Clarkton comes back for sectional win over Richland

MOUNTAIN VIEW – The Clarkton Reindeer dug themselves out of a double digit halftime deficit to defeat Richland 47-44 in the Class 1 State Sectional 1 Monday at Liberty High School in Mountain View.

“I have to brag on my guys,” Clarkton coach Cole McBroom said. “They could have folded up and felt sorry for themselves, but they didn’t. They locked down and defended the best they could and caused some turnovers. They found a way to come back and win it, so I’m proud of my guys. There’s no quit in them.”

Clarkton (17-12) won the Class 1 District 1 championship with a 48-46 upset over first-seeded Delta C-7 while Richland (14-14) claimed the team’s first district title in 21 years with a 71-66 win over Delta.

While Clarkton secured the district championship last year as well, they fell in the sectionals round last season. Now, the Reindeer will advance to play either South Iron or Chadwick in the Class 1 State Quarterfinals at 6 p.m., on March 3 at Van Buren High School.

“I’d really like to point out the turnaround Richland has had this year and the youth they have,” McBroom said. “Coach Cline has a ton to offer that program and we were able to get a win over a good team. We are thankful to still be in this thing.”

To start a contest of rattled nerves and fiercely contentious defense, Richland’s Jacob Walley put in a layup that took the Rebels to a 9-2 lead. They eventually led 11-2 ending the first quarter with the second quarter following closely.

Clarkton was held to just two points in the first quarter and six in the second, but even down 21-8 at halftime, the Reindeer managed to rally and even the boards in the second half.

“We only scored two points in the first quarter and eight points in the first half,” McBroom said. “A lot of people would say ‘what a bad offensive start,’ but we got a ton of good looks – some open three’s, run out layups, but I think we had some nerves and we missed some wide open shots.”

Clarkton’s Clayton Godsey scored a layup with five minutes remaining in the third quarter while the Reindeer were still down 27-10. It was the very start of a hard-fought run to narrow the gap.

Clarkton’s Owen Morgan put up back to back layups to push the Reindeer past 10 points, but they still trailed 31-20 ending the third quarter after both teams added an additional 12 points to their totals.

Clarkton’s James Johnson scored a layup to bring the score within three points, then Morgan sank the three-pointer needed to tie at 37-37. While the Reindeer went into a full court press, the battle was on and “scoring was at a premium,” according to McBroom.

It wouldn’t last, though, and the score flipped again before a jump shot just inside the arc by Morgan gave the Reindeer the edge again. Richland’s Hunter Sanders scored a three-pointer bringing their deficit to just one point right before Morgan took two trips to the free throw line.

“It certainly helped that Owen Morgan had 21 points in the fourth quarter and got just stupid hot,” McBroom said. “He got unbelievably hot, which he has the ability to do.”

As the Rebels failed to fire off the three-point shot needed to drag the game into overtime, the Reindeer won their matchup on the road to the state championship.

Owen Morgan put up 29 points for Clarkton, 21 of those coming in the fourth quarter. James Johnson added eight, both Bryant Redden and Clayton Godsey scored four, and Amauri Gorman scored two.

Eric Williams led Richland with 16 points. Hunter Sanders added 11, Jaden Pope scored 10, Damon Ivy scored four and Jacob Walley scored three.

Clarkton will have three days to practice before their quarterfinal matchup, and McBroom said he’s sure that “there’s going to be a lot of excitement around the school this week.”