Recommend This StoryNarrowed margin: Eagles still win rematch
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By Brad Fauber - sports@nvdaily.com
WOODSTOCK -- Clarke County knew much had changed since it last faced off with Central on Dec. 13 in a game that the Eagles won by 26 points.
That game in mid-December was played on Clarke County's home court, and the Eagles expected a much tougher challenge the second time around as they hit the road for round two against the Falcons on Wednesday.
The Eagles got just what they expected as Central pushed them to the brink, but Clarke County was able to ride a pair of solid offensive performances from Ethan Emmart and Todd Benton to escape with a 75-70 win.
"We knew Central would be tough in their gym," Emmart said. "We kind of beat them up at our place -- we knew on their home court it would be a dogfight. We knew we just needed to come out and execute."
Much of the Eagles' offensive execution came from the lethal combination of Emmart and Benton, as the tandem combined to score 46 of Clarke County's 75 points.
Benton, who finished with 20 points, provided the direct assault for the Eagles, gashing his way through the Falcons' defense and knocking down tough buckets in the paint.
Emmart played the role of sharpshooter, hitting six 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 26 points, and finished with a 10-for-18 (55.5 percent) mark from the floor.
The Falcons counteracted Clarke County's two-headed monster with a strong one-two punch of their own as Hayden Bauserman (22 points) and Travis Cooper (21 points) kept Central in stride with the Eagles the entire night. Both teams shot over 50 percent for the game, with the Eagles (53.7 percent) holding a slight edge over Central (50.9 percent).
Central (4-12, 2-6 Bull Run) jumped out to a 24-16 first-quarter lead behind 11 points from Cooper, who shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor in the opening period. Clarke County (10-5, 6-2) tied the game with 5:50 left in the second period on a basket inside from Benton and a back-and-forth battle ensued, with the Falcons holding a narrow 39-38 lead at halftime.
"I thought we played two good halves -- we just made a few more mistakes than [Clarke County] did," Falcons coach Mickey Clinedinst said. "We are getting collectively better, and I hope by the next couple weeks we continue to get better. And when tournament time rolls around, that's when I hope we're clicking."
The shootout continued in the second half as neither team could gather a lead larger than five points, and a trey from Bauserman tied the game at 54-all entering the final period.
But, luckily for Clarke County, the combination of Emmart and Benton had a little more life left in it. Emmart scored eight straight points for the Eagles midway through the fourth, and his 3-pointer with 4:16 to play gave the Eagles a 64-63 lead. Benton added a baseline layup to push the lead to five with 3:07 to play.
Central was forced to begin fouling with a minute remaining, sending Clarke County's Davey Hardesty to line four straight times. Hardesty hit just 4 of 8 from the line, and Bauserman nailed a trey with 17 seconds remaining to pull the Falcons within two.
But Central was called for an intentional foul on the ensuing possession, and Benton knocked down two free throws with 10 seconds remaining to seal the Eagles' win.
"It was nip and tuck, a two-possession game -- the intentional foul was a big call," Eagles coach Brent Emmart said. "[Central] played hard, we just made two or three more plays than they did."
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