LEES CREEK — A dismal third quarter was the difference Friday night in East Clinton’s 48-37 loss to Bethel-Tate.
The SBAAC National Division defeat leaves the Astros at 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the division.
Bethel-Tate is now 1-1 overall and 1-0 in league play.
Xander Lake led the Astros with 15 points.
“Tough loss,” EC head coach Clyde Snow said. “We played almost a perfect first half. We held Bethel scoreless in the second quarter which is a pretty awesome stat.”
East Clinton started slow, trailing 18-12 at the end of the first quarter. Lake had six points while Dameon Williams and Maddix Crowe both cashed in long-distance three-pointers in the opener.
But the Astros found their stride in the second, securing a 23-18 halftime lead by outscoring the Tigers 11-0 in the period. Again Lake led the charge with five points in the second.
That run was short-lived, though, as Bethel-Tate came out of the lockerroom on fire, winning the quarter 15-5 and taking a 33-28 lead into the final quarter.
“Had some turnovers early that dropped our momentum,” Snow said. “They capitalized with some big shots.”
East Clinton had three free throws and Lake scored his final four points of the night in the period.
In the final period, though, Toby Huff hit a pair of threes that allowed East Clinton to regain a bit of momentum but the Tigers regrouped quickly with a big three, Snow said.
“Lake played very well in the post and battle hard,” said Snow. “Our seniors have shown us tremendous leadership this year. They played relentless and kept us playing good D(efense).”
East Clinton had 18 turnovers and made 9 of 17 free throws.
SUMMARY
Dec 8, 2023
@East Clinton High School
Tigers 48, Astros 37
EC^12^11^5^9^^37
(48) BETHEL-TATE (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Moss 3-0-0-6 Murray 1-0-1-3 Davis 9-3-3-24 Armacost 1-0-0-2 Brookenthal 3-0-0-6 Hawser 1-1-0-3 Alder 2-0-0-4 TOTALS 20-4-4-48
(37) EAST CLINTON (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Williams 2-1-0-5 Huff 2-2-0-6 Crowe 2-1-0-5 Lilly 0-0-4-4 Lake 5-0-5-15 Warner 1-0-0-2 Arnold 0-0-0-0 TOTALS 12-4-9-37
