Lex breaks slide, beats Clear Fork
LEXINGTON - The Lexington Minutemen ended a four-game losing streak Friday night and gained some momentum heading into the tournament with a 75-54 Ohio Cardinal Conference victory over the Clear Fork Colts on senior night.
The Minutemen, now 15-7 overall and 9-5 in the OCC, played well enough early in the season to earn the No. 2 seed in the Galion District, which starts next week, but had been in a slump as of late, losing four-straight games in February.
"It's always nice to get a 'W' on senior night," Lexington coach Scott Hamilton said, "especially what we've been through the last four games."
Lexington won Friday with a strong showing on the boards and some timely shooting from the field. The Minutemen won the battle of the boards 38-26. "I said before the game, rebounding was going to be a key for us," Hamilton added. "It was important for us and it's something we had gotten away from last week at Mansfield Senior."
Lexington got off to a fast start, thanks to eight first-quarter points from guard Traevin Harrison, one of four seniors playing in their final home game. The Minutemen forged an 18-10 lead after one quarter of play. Sophomore Cade Stover scored six points in the second quarter to help Lex build a 35-22 lead at the half. Chance Barnett kept the Colts (5-16 overall and 2-12 in the OCC) from getting blown out by scoring 10 points in the second quarter.
Both teams scored 19 points in the third quarter to keep Lex's lead at 13-points, 54-41, entering the fourth quarter, but the Colts did rally during the third quarter. With 3-point baskets by Chase Endicott, Jared Schaffer, Brennan South and Barnett, Clear Fork got as close as six-points, 43-37, with 3:44 to go in the third quarter, but Harrison drilled a 3for Lexington and the Minutemen ended the quarter on an 11-4 run. With both teams substituting freely in the fourth quarter, Lexington tacked on a 21-13 quarter to win by 21 points.
"That 3-point shot by Traevin Harrison was huge for us," Hamilton said. "We only attempted one shot from behind the line in the first half, so that was an emphasis for us at halftime."
Stover took high scoring-honors with 22 points, including a 3-point basket in the fourth quarter. He was 10 of 15 from the field and 1 of 1 from the foul line. Harrison chipped in with 13 points and Ben Vore added eight points, all in the second half. AJ Nickoli scored seven points with a 3-pointer and Dana Shoulders scored six points, all in the first half.
Barnett led Clear Fork with 20 points and topped the Colts with six rebounds. South followed with 11 points, including three 3-pointers. Justice Rebman added eight points. The Colts were 21 of 52 from the field compared to Lexington's 34 of 60.
Lexington will now play the winner of the Shelby-Norwalk tournament game on March 3 at Galion. "I think we're in about the best position we could be in," Hamilton said. "I think we have a brutal district, I really do. I think there are eight or nine or maybe even 10 teams that could possibly win our district. Anyone of them could win a couple of games and get hot. I mean it's not an easy task."
