By Michael Lindsay
Clarkrange and Oneida met on the hardwood Thursday evening as the teams split their non-district showdowns. The Lady Buffaloes opened the evening with a 73-58 victory followed by Oneida’s boys winning 76-58.
Girls
The Clarkrange Lady Buffaloes got back in the win column Thursday afternoon as they defeated visiting Oneida, 73-58.
“It was a really good game and we had to earn it,” said Clarkrange head coach Lamar Rogers. “They have a very good basketball team with a lot of length and they’re a little quicker than us. We handled their pressure pretty good.”
Lady Buffalo forward Kady Hopkins posted 28 points and 8 rebounds in her team’s non-district victory over the Lady Indians. Point guard Lydia Phillips scored 16 points along with 10 by Macie Threet.
“Kady set the tone offensively,” Rogers said. “If she plays like that, we’re going to be hard to beat. We played her inside; she likes to drift out, but we kept her in there and she’s tough to handle. Lydia Phillips handled the pressure well and Macie Threet is doing a really good job for us.”
Oneida held a 6-5 lead early in the first quarter before the Lady Buffaloes stormed back to take a 13-8 lead late in the first period.
Clarkrange held a 17-15 advantage after one quarter and pushed their lead out to 11 points (28-17) via a Phillips basket off a Hopkins offensive rebound with 6:01 left in the second quarter.
A Hopkins basket gave Clarkrange a 30-19 lead with 4:50 left until halftime, but Oneida wasn’t going away quietly as the Lady Indians answered with an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to cut their deficit to 30-27.
A pair of Hopkins baskets stopped the bleeding as Clarkrange went ahead 34-27 before taking a 37-29 lead into halftime.
Clarkrange pushed their lead out to double digits midway through the third quarter (47-36) via a Hopkins putback before taking a 52-41 lead to end the period.
The Lady Indians never came closer than 8 points in the second half as Clarkrange held them off in the fourth quarter to win by a 73-58 final score.
The Lady Buffaloes improve to 2-2 overall and host Livingston Academy on Friday.
Clarkrange (73): Kady Hopkins 28, Lydia Phillips 16, Macie Threet 10, Chloe Rogers 7, Sophia Sitton 7, Payton Manis 5
Boys
A strong fourth quarter by Oneida was too much for the Clarkrange Buffaloes as they fell to the Indians Thursday night, 76-58.
Four Buffaloes hit double figures as Lane Byrd led with 17 points, followed by Jack Cordell with 14 while Kris Beaty and Bryton Swallows posted 10 points each.
A Byrd layup late in the first quarter gave the Buffaloes a 15-8 lead over Oneida before the Indians scored four points in the final 30 seconds of the frame to narrow Clarkrange’s lead to 15-12 at the end of the first quarter.
Byrd kept his hot start going in the second quarter as a three-pointer put his team ahead 27-20 with 4:50 remaining in the second quarter. Oneida battled back over the final four minutes of the first half to take a 32-30 lead at halftime.
The Indians pushed their lead to 7 points (39-32) early in the third quarter before Clarkrange answered with a 10-2 run to take a 42-41 lead via a Byrd jumper with 1:33 remaining in the frame. Oneida retook the lead late in the period to hold a 47-44 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The final frame belonged to the Indians as they outscored Clarkrange 29-14 in the fourth en route to a 76-58 victory over the Buffaloes.
Clarkrange is back in action on Friday, Dec. 1 as they host Livingston Academy.
Clarkrange (58): Lane Byrd 17, Jack Cordell 14, Kris Beaty 10, Bryton Swallows 10, Justus Durham 5, Bo Ramsey 2
