Clinton girls drop 2nd game of season as Emerald rolls
The Clinton girls’ basketball team lost just its second game of the season Tuesday night as it could not slow down Quadijah Moore and the Emerald Vikings, losing 70-29 in Clinton.
The teams both entered the game ranked in the top 10 in the SCBCA Class 3A polls, with Clinton at No. 2 and Emerald at No. 8. The Vikings, however, put away a short-handed Clinton team that was without De’Shanti Watts (ankle), when they outscored the Red Devils 20-4 over a span of nearly 6 minutes in the second quarter. That turned a two-point lead into a 33-15 margin, and from there the Vikings were on cruise control.
Moore was very strong for the Vikings, especially in the low post. The senior scored a game-high 24 points to lead three players in double figures. As for Clinton, Terriauna Bennett led the team with nine points.
Clinton hosts Woodruff, ranked No. 3 in the most-recent polling, Friday night.
CHS boys: J.D. Payne scored 23 points, including a go-ahead free throw with 1.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and the Red Devils dodged what would’ve been a difficult loss as they held off the Vikings, 62-61.
Clinton led earlier in the fourth quarter by 13 points before the Vikings turned up the offense, eventually tying the score at 61-all on a basket by Jamil Martin. Payne, after a timeout with 3 seconds to go, was fouled and set to the line, where he made the first and missed the second.
Emerald did not get off a last-second shot as time ran out.
Konnor Richardson had 13 points and Amari Bates added 11 for Clinton.
LDHS: The Raiders were on the receiving end of a doubleheader sweep in Anderson Tuesday, losing both games against Hanna. The girls suffered a 66-28 loss against the No. 10-ranked Yellow Jackets, while the boys lost 87-71 in their game.
The Laurens girls trailed 19-5 after the first quarter and could not recover. Laurens got a game-best five points from Qua Fortson, Raniya Jackson and Asia Davis.
In the boys’ game, Laurens led 44-39 at the half before the Yellow Jackets turned the game around in the third quarter – outscoring Laurens 28-11 – to build a 12-point lead. Christian Anderson led Laurens with 25 points, while Dee Foster had 20. Jordan Woodruff also had 12.
LA: The Laurens Academy girls rolled past Anderson Christian School, shutting the Lions out over the first half and rolling to a 62-5 decision.
LA was up 37-0 at the half and cruised to the finish, led by 19 points from Ruthie Moore and 12 points from Jennifer Wu. Emily Abercrombie added 10 points.
LA’s boys also picked up a big victory, rallying back from as much as 16 points down to win 54-44. Noah Moore had 22 points and passed the 1,000-point mark for his career in the victory. Dawson Foster added 17 points.
PC women: The Presbyterian College women’s basketball team faltered at the Templeton Center Tuesday, suffering a 66-58 loss to Gardner-Webb.
Salina Virola had a double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds) and Kacie Hll added 18 points, but PC went 3-for-11 from 3-point range and gave up 24 points off 23 turnovers in the loss.
