ADAMS TOWNSHIP — A strong defensive effort helped Blanchester snap a five-game losing streak Tuesday night with a 58-39 win over East Clinton at Brian P. Mudd Court.
The game was played at Clinton-Massie because the basketball floor at East Clinton is being replaced after being damaged by water from burst pipes.
Jansen Wymer led Blanchester with 15 points. Nainoa Tangonan had 12 points for BHS (4-15).
Xander Lake scored 14 points for East Clinton (0-18).
“Blanchester capitalized on open looks and we did not,” EC head coach Clyde Snow said. “We just couldn’t throw it in the ocean. We struggled to score, no doubt.”
Evan Malott opened the scoring with a three but Lake sparked a 5-0 East Clinton with a post move and basket. The Astros defense kept the Wildcats from converting on the perimeter.
Wymer halted the East Clinton run as Blanchester hit on back-to-back three-pointers.
East Clinton’s leading scorer on the year, Dakota Collom, came through, however, with a shot to retake the lead 7-6 going into the second quarter.
Lake scored to open the second but Nainoa Tangonan’s three-pointer started nine unanswered points by the Wildcats who took the lead for good.
Baskets by Lake and Collom pulled East Clinton within two. Blanchester went on yet another 9-0 run, this one capped by a buzzer-beating putback from Bryce Sipple that gave BHS a 26-14 lead at halftime.
East Clinton battled back by scoring five of six points but a contested layup by Sipple started a run of five points for the Wildcats. BHS ended the third by scoring nine of 11 points for a 41-23 lead.
Despite a great end to the game offensively from East Clinton, Blan’s intense defense to start the fourth highlighted by a huge Sipple block allowed the Wildcats to stay on top.
“We had pretty decent looks (at the basket) all night but just couldn’t execute,” Snow said. “We’re still fighting … that win will come one of these days.”
SUMMARY
Jan 31, 2023
@Brian P. Mudd Court
Blanchester 58, East Clinton 39
EC^7^7^9^16^^39
B^6^20^15^17^^58
(58) BLANCHESTER (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Sipple 4-0-1-9 Tangonan 3-3-3-12 West 1-0-0-2 Wymer 6-1-2-15 Malott 4-3-0-11 Bradley 0-0-1-1 Estep 0-0-0-0 Culberson 0-0-0-0 Byrom 1-1-0-3 Taylor 1-0-0-2 Creager 1-1-0-3 TOTALS 21-9-7-58
(39) EAST CLINTON (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Huff 0-0-0-0 Collom 4-0-1-9 Maddix Crowe 3-1-0-7 Lilly 0-0-0-0 Lake 6-0-2-14 Walker 1-0-0-2Gulley 0-0-0-0 Max Crowe 1-1-0-3 Arnold 1-0-0-2 Mess 0-0-0-0 Terrell 0-0-2-2 TOTALS 16-2-3-39
