Wednesday, Feb. 01, 2012

Clayton girls hand Southeast first league loss

Bulldogs' get 1st conference loss

Clayton girls' basketball coach Marlon Lee loves to push the tempo. But after a loss to Southeast Raleigh in December, he knew he had to change his rematch strategy.

The Comets slowed the pace, used pressure defense to force turnovers and rallied for a 34-31 Greater Neuse River 4-A Conference victory at home Friday night - handing the Bulldogs (9-1, 15-3) their first league defeat.

"This was the strategy I used after we fell behind in the first game," Lee said after the Comets improved to 6-4 in conference play and 12-4 overall after their fifth league win in its last six games. "We wanted to slow the game down, stay out of foul trouble and stay fresh so we could win it in the fourth quarter. We used our pressure and trap to get back into the game. All I wanted to do was have it close in the fourth quarter."

Southeast raced to a 10-2 lead in the first quarter behind Kaliesha Moore, Tiffany McCarter, Amber Richardson and Amara Bell. Clayton didn't even attempt its first shot until the 5:42 mark and made just one of nine field goal attempts in the first eight minutes.

"We weren't really looking to score," Lee said. "What I tried to get them to understand was to slow the game down, which is totally against what we normally like to do. T.T. (Latesha Williams) and Vernessa (Hinnant) didn't really grasp it. We didn't want to take that many shots. But we stayed out of foul trouble; we were able to rest, too."

Though falling behind wasn't part of the plan, the Comets rallied with help from their trapping defense. Jenna Harris buried a 3-pointer that tied it at 10 with 5:43 remaining in the first half. A free throw by Jasmine Dixon put Clayton ahead 13-12 at the break.

Southeast Raleigh started quickly in the third quarter, getting six points from Bell, 3s from Alexus Hicks and Chelsea Floyd and four free throws from Moore to take a 29-24 lead entering the final quarter.

"Even when we fell behind, I kept telling the girls to stick to the plan," Lee said. "Southeast has athletes and they were just putting bodies in there. We don't have that depth so we can't do that."

Hinnant's follow shot brought Clayton within three (29-26) just 24 seconds into the fourth quarter. Two free throws by Dixon made it 29-28 with 4:17 left.

Southeast then scored its only points of the quarter on a basket by Bell with 3:17 left, giving the Bulldogs a 31-28 advantage. But Southeast didn't score again.

The ball-handling of point guard Williams let the Comets draw some fouls and get to the foul line. Williams made two at the charity stripe, followed by one from Hinnant, to tie the score at 31-all with 2:26 remaining.

Then, Clayton's defense came to the forefront. Harris knocked the ball out of Hicks' hands straight to Hinnant, who found Williams down the sideline for a layup that gave the Comets the lead for good, 33-31, with 1:50 left.

The Bulldogs apparently had tied the score on a basket by Moore, but the official ruled that Hinnant had position underneath and the charging foul nullified the basket at 1:28. After missing two free throws, Clayton came through defensively again when Hinnant stole a pass and was fouled with 14.7 seconds left. She made one of two for a three-point margin, and Hicks' 3-pointer clanged off the rim and out of bounds as time expired.

Southeast coach Nicole Meyers said playing the night before - a victory over Knightdale - didn't factor in the loss to Clayton.

"We knew that Clayton's pressure was coming," she said. "I think we lost our composure. The people we expected to keep their composure didn't, and that was all game long. Playing last night had nothing to do with it because we are a well-conditioned team; we run as much as any team in the state. It was the mental lapses that cost us tonight."

Hinnant led Clayton with 17 points while Williams added eight. And by slowing the pace, the Comets only had nine fouls (Southeast had 20) and no Clayton player had more than three.

Southeast was led by 10 points from Bell and eight from Moore.