Holiday tourney ends in a bang

Jan. 3—The final round of the inaugural Chasity Melvin Holiday tournament was electric, though the Leopards (her alma mater) didn't make the championship round, they played fiercely in the consolation rounds with them taking down Wallace for the girls and the boys fell to Clinton. Both games were decided by a point with 40-39 and 54-53, respectively. The Lady Horses were able to snatch the first trophy of the tournament by a decent margin, beating down the Lady Titans, 57-24.

Lakewood vs Wallace Rose-Hill

Lakewood came out out hot to begin the round and dumped buckets on Wallace. The entire opening quarter the Lady Leopards mauled the Bulldogs relentlessly as they ran ahead 12-2. Wallace managed to put more up on them to close the gap, but the home team held the advantage at 16-9.

They both kept up the pressure while they struggled to score on each other. The Bulldogs were able to sink a three and the Leopards made five points of their own. From here the game ran into a lull with the teams just running back and forth. Layups rolled out of the basket, shots ricocheted off the rim and drives to the paint ended in stumbling. This carried on for a good portion of the game until Lakewood's Karizma Freeman hit a deep three to break the scoring drought. Wallace would grab a free point and this would finish out the quarter with Lakewood still leading, 21-13.

The second half was a physical bout with both teams stepping up their game and fighting hard for victory. Lakewood found themselves falling back as Wallace rallied eight points at the Leopards expense. Being held to just a pair of points, the Lady Bulldogs were able to tie it up as Lakewood couldn't fend them off. They would eventually take the lead after a botched throw in from the Leopards and the game took a sharp turn. The quarter would end in a 26 all tie with Lakewood looking to take the win in the fourth.

Lakewood kept them in their sights and the hard nosed affair continued. They battled back and forth for the remainder of the game with neither able to runaway with the contest. Lashawnta Joyner of Lakewood made two clutch three pointers to keep Wallace at bay and within reach. It was down to the wire with less than a minute left in the game with the Leopards hold a three point lead. Another poor pass resulted in Wallace to shave that lead to one after a the steal and breakaway layup, but Lakewood held the line. A shooting foul with five seconds left, gave the Bulldogs the opportunity to win the game but both shots went flat and Lakewood escaped with the win, 40-39.

Clinton v Lakewood

These fierce rivals were set to face off once again after their last heated contest just a couple of weeks prior. The opening quarter saw the Horses come out hot and trampled the Leopards. Lakewood couldn't keep up and Clinton pummeled them 18-10 in the first quarter.

Entering the second, the Leopards were a different team. The paint became a dangerous place to drive in with the lane crowded and fiercely defended with multiple athletes taking hard falls when they went for it. Walker Spell was a menace to the Leopards as his sticky fingers and clutch shooting put Lakewood on their heels. Walking into halftime, the game was shaping up to be a blowout at 25-14 with Clinton leading.

After the break, Lakewood upped their game and closed the gap to five after being down eleven at halftime. Clinton's Gregory Coxum and N'Darion Blackwell kept the Leopards out of the basket the best they could with multiple blocks at the rim. This didn't deter them with Juan Parker Jr. recovering a block and swinging it out to Dashaun Carr for a mid-ranger shot. The fight was fierce and after the dust settled Clinton still held the five point lead, 44-39.

Three minutes into the final quarter only four points had been made for both teams, a jumper from Clinton's Blackwell and a putback in traffic from Leopard Kristofer Robinson. Cameron Williams came back into the game and bullied his way into the paint and put up four points quickly before he fouled out almost as soon as he entered. Parker Jr. would follow shortly after and be fouled out as well. The Leopards kicked up their play and shutdown the Clinton advance but struggled to stay on task. The Dark Horses kept up the pressure and Lakewood was stuck in a valley of mistakes, including back to back possessions being hurled out of bounds on a throw in. Spell would sink a momentum killing three had everyone thinking this was the end with less than a minute remaining. Lakewood fought back and brought it down to just one point, but it was to no avail as Clinton held the line and snatched the win by a solitary point, 54-53.

Clinton v Heide Trask (title match)

The Lady Dark Horses disposed of the Heide Trask Titans in a convincing manner. Nothing they did worked as Clinton punished Trask for their miscues and errors, taking the free points they were given by their poor play. The first quarter ended with Clinton holding an eight point advantage, 14-6.

It wasn't much better for Trask in the second, though they had managed to add 10, the Lady Horses were consistently dominating them on the court. Everything went the Horses way as shots dropped and passes were clean with the Titans chasing their tails trying to keep up with Clinton. At the halftime, the Lady Horses were up, 29-16.

The final two quarters Trask was held to a measly eight points. The Lady Titans were powerless to stop the stampede that had been dominating them all game. With no where to go, they just sat helpless to impede the damage Clinton was doing. Up and down the court they went and Trask couldn't put anything together to shunt the beating they were taking. By the game's end, Clinton took the trophy after their dominating performance over the Heide Trask Titans, 57-24.

Clinton had stolen the ball 37 times in this game with 39 rebounds keeping the opposition from starting anything and keeping second chance shots to a minimum. Ciara Stuart was named Tournament MVP for her performance.

In the final match, Topsail would escape South Lenoir in a close one for the title, taking down the Blue Devils, 54-52, taking the inaugural trophy back to their home.

Reach Anthony McConnaughey at amcconnaughey@clintonnc.com, X @SportsSampson and the Sampson Independent Facebook page