ADAMS TOWNSHIP — Visiting Greenfield McClain blitzed Clinton-Massie 20-2 the first 10 and a half minutes of the second half to build a 37-21 lead and then held on for dear life for a 45-40 victory Monday night.
“The kids did a good job of adjusting at halftime. We went to that 1-2-2 zone. That was the biggest key in the game. We started attacking a little bit more and feeding our post players,” said McClain head coach Jarrod Haines. “I told them at halftime we were fine and we were going to make this adjustment, and they bought in.”
Massie outscored the Tigers 17-3 in the four and a half minutes immediately following McClain’s run to get within one possession, 40-38, with 68 seconds left in the game.
“The kids always fight, but it’s the little things that are hurting us,” CM head coach Hilma Crawford said. “But that’s one thing we take pride in, we’re going to fight until the very end.”
CM misfired on its possession to tie or take the lead inside a minute.
“Basketball is a game of spurts,” Crawford said. “You have to keep fighting through them and make your own runs. I think we started playing looser and not thinking so much.”
The Tigers (9-2) salted the game away at the line. McClain missed 12 free throws on the night but made just enough down the stretch to maintain the lead.
Massie (1-8) led most of the first half. Its largest lead was 14-8 in the first minute of the second quarter. The Falcons led 19-17 at the intermission.
McClain’s Payton Pryor led all scorers with 20 points.
Aidan Eades led Massie with 13 points.
SUMMARY
Jan 11, 2021
@Lebanon Road Gym
McClain 45 Clinton-Massie 40
GM^8^9^18^10^^45
CM^12^7^2^19^^40
(45) McCLAIN (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Vanzant 0-0-0-0 Weller 3-0-4-10 Pryor 7-0-7-21 Pitzer 2-0-0-4 Crabtree 0-0-0-0 Burchett 0-0-1-1 Stegbauer 2-0-2-6 Sykes 1-0-1-3. TOTALS 15-0-15/27-45
(40) CLINTON-MASSIE (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Jaramillo 0-0-0-0 Lay 0-0-0-0 Crowe 1-0-0-2 Eades 5-1-2-13 Crawford 4-1-3-12 Avery 1-0-0-2 Branham 2-0-0-4 Voisey 1-0-0-2 Thompson 0-0-0-0 Roberts 2-0-1-5 TOTALS 16-2-6/8-40
