Scott grabs double double as Clovers win

Saturday, February 22, 2014
Cloverdale junior Brantson Scott, pictured here in an earlier game, scored 34 points and pulled down 12 rebounds Friday in a win at Eminence. (Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT)

EMINENCE -- A strong team at home Eminence gave the Cloverdale Clovers all they could hand Friday night. Letting the lead slip to as low as one, the Clovers pulled away for a 72-56 win.

It was junior Branston Scott who picked up the slack with 34 points and 12 boards.

Eminence (5-12) has picked up some big wins at home this season. Cloverdale (17-1 5-0 WCC) wanted to continue its historic season and stop the home threat of the Eels.

"Eminence has not been an easy place for us to win," Clovers' coach Pat Rady said, "It really is a rivalry game and they really get fired up and it was senior night, so they really played well."

The win was not as easy as many thought it might be for Cloverdale. The Eels hung around until the fourth quarter, keeping the deficit to as low as one.

"I thought the first half we were standing on our feet a little," Rady said. "The second half we played a little smarter. We moved the ball. We got the ball inside and some guys hit shots. When a team takes away a part of your game you have to go to something else."

The Clovers had their outside shot taken away and the only option left was to take over the inside. Scott and senior Kedrick Collett were the main options, but Scott was the strongest.

Collett made the necessary moves to get Scott open and when Scott got the ball, it was doomsday for the Eels. He hit 10-of-12 from the field and he was 14-of-17 from the line.

"The aggression is what they gave us," Rady said, "Sometimes you have trouble with the three and we wanted to get it in and when we got in the bonus we wanted to move it around and either get a lay up or get fouled."

Eminence had no answer for Scott, but on the other end of the floor the Eels made up for it.

Freshmen Brennan Ringler pounded his way to the inside, where the Clovers have struggled of late on defense and scored 12 of his 18 points. Senior Ethan Holley also contributed, scoring 11 points there.

"I thought our half-court defense could've been a lot better tonight," Rady said, "I thought we stood some. Our press did well, but our half-court presence just spread out. The fourth quarter we did a lot better. We played Cloverdale basketball."

Besides his scoring, Scott was the main defensive presence on the inside, clogging the middle for ball handlers and pulling down boards.

Both teams did their main damage inside, but Eminence found a way to hit timely threes to keep the deficit manageable.

Cloverdale struggled to get into its up-temp pace, with Eminence often shutting down set plays. The Clovers had to switch things around and focus more on what the Eels would give them.

"I thought (the Eels) did a good job of getting into the passing lanes," Rady said. "We may have passed a bit too early but then again we did adjust."

It was not until the fourth quarter that the Clovers finally took full control.

Junior Marquise Moore had hit a fadeaway two-pointer at the buzzer in the third and it carried hope into the fourth.

Scott scored six of his team's first nine points and freshmen Cooper Neese provided seven points in the quarter.

Eminence's hopes were dashed as Holley picked up a technical foul with six minutes remaining and was relegated to the bench. Things started to crumble for the Eels.

Instead of attacking, the Eels started throwing up shots and many times barely hitting the rim. They had no leader, they looked panicked tried to speed things up.

Cloverdale took advantage and turned it into 22 fourth-quarter points and pulled away, 72-56.

"Teams will have runs," Rady said, "Sometimes you have to stop those runs and it will create runs of your own."

With a solid win against its rival, Cloverdale will hit the court again Saturday against another school of Eels, hosting Clay City at 7:30 p.m.



At Eminence
Cloverdale 18 15 17 22 -- 72
Eminence 11 17 17 11 -- 56
Cloverdale (72):
Scott 34, Neese 14, Moore 13, Collett 5, Schroer 4, Fislar 2, Hughes 0, Lotz 0. Totals 21-30 21-27 72.
Eminence (56):
Ringler 18, Holley 11 Martin 7, Bredlow 5, Smith 5, Hammett 4, Decker 2, Brock 0. Totals 26-55 2-9 56.
Assists
CHS (9), EHS (7). Rebounds (OFF) CHS 28(9), EHS 28(4). Steals CHS 7, EHS 7. Turnovers CHS 14, EHS 17. 3-pt (M-ATT) CHS 3-15, EHS 4-12.

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