Fresh off stealing six against Albany, Ryan McClellan stole eight against Maysville as Worth County continued its winning ways, getting a 61-53 win over the Wolverines. The reason Worth County has been able to win games all of a sudden is their defense; they have held opponents to 47, 57, 35, 44, 34, and 53 during the streak. The emergence of Ryan McClellan has been another; he has taken his game to another level after putting on a few inches since last year. The third reason is the play of Isaac Alarcon; he put up a career high 16 points Monday night against Maysville. His point production has gone up during the streak; he put up 13 against Nodaway-Holt, 9 against Albany, and got a game-winning steal against the Warriors to jump-start the streak as well.
While he is more known for getting steals, it was Ryan's legs which provided the key turning point in the game. Worth County was up 52-49 late in the fourth, but Maysville was going in for a fast break. But Ryan McClellan of all people altered the shot. Maysville got the ball back, but then Ben Badell knocked the ball loose after a scramble and Cade Allee picked up the loose ball and got it to Drake Simmons for a layup to create a four point swing. Instead of 52-51, Worth County was up 54-49. Then, Maysville rushed the ball right back up the floor and had a good transition look, but inexplicably, the coach called a timeout. They hit a tough shot coming out, but the break seemed to benefit Worth County as they took it right back down the floor and Ryan McClellan hit Cade Allee inside to make it 56-51.
Maysville made another mistake on its next possession. Worth County got a stop and Drake Simmons got a perfect boxout and defensive board when one of the Wolverine players went over his back and collected a foul, 70 feet from the basket. Simmons knocked down the free throws; thanks to the gift foul, they were up three possessions at 58-51. The Wolverines hit two free throws on their next possession, but then they had to start fouling with the clock running down to a minute and Simmons hit three out of four free throws down the stretch to preserve the win for Worth County. He had 10 points in the final quarter to carry the Tigers.
It looked like a clinic at first for Worth County in the first quarter. Ryan McClellan scored four points off a drive and a steal, Isaac Alarcon made some unbelievable plays on his way to eight points in the period as he was outjumping, outmuscling, and outworking the taller Maysville players. Mason Hawk also added four points. Worth County led 20-14 and added to it when Ben Badell pushed one ahead to Isaac Alarcon for a layup to make it 22-14 to start the second quarter, but then Worth County had one of those defensive lapses that can let a team right back in the game. Nobody got back on defense and Maysville got an easy layup on them to get the points right back. Sure enough, Maysville began chipping away at the lead and getting on the line; by halftime, Maysville had erased Worth County's lead and went up 28-27.
It looked like a game between the two squads from two years ago on the same court as Maysville went on a 7-2 run to start the third and go up 36-29. Two years ago, Worth County had let a promising start slip away as Maysville came back and won by four. But Worth County came back by getting on the line and changing the tempo of the game to a much faster pace; the chaotic pace helped Worth County get back in. Isaac Alarcon was outworking and outmuscling people, Ben Badell added a 3-point, play, and Mason Hawk added a couple of free throws as Worth County closed to within one at 39-38. Finally, Isaac Alarcon channeled Ryan McClellan and stripped one of the Maysville guards and went in for a layup to make it 40-39.
Maysville scored off an inbounds play to move back in front, but Mason Hawk's putback and Caleb Parman's free throws gave Worth County a 44-41 lead after three, a lead it would not relinquish.
Isaac Alarcon had 16 points and Drake Simmons had 12 for the Tigers. The two freshmen combined for almost half of Worth County's points. Mason Hawk had 8, Caleb Parman, Ben Badell, and Cade Allee all had 5, Ryan McClellan and Brevyn Ross had 4, and Drake Kinsella had 2. Drake Kinsella had 4 assists, Isaac Alarcon and Ryan McClellan had 3, Ben Badell and Brevyn Ross had 2, and Cade Allee had 1. Mason Hawk had 3 rejections; Drake Kinsella had 2, Cade Allee had 1, and Isaac Alarcon 1, a monster stuff that went into the stage. Ryan McClellan had 8 steals while Isaac Alarcon had 3, Cade Allee and Drake Kinsella 2, and Mason Hawk 1.
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