Thursday, January 19, 2017

Ryan McClellan's Breakaway Sparks Second Half Rout

It took the Tigers a whole half to realize they were a much better team than Albany, but they finally pulled away in the second half to win 64-36 Tuesday night. The key play happened at the end of the first half. Albany was lined up for a 1-1 with Worth County up 22-17. Two makes would have cut Worth County's lead to one possession, but the first try went astray and Ryan McClellan grabbed the ensuing board and was off to the races. His coast to coast shot over a Warrior defender was good at the buzzer and Worth County was up 24-17 at the half with all the momentum on its side.

Before, the Tigers struggled at times against the much smaller Albany squad. Drake Kinsella looked to have a big night at first, scoring six quick points against the smaller Albany squad, but he picked up two quick fouls and had to sit. Albany came back to lead 13-11 with 7:42 left in the second off Dylan Arthur's free throw before Tevin Cameron came off the bench to spark the Tigers with a 3-pointer. Drake Kinsella came back in, played smart, and didn't pick up another foul as the Tigers were able to regain the lead before the half.

Albany kept things close for a while in the third quarter. Tom Sagun's steal and drive made it 31-26 with 4:18 left. But like the girls game, Albany flat-out wore down as the game progressed. Cade Allee countered with an inside shot opened up by a Mason Hawk drive. Drake Kinsella jumped a pass for two free throws, Cade Allee hit a baseline triple off a Jacob New pass, Drake Kinsella scored in transition off a pass from Mason Hawk, and Jacob New scored a backdoor look off another pass from Hawk to make it 42-26 with 1:36 left in the third.

Tom Sagun hit a 3-pointer to draw the Warriors back to within 48-34 with 6:22 left in the fourth, but Cade Allee got the hot hand for the Tigers after that, getting six points and assisting on another as the Tigers scored the next eight to make it 56-34 with 3:53 left in the game, putting it out of reach. Tanner Parman came off the bench to score a driving scoop for his first career points as a Tiger.

Drake Kinsella led the Tigers with 18 points. Cade Allee had 17, Mason Hawk and Ryan McClellan had 8, Tevin Cameron had 7, and Jacob New, Jaxon Anderson, and Tanner Parman had 2 each.

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