a field goal by their top scorer, Mason Schneider, who had 19 for the Rams. The Astros killed the clock on the ensuing in-bounds play, preserving the victory in front of the home fans.
“A win is a win, that’s all that matters,” Berlin continued in his post-game remarks. “We did a better job boxing out on the boards and seemed to play with a lot more confidence tonight. We must do this every time out and play consistently in all four quarters.”
There were four lead changes in the game, and the score was tied eight times.
The Astros led 15-10 after the first period and held a 24-20 margin at halftime. Greeneview came out of the locker room with a 19-point effort in the third, nine of the points coming from Schneider. East Clinton’s lead was shaved to a point at one time.
Schneider was limited to just a pair of field goals in the fourth quarter. East Clinton cashed in at the charity stripe in the final period, connecting on eight of nine free throw attempts.
East Clinton will play its third game in a five day span, on Tuesday night when Clermont Northeastern comes to Lees Creek.
SUMMARY
December 9 2017
@East Clinton High School
East Clinton 56 Greeneview 54
GV 10.10.19.15…..54
EC 15.09.16.16…..56
(54) GREENEVIEW (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Nix 2-2-2-8, Tamplin 1-0-0-2, Wilson 5-0-1-11, Clevenger 2-0-2-6, Caudill 2-1-2-7, Schneider 9-1-0-19. TOTALS 21-4-7-54.
(56) EAST CLINTON (fg-3fg-ft-tp) McCarren 12-1-6-31, Pence 1-0-0-2, Henson 1-0-0-2, Michael 0-0-2-2, Floyd 4-1-7-16, Olds 1-0-0-2, Mitchell 0-0-1-1. TOTALS 19-2-16-56.
