WILMINGTON – In a battle of Clinton County rivals Friday night, Wilmington (2-1) defeated East Clinton (0-2), 54-24, at Fred Summers Court.
The Hurricane reeled off the first eight points of the night and led 14-4 at the end of the first quarter. East Clinton was held to a single field goal, a Branson Smith three-pointer, in the second quarter as Wilmington stretched the difference to 27-7 at the intermission.
East Clinton scored the first two buckets to open the third period, but WHS came back to claim the period, 16-11, and put the game away, 43-18. Wilmington outscored the Astros by a 27-17 margin in the second half.
Wilmington head coach Mike Noszka felt his squad had balanced scoring with three players reaching double figures, and they are playing with purpose after their first three games of the season.
“We played with purpose and it’s something we stress in practice, Noszka said. “They have good unity and really care for each other. We’ve played three games, and about 20 practices, but what I really like is the way they pick=up each other and it shows on the court.”
Wilmington had seven players in the scoring column and three starters in double digits, both goals for the team.
“We wanted to spread the scoring around, and getting multiple players in double figures was good to see,” said Noszka. “We had good movement with the ball, and our passing and penetration was very good. Defensively, our goal was to hold them to under 30 points, which we accomplished.”
The Hurricane starters saw action in three quarters, with Cam Coomer leading the way with 13 points (eight in the first half), Steven Sweeney followed with 12 (seven in the third period) and Marko Anicic added 10, including a pair of three pointers.
Leading scorer for the Astros was Colten Vadnais with seven points. Quinten Tolle came off the bench to score six points, all coming in the second half,
It was a frustrating night for Tony Berlin’s squad as they committed 19 turnovers, 12 in the first half.
East Clinton returns to the court Saturday night, as they travel to Jamestown, facing the Greeneview Rams in non-league play.
Wilmington will have a week off, then will travel to Western Brown, to begin SBAAC action next Friday night.
SUMMARY
December 7, 2018
@Fred Summers Court
Wilmington 54 East Clinton 24
EC 04.03.11.06…..24
WI 14.13.16.11…..54
(24) EAST CLINTON (2fg-3fg-ft-tp) B. Smith 0-1-0-3, Runyon 1-0-0-2, Tolle 3-0-0-6, Peterman 1-0-0-2, Neanover 2-0-0-4, Vadnais 3-0-1-7. Team Totals: 10-1-1-24.
(54) WILMINGTON (2fg-3fg-ft-tp) Coomer 4-0-5-13, Sweeney 4-1-1-12, Custis 3-0-0-6, Anicic 1-2-2-10, Butcher 2-0-2-6, Barker 1-0-0-2, Jones 1-0-3-5 Team: 16-3-13-54.
