By Steve Fields
MECCA — Clay City closed the boys basketball regular season with a confidence building 66-50 victory over host Riverton Parke on Thursday.
Getting 19 points from Logan Higgins, 14 from D.J. Newton and 12 from Tyler Bridgewater, the Eels earned their second straight win.
“That’s what we’ve been waiting on all year. Bridgewater, Newton and Helton all stepped up tonight and hit shots,” Clay City coach Vance Edmondson said.
Clay City plays North Central on March 5 in the Class A Sectional at White River Valley.
“When we were struggling … we talked about peaking at the right time. What we wanted to do is play our best basketball at the end of the season. Right now we’re playing pretty good basketball,” Edmondson said.
On the flip side, Riverton Parke closed the season 2-19 going into the North Vermillion Sectional. And it’s a good thing the Panthers have the bye.
With 3:49 left in the game, leading scorer Garrett Lientz crumbled to the floor with an ankle injury. Lientz, who had 12 points and six rebounds, was carried off the floor.
The Panthers were led by Jeremy Helton with 20 points and six rebounds.
“Jeremy played well tonight. He got to the hole quite a bit,” Kirk said.
Clay City closed the first quarter with a 13-4 run to take charge of the game. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Ben Denker and Newton started the Eels charge. Higgins scored two points in the lane and Bridgewater tallied a three-point play that put the Eels up 15-11.
Higgins’ drive to the basket closed the quarter with Clay City leading 17-11.
The Eels opened the second period with a 10-3 run to take a 27-14 lead with 6:29 to play in the first half. Riverton Parke closed the gap to 10, 34-24 on a Jeremy Helton basket, but Clay City led 39-28 at halftime.
“We did a good job of building a lead and maintaining it,” Edmondson said.
CLAY CITY (66) — Higgins 6-9 0-0 7-8 19, Decker 0-2 0-0 0, Bridgewater 4-10 3-3 12, Newton 5-8 1-5 14, Denker 2-3 0-1 6, Jenkins 3-7 1-2 7, Moore 0-2 1-2 1, Tiefel 3-3 0-0 6, Harber 0-1 0-0 0, Shaw 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 23-45 FG, 14-23 FT, 66 TP.
RIVERTON PARKE (50) — Lientz 5-12 1-1 12, Hardesty 0-6 1-2 1, Jh. Helton 1-2 2-2 4, Vauters 1-5 2-4 4, Jer. Helton 9-14 2-2 20, Engle 2-6 0-0 5, Stites 0-5 0-0 0, Daugherty 1-3 0-0 3, Hill 1-2 0-0 2, Miller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-55 FG, 8-11 FT, 50 TP.
Clay City 17 22 14 13 — 66
Riverton Parke 11 17 10 12 — 50
3-point goals — CC 6-12 (Newton 3-4, Denker 2-3, Bridgewater 1-1, Decker 0-1, Harber 0-1, Jenkins 0-2), RP 2-16 (Lientz 1-4, Daugherty 1-2, Engle 0-2, Jer. Helton 0-2, Stites 0-2, Vauters 0-1, Hardesty 0-3). Total fouls — CC 13, RP 21. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — None. Turnovers — CC 11, RP 10. Rebounds — CC 29 (Higgins, Denker 6), RP 28 (Jer. Helton 10). Steals — CC 5 (Denker 2), RP 6 (Vauters 2).
JV — Clay City won 34-33.
Next — Clay City (5-15) plays North Central on March 5 in the Class A Sectional at White River Valley. Riverton Parke (2-19) plays March 5 in the North Vermillion Sectional.
• Northview 63, Plainfield 60 — At Brazil, Northview held off a 31-point fourth-quarter rally by the Quakers to conclude the regular season with a narrow victory.
The Knights led 14-10 after one quarter, 29-21 at halftime and 44-29 after three quarters before standout Plainfield junior Chris Page took over.
Page scored 24 of his game-high 34 points in the final period but the Knights hit 14 of 16 free throws in the fourth to hold on.
Trent Lancaster scored 18 points in just his second game back from illness to lead the Knights, while Jonathan Bradshaw added 13 and Dillon Reynolds had 10.
PLAINFIELD (60) -- Jones 0 0-0 0, Walker 1 0-0 2, Wheeler 2 0-0 5, Page 11 6-8 34, Cox 1 2-2 5, Smith 1 2-2 4, Hanna 1 0-0 2, M.Mershon 1 0-0 2, Johnson 2 2-2 6. Totals 20 FG, 12-14 FT, 60 TP.
NORTHVIEW (63) -- Lancaster 4 9-11 18, Bradshaw 6 1-4 13, Reynolds 2 6-7 10, C.Mershon 3 0-0 9, Hyatt 2 3-5 7, Talbot 2 0-0 4, Allen 0 0-0 0, Van Horn 1 0-1 2. Totals 20 FG, 19-28 FT, 63 TP.
Plainfield 10 11 8 31 -- 60
Northview 14 15 14 19 -- 63
3-point goals -- Lancaster, C.Mershon 3, Wheeler, Page 6, Cox.
JV -- Plainfield 48, Northview 44.
Next game -- Northview (7-14) will play March 5 in the semifinals of the Plainfield sectional. Plainfield (7-13) hosts Columbus East tonight to close out the regular season.
