NEW RICHMOND – Winners of eight in a row, Clinton-Massie has the look of a champion.
On Friday night, the Falcons made the long trek to New Richmond and came away with a 53-49 win over the Lions in SBAAC American Division boys basketball action.
The win puts the Falcons a step closer to claiming the American Division championship. Massie is 13-2 overall and 6-1 in league play.
New Richmond is 12-5 overall, 3-4 in the conference.
“They are playing well,” said Clinton-Massie head coach Todd Cook. “They had a four-game winning streak. We knew it would be tough. They have a wide range of scorers that can shoot from the three but can attack the basket as well.”
Wilmington and Goshen are both 4-3 in league play. With 10 league games on the schedule, the Hurricane and Warriors have a chance of derailing the Falcons but its unlikely.
“We’re hitting on all cylinders right now and we’re getting more people contributing,” said Cook.
The win was No. 100 for Cook in his varsity coaching career.
“It is a good accomplishment,” Cook said. “I wanted to let my players know that I was thankful to be able to share this opportunity with them. It wouldn’t take place without them and my coaching staff.”
Thomas Myers led the Falcons with 19 points. He converted all four of his free throw attempts in the fourth quarter. Myers needs 10 points to reach the 1,000-point mark for his Clinton-Massie career. He’ll have a chance at that Saturday night at state-ranked No. 3 Purcell-Marian.
Zack Chowning had five of his seven in the fourth. Brendan Lamb and Daulton Wolfe combined for 21 in the CMHS backcourt.
Herwens Horgan had 15 for the Lions, with 11 of those coming during a furious fourth quarter rally. Max Ernst had seven of his 12 in the fourth.
But New Richmond simply didn’t have enough to get the win.
“We continue to bounce back,” Cook said.
The Falcons flew off to a 23-13 first half lead. The Lions were unable to get their offense on track against the Massie defense.
But in the second half, New Richmond found its stride. Scoring 15 in the third and 21 in the fourth, it was a game down to the wire. Cook said the game was tied in the fourth but Massie never trailed.
“In the first half, we did a very good job (defensively),” said Cook. “At halftime, we talked about them being a better team than 13 points in two quarters. We knew they would make a run.
“Told my guys at the end of the game, defensively it was a letdown in the second half. Have to give them (New Richmond) credit, they came out and played their game on the offensive side.“
SUMMARY
February 1, 2019
@New Richmond High School
Clinton-Massie 53 New Richmond 49
CM 11.12.17.13…..53
NR 07.06.15.21…..49
(49) NEW RICHMOND (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Horgan 6-1-2-15 Lang 1-0-0-2 Delisle 4-1-0-9 Hess 0-0-0-0 Larson 2-1-0-5 Stephan 0-0-0-0 Ernst 5-0-2-12 Ackerman 2-2-0-6. TOTALS 20-5-4-49
(53) CLINTON-MASSIE (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Wolfe 4-2-0-10 Lamb 5-1-0-11 Chowning 3-1-0-7 Myers 7-0-5-19 Laake 1-0-0-2 Voss 1-0-0-2 Settlemyre 1-0-0-2. TOTALS 22-4-5-53
