MASON — Wyoming’s zone defense in the fourth quarter helped the Cowboys avoid a first-round upset Friday night, as the Cowboys held off Clinton-Massie 51-44 at Mason Arena.
Wyoming (13-10) advances to play fourth-seeded Ross 6 p.m. Tuesday in Mason. Clinton-Massie’s season ends at 7-16.
But the Falcons gave the fifth-seeded Cowboys all they could want, trailing by just three with 5:50 remaining.
“Our guys just flat-out got after it,” CM head coach Steve Graves said. “They hit the scouting report to a tee. Give credit to Wyoming; they are a very good team and very physical. I thought we matched that pretty well. Just a gritty effort. I couldn’t be more proud of this group of guys.”
The difference in the second half was Wyoming going to a 2-3 zone, keeping the Falcons from getting the ball inside. As a result, Clinton-Massie made just 2 of 21 from three-point range.
“They jumped into that 2-3 zone late, and we just couldn’t hit shots,” Graves said. “We just weren’t hitting from the outside, so they just packed it in.”
Clinton-Massie led 32-30 with 4:56 left in the third but was outscored 21-12 the rest of the way.
Carter Euton led the Falcons with 16 points and five rebounds. Kody Zantene added 13 points and seven rebounds.
Lance Grayson led Wyoming with 21 points and eight rebounds.
Seniors Euton, Zantene, Luke Engelhard, Blake Ireland, Alex Jones, Lex Russell and Ethan Williams wrapped up their careers at CMHS.
“The seniors set a tone for this program going forward,” Graves said. “Just thinking about them, I get choked up. They had the competitive effort and the will to win. They laid it all on the line tonight and showed these young guys the way they’ve got to compete.”
After a state championship in football, team members that went straight from the gridiron to the hardwood have been going nonstop since the summer.
“Some of our guys get to rest finally,” Graves said. “Some of our football guys haven’t had any break at all.”
SUMMARY
Friday, Feb. 18, 2022
At Mason High School
Wyoming 51, Clinton-Massie 44
W…18.8.11.14…51
CM…12.13.9.10…44
(51) WYOMING (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Lance Grayson 7-2-5-21, Will Svendsen 4-2-1-11, Matty Mitchell 2-1-0-5, Cole O’Gara 2-0-4-8, Ben Bailey 1-0-0-2, Drew Rooks 1-0-2-4. TOTALS 17-5-12-51.
(44) CLINTON-MASSIE (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Carter Euton 6-0-4-16, Kody Zantene 6-1-0-13, Keegan Lamb 0-0-2-2, Blake Ireland 2-0-1-5, Alex Jones 1-1-0-3, Lex Russell 2-0-1-5. TOTALS 17-2-8-44.
FIELD GOALS: W 17/47 (Grayson 7/12, Svendsen 4/10); CM 17/48 (Euton 6/15, Zantene 6/12)
3 POINT FIELD GOALS: W 5/22 (Grayson 2/6, Svendsen 2/7); CM 2/21
FREE THROWS: W 12/22 (Grayson 5/6, O’Gara 4/8); CM 8/12 (Euton 4/5)
REBOUNDS: W 40 (Hauer 12, Grayson 8); CM 28 (Zantene 7, Euton 5, Russell 4)
ASSISTS: W 6; CM 8 (Euton 4)
STEALS: W 7 (Grayson 3, O’Gara 3); CM 4 (Russell 2, Euton 2)
BLOCKED SHOTS: W 0; CM 1 (Russell 1)
TURNOVERS: W 12; CM 11
