By Garth Shanklin
Sports Editor
The Clinton-Massie Falcons boys’ basketball team got a bit of revenge for the Falcons’ football team on Friday, Jan. 5.
After falling to Goshen on a last-second field goal in the regular season, the Falcons defeated the Goshen boys’ basketball team on a last-second layup 65-63.
“We knew that was going to be a tough game from the start,” Goshen head coach Brandon Baker said. “Even after the start we got off to. That’s what they do, they’ve won close this year. They’ve been down double-digits and roared back, that’s what they did on Wednesday against Miami Trace. We knew Myers would be a problem, he’s a really good player. He’s a big, strong kid who made some plays down the stretch.”
Goshen got of to a blazing start in the first quarter, out-scoring the Falcons 30-11 on the strength of five three-point baskets, two by Kyle Proffitt and Tony Moore with Sebastian Kollmorgan adding the fifth.
However, Goshen’s offense went ice-cold in the second quarter, scoring just one field goal. Sebastian Abshire connected on all four of his free-throw shots for Goshen, who held a 36-34 lead at halftime as Clinton-Massie roared back.
Trey Ueterecht took over the third quarter for Clinton-Massie, scoring nine of the Falcons’ 19 points to put Clinton-Massie ahead 53-49 entering the final quarter.
Goshen answered to start the fourth quarter, and after a pair of Deonte Bailey free-throws, the Warriors led 56-55 with 5:14 left.
The Falcons went on a run of their own, scoring the next six points to take a 61-56 lead with 2:55 on the clock.
Tony Moore took over from here for Goshen. Moore hit a jump shot, then a three pointer to tie the game. He then stole a Falcon pass and scored to put Goshen ahead 63-61 with 1:34 remaining in the game.
Uetrecht hit a basket to tie the game with 1:26 left, then another to take the lead with 29.7 seconds left.
Goshen got the ball back, and drew up one final play. The Warriors didn’t execute the play well enough, and the team’s three-point try was no good. Baker said the team would have to work on executing plays like that in the future, as players who were on the team last year weren’t in the same roles as before.
“We were looking for a cross screen into a down screen to get a three at the top of the key,” Baker said. “We did a bad job handling the last eight seconds. That’s just something to work on. One thing about this group, we have a lot of guys in a lot of different roles this year. While they may have been in the game, the ball might not necessarily have been in their hands.”
Victor Hill finished the game as Goshen’s leading scorer with 15 points. Proffitt and Moore added 13 points. Thomas Myers finished as Clinton-Massie’s leading scorer with 25 points and nine rebounds. Uetrecht finished with 19 points and seven boards, and Drew Sttlemyre added 12 points and six rebounds.
‘Their height was really good,” Baker said. “Meyers was a really tough player, he did a really good job absorbing contact and sealing. He’s not just a post player, he can drive and he can handle it. I thought we did a good job slowing him down, especially in the first half.”
Baker added that the team needed to work on bringing a consistently high level of energy throughout the game.
“One of the biggest things about our game plan is bringing energy,” Baker said. “We have to have all five guys flying around in unison. When we do that, we can force the other team into making a mistake. When we drop down from 110 percent to 98, which most people are fine with, we’re not as good. We have to fly around 100 percent the entire game.”
Goshen returns to the court for a home game against Wilmington on Friday, Jan. 12. The team then heads out on a four-game road trip, starting with a contest at Georgetown on Jan. 16.