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Falcons deal Eagles first loss of season

Monday, 05 January 2009

By BILL LIERMANN

Sports Writer

ADAMS TOWNSHIP — After falling behind by 12 points in the first half, the Clinton-Massie Falcons rallied to post a 69-61 victory Saturday night versus Madison Plains, sending the Golden Eagles to their first loss of the season after winning six straight games

“That’s certainly one of our biggest wins here in the last three years,” remarked C-M coach Brian Mudd following the contest. “They came in undefeated and are the defending (SCOL) league champs. It’s a mighty big win for us.”

Clinton-Massie improves to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the SCOL. Madison Plains is 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the SCOL.

Three Falcon players hit for double figures in the game, led by non-starter Noah Dell who led the way with 22 points. Logan McCormick was next with 17 points (13 in the second half) while Justin Evans had 10.

For the Eagles, Derek Warner topped all scorers with 28 (including 15 in the second half), and Matthew McCollister added 13.

Trailing at the first quarter break, 22-14, and by a dozen with 5:00 remaining in the opening half, the Falcons changed their defensive approach and found instant offense from Dell, who helped ignite the Falcon comeback with a barrage of three-pointers. He connected from beyond the arc six times in the contest.

“We switched away from the zone and their big guy (Derek Warner) just killed us in the opening quarter (scoring 11 of the Eagles’ first quarter points). Plus, Noah gave us a lift off the bench. He really helped key that comeback with those three-point shots,” Mudd said.

The defensive adjustment worked, as the Golden Eagles scored just 24 points in the middle two quarters combined, while Massie’s offense poured in 33 points in the second and third periods. The end result was an eight-point CM deficit that became a one-point lead.

Dell drained a pair of treys and added a pair of free throws getting Massie within one, 31-30, in the closing minutes of the half, before Kyle Powers converted a driving lay-up and ensuing free throw giving the visitors a 34-30 lead at intermission.

It appeared the Golden Eagles would start to pull away to start the second half, as Warner converted an old-fashioned three-point play extending the MP lead to seven, but the Falcons kept it close, as Dell and Evans connected on a pair of treys. Travis Amburgy made a pair of free throws cutting the margin to two points, 42-40, with 3:25 to play in the third quarter.

In the final two minutes of the period, McCormick had the hot hand for the Falcons, accounting for seven points including a trey which gave Massie a 45-44 lead. After Warner responded with a pair of free throws putting the Eagles back on top, McCormick had a driving lay up, giving C-M a 47-46 lead at the third quarter horn.

The Falcon run continued in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter as Massie reeled off 10 unanswered points, extending the lead to 56-46 on Taylor Luckett’s basket with 5:19 remaining in regulation. Although Massie got the margin extended to double digits, Madison Plains caught fire down the stretch, as Warner and McCollister combined for 11 points as the Eagles tried to stage a comeback of their own.

Massie was unable to put the Eagles away, committing some crucial turnovers in the closing minutes, leaving the door open for the visitors. Madison Plains outscored the Falcons by an 11-5 margin in the final four minutes, eventually cutting the deficit to five, 66-61, with 34 seconds remaining. Amburgy sealed the victory for Massie, by converting both ends of a two-shot foul with 23 seconds to play in regulation.

Clinton-Massie capitalized from the free throw line in the final period, converting eight of 11 chances and connected on 14 of 20 attempts for the game. Madison Plains was not as successful, making just five of nine attempts in the fourth quarter, and the Eagles converted on 13 of 21 chances from the line for the ballgame.

Despite losing to Wilmington in the finals of the recently-concluded Pepsi Holiday Classic, Mudd felt the game served as a confidence-builder for his team. Massie stayed with the Hurricane for the first half of play and into the early minutes of the third quarter, before Wilmington pulled away to win the game.

“You never want to say that a loss inspires your team but like I told the kids, when you play hard like that and give your best effort on the floor, we’re gonna be a difficult team to beat. We proved that here tonight,” Mudd said.

The Falcons will try to even their seasonal record at four victories and four losses, facing the Blue Lions of Washington Court House on Tuesday night, at home in SCOL action.

SCORING SUMMARY MPHS 22 12 12 15—-61 CMHS 14 16 17 22—-69

(61) MADISON PLAINS (2fg-3fg-ft-tp) McCollister 3-1-4-13, Powers 2-0-1-5, Joslin 1-1-2-7, Wilson 1-0-0-2, Faulkner 3-0-0-6, Warner 11-0-6-28. Team 21-2-13-61.

(69) CLINTON-MASSIE (2fg-3fg-ft-tp) Evans 2-2-0-10, Amburgy 1-0-5-7, Luckett 2-0-2-6, Dell 1-6-2-22, McCormick 5-1-4-17, Wysong 2-0-1-5, Burton 1-0-0-2. Team 14-9-14-69.