Clinton hoops drop pair of tie-breakers
Both the Clinton boys’ and girls’ basketball teams played an extra game Thursday night to break a pair of ties in the Region 3-3A standings, with both Clinton teams coming up on the short end of the stick.
Newberry scored the first 10 points of the second half to pull away from Clinton and pick up a 72-60 victory to win the region championship play-off game at Woodruff High. As a result, the fourth-ranked Newberry squad will open the state tournament Tuesday as a No. 1 seed. Clinton, ranked eighth in the state, will be a No. 2 seed and open with a home game against an opponent to be determined.
Clinton finishes the regular season 16-9.
The Clinton girls’ basketball team will open the Class 3A State Tournament Monday night on the road after a 46-40 loss to the Chapman Panthers. The loss dropped Clinton to fourth place in the region, while Chapman finished in third place.
Clinton’s first-round opponent will also be announced when the pairings are released this weekend.
Clinton rallied from down as many as 11 points in the game and closed within a point, 38-37, on a layup from DeShanti Watts, but the Panthers rallied back with six straight points before getting a late 3-pointer from Kailey Cheeks.
