Clovers keep rolling with sixth straight victory

CLOVERDALE - The Clovers trailed Delphi 39-34 at halftime, but dominated the second half to defeat the Oracles 73-60 on Saturday night and pick up their sixth straight win and the 13th in their last 15 games.

Jalen Moore, the state’s leading scorer, paced the Clovers with 43 points – hitting 15 of 28 field goals and 9 of 10 free throws. He was 4 of 11 from 3-point range.

The Clovers led 24-23 at the first stop, but Delphi - coached by Cloverdale graduate and former player Brian McCammon - poured in 16 second-period points to assume the five-point halftime lead.

Cloverdale won the third period by a 22-10 margin to take a 56-49 lead into the final period.

“Our offense was efficient,” Cloverdale coach Patrick Rady said. “We had good ball movement and shot extremely well from the 3-point line.”

While Moore is normally the leading scorer for the Clovers, Rady is pleased to see different players stepping up offensively each night.

“Friday night it was Nick Winders, Nolan Kelley and Jake Wilkes,” he said. “On Saturday it was Wilkes and Parker Watts. Earlier in the week, Jake Kelley had a good night.”

The Clovers were able to win despite being outrebounded 29-16, with the Oracles grabbing a potentially lethal total of 14 offensive boards.

“Their length caused us of some problems on the defensive end, as they hurt us on the offensive glass,” Rady said. “In the first half, we didn't get out to shooters quick enough and they hit some big shots. In the second half, our defensive intensity picked up and that became the difference in the game.”

The Clovers will play at Class 3A No. 6-ranked Danville on Saturday afternoon.

DELPHI (60) – Waters 2-5 2-2 7, Tomson 6-11 0-0 16, Carroll 2-6 2-2 6, Corbin 1-2 1-2 3, Murray 6-14 5-6 19, Townsend 4-5 0-0 9. Totals 21-43 FG, 10-12 FT, 73 TP.

CLOVERDALE (73) – N.Kelley 2-3 0-0 6, Winders 0-1 0-0 0, Watts 5-10 0-0 14, Miller 1-1 0-0 2, Wilkes 3-7 0-0 8, J.Kelley 0-4 0-0 0, Moore 15-28 9-10 43. Totals 26-54 FG, 9-10 FT, 73 TP

Delphi 23 16 10 11 - 60

Cloverdale 24 10 22 17 – 73

3-point shooting – Cloverdale 12-32 (N.Kelley 2-3, Winders 0-1, Watts 4-8, Wilkes 2-6, J.Kelley 0-3, Moore 4-11), Delphi 8-17 (Waters 1-3, Tomson 4-6, Murray 2-6, Townsend 1-2). Rebounds – Delphi 29 (Tomson 8), Cloverdale 16 (Winders 5). Turnovers – Delphi 16, Cloverdale 4. Assists – Delphi 14 (Waters 8), Cloverdale 11 (N.Kelley, Moore, Winders 3). Steals – Cloverdale 8 (Winders, Wilkes 2 each), Delphi 3 (Waters 2).