Wednesday, Feb. 01, 2012

Comet boys hold off Southeast

Gary Clark knows more than one way to impact a basketball game.

Clark had 14 points with only two field goals, instead adding his offense at the free throw line, where he was 10 of 13. It was his rebounding (19 overall) and the effort of he and his teammates on the defensive end that carried Clayton's boys' basketball team past Southeast Raleigh 45-41 in a Greater Neuse River 4-A Conference game Friday night.

"Southeast gets after it defensively, and we are good defensively at times, so it definitely was a defensive struggle,." said Clayton coach Denny Medlin, whose squad improved to 7-3 in the conference and 13-5 overall. "I thought the story of the game was our defensive rebounding. We gave them just one shot most of the time, one opportunity, and that was it."

Clayton scored the first eight points - five of them by Adonis Banks, a basket by Anthony Gaskins and a free throw by Clark - and held a 14-6 lead after the first period.

The Comets were able to build their lead in the second quarter as Clark went 4-for-4 from the foul line and Gaskins and Banks provided baskets. The Bulldogs trailed by 12 before a 3-pointer by Leander Ashe and a bucket by Derrick Snipes pulled the visitors within seven, 22-15, at halftime.

Southeast used its aggressive defense to pull closer in the third period. After a Banks basket made it 27-20, the Bulldogs tallied 10 of the next 14 points over a five-minute span to cut it to one. David Washington had five points and Snipes and Ashe each added a 3-pointer.

Clark's follow shot just before the buzzer gave Clayton a 33-30 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Washington's old-fashioned three-point play cut Clayton's lead to one, 36-35, with 4:40 remaining, but Gaskins' basket stretched the lead to four, and Clark's three-point play on a nice pass from Gaskins made it 42-35 with 2:37 left.

The closest Southeast Raleigh would get was four points (43-39) with 1:15 left, and Clayton tried to make it interesting by making just two of its final six free throws. But Banks came up with a key block and the Bulldogs missed a layup that would have cut the deficit to two.

"A low scoring game like that might not be what everyone wants to watch, but this was a tough conference win against a tough team," Medlin said. "Southeast always plays some of the best man-to-man defense in the area. We tried to run our man offense, but they like to take you out of what you like to do and you have to be strong with the ball and have to move without the ball well."

Gaskins also had 14 points for Clayton, while Banks added nine.

Washington paced Southeast with 14 points.