Lynchburg no match for Fayetteville in 68-45 home loss

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DODSONVILLE – The Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs hosted the Fayetteville Rockets on Friday in a Southern Hills Athletic Conference (SHAC) boys varsity basketball matchup. The Rockets proved to much for the Mustangs as they won going away by a final score of 68-45.

Both teams struggled to find the bottom of the net in the opening minutes of the game and combined to miss five consecutive shots before Lynchburg’s David Giordano netted a three to give LC their only lead of the night.

Fayetteville answered with a 13-0 run over the ensuing three minutes of game action to take a 13-3 lead and forced Lynchburg Head Coach Matt Carson to call a timeout with 3:11 to go in the first.

Following the timeout the Mustangs found a rhythm and finished the first quarter of play with an 11-1 run that was capped by a buzzer beating three pointer by Noah Miller to tie the game at 14 heading into the second.

The Rockets opened the second quarter with an 11-0 run and took commanding 25-14 lead before Lynchburg’s Blake Marcelino broke the seal for the Mustangs and Damin Pierson recorded back to back baskets to get the Mustangs within five points at 25-20.

However it was not enough to keep the Mustangs in the game as Fayetteville scored six of the final eight points of the half and took a 30-22 lead into the locker room.

Fayetteville continued its strong play in the second half and started the third quarter with a 13-3 run the essentially sealed the game as the led 48-33 at the end of three quarters and dropped 20 more points in the final frame while limiting the Mustangs to 13 to provide the final 68-45 score.

The Mustangs really struggled on the boards against the Rockets and coach Carson knew coming into the game that Fayetteville would have a size advantage.

“We knew their height coming in was going to hurt us. We didn’t box out consistently tonight,” said Carson. “They sped us up in the third quarter and then got us out of the range where we could still effectively play our zone and forced us to go to man….Their length really hurt us in that zone. Credit coach Isles he had a good game plan coming in and was able to take advantage of their height out there.”

Lynchburg-Clay will be back in action today when they host the Western Brown Broncos as part of a full day of boys and girls basketball at Lynchburg-Clay High School.

Score by quarters

LCHS 14-8-11-12

FHS 14-16-18-20

Lynchburg-Clay: Pierson 5-2/3-12; Miller 4(1)-3/4-14; Marcelino 3-6; Stevens 2-4; Giordano 2(1)-2/2-9

Totals: 16(2)-7/9-45

Fayetteville: Houk 1-2; Cornett (1)-3; Wiederhold 5-10; Doane 4(2)-1/3-15; Murphy 2-1/2-5; McCulley 13(1)-1/4-30; Coffman 1-1/2-3

Totals: 25(4)-4/13-68

Ryan Applegate is the sports editor for The Times-Gazette. Reach Ryan Applegate at 937-402-2572, or on Twitter @RCApplegate89.

Lynchburg-Clay’s Noah Miller attempts a three pointer in the first half of the Mustangs’ game against Fayetteville on Friday at Lynchburg-Clay High School.
http://www.timesgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2019/01/web1_Miller-vs-Fayetteville-2019.jpgLynchburg-Clay’s Noah Miller attempts a three pointer in the first half of the Mustangs’ game against Fayetteville on Friday at Lynchburg-Clay High School. Ryan Applegate | The Times-Gazette

Mustangs’ senior Damin Pierson floats a shot over a Fayetteville defender on Friday at Lynchburg-Clay High School in SHAC varsity boys basketball action.
http://www.timesgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2019/01/web1_Pierson-vs-Fayetteville-2019.jpgMustangs’ senior Damin Pierson floats a shot over a Fayetteville defender on Friday at Lynchburg-Clay High School in SHAC varsity boys basketball action. Ryan Applegate | The Times-Gazette

By Ryan Applegate

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