LEES CREEK — Another chapter was written in the long rivalry between Clinton-Massie and East Clinton, as the Falcons visited Lees Creek Saturday to take on the Astros.
Clinton-Massie was seeking its first victory of the season while the Astros were looking to get back in the win column after a seven-game skid.
The story of this one was the Falcon defense, which swarmed the Astros early. Clinton-Massie dominated the action most of the night, cruising to 71-24 victory.
Massie coach Todd Cook was very happy with his team’s performance.
“(Friday) night was a heartbreaker, losing at the buzzer. But we stepped up (Saturday), accomplishing a lot of good things.”
On a disappointing night for his team, Astro coach Tony Berlin said, “We were dominated in all aspects of the game. We didn’t show up to play.”
Prior to the game, United States Marine veteran Ed Brown, and Army veteran James Lee Hoffer were honored by East Clinton athletic director Jim Marsh for their service. The ceremony was part of East Clinton’s celebration of Military Appreciation Month.
A Clinton-Massie flurry of offense began things, as Tate Olberding put up six points in the first 22 seconds of play. Turnovers by the Astros led to several easy Massie baskets, as the Falcon full court pressure gave the home team fits.
“That’s what we wanted to do. We wanted an up tempo game and get some easy buckets,” Cook said.
By the time the opening quarter came to a close the Falcons had jumped out to a 19-point advantage, 24-5.
The second quarter began much like the first, as the Falcons put up the first seven points of the period to extend the lead to 31-5.
After Cook pulled back from the early defensive pressure, the Astros were able to take care of the ball much better. They tried to make a run to cut into the lead, but several late Massie points stretched the margin to 46-17 at the half.
The offensive woes for the Astros continued well into the third quarter as they went scoreless for the first five minutes of the period. The Falcons, on their end, kept up the onslaught. The lead had swelled to 63-24 as things moved to the final period.
The Falcons, with their large advantage, played keep away, for much of the fourth. Cook’s team was content to run the clock down. The Astros were unable to score.
Clinton-Massie was led by Logan Meyers and Nate Baker, who tallied 16 points each. Tate Olberding added 14 for the Falcons. The lone bright spot offensively for the Astros was Branson Smith who totaled 13.
The Falcons, after several close calls, were able break into the win column, and move to 1-10 on the season. The Astros suffered their eight consecutive defeat, and fell to an identical 1-10 record.
The Falcons look to win their second straight as they host Batavia Friday night. The Astros are back in action Tuesday as the travel to Bethel-Tate.
Clinton-Massie made a clean sweep of things with the two preliminary games.
In the junior varsity contest, the Falcons were 50-24 winners over the Astros.
Dakota Gasaway led Massie with 20 points while Justin Arnold had seven for East Clinton.
In the freshman game, the young Falcon posted a 55-23 win.
Gabe McDowell was top scorer for CMHS with 20 points. Cody Chaney scored eight for East Clinton.
