Walton Verona 77 Clinton County 53 (All "A" Quarterfinals)

Hands & Feet · January 27, 2018

A publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

NKyTribune

Home News Ticker

All “A” Classic: Local teams go 1-3 in quarterfinal round of small school state basketball tournament

Jan 27th, 2018 · 0 Comment

Share on FacebookTweet about this on TwitterPin on PinterestShare on LinkedInShare on StumbleUponShare on RedditEmail this to someone

By Terry Boehmker

NKyTribune sports reporter

The Walton-Verona boys’ basketball team’s quarterfinal game in the Kentucky All “A” Classic got off to a late start Friday night, but the Bearcats were ready to go and rolled to a 57-33 win over Clinton County at McBrayer Arena in Richmond.

Walton-Verona senior forward Austin Lay, right, takes the ball to the basket during Friday’s quarterfinal game with Clinton County. (Photo by Carla Martin)

Shortly after the 10 p.m. tip-off, Walton-Verona (17-4) scored 10 straight points in the first quarter to take a 13-6 lead and extended it to 27-13 by halftime.

In the second half, the Bearcats shot 59 percent (13 of 22) from the field and continued to pull away. They have now won 10 games by margins of 10 points or more this season.

On defense, Walton-Verona’s full-court pressure was so effective that Clinton County finished with 10 turnovers and just 11 field goals. The Bulldogs’ only double-figure scorer was Jackson Harlan, who got eight of his 13 points in the first quarter.

The top scorers for the Bearcats were senior forward Austin Lay with 14 points and junior guard Grant Grubbs with 10. Senior forward Zach Clinkenbeard had seven points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.

The semifinal matchups on Saturday will be Lexington Christian vs. Knott County Central at 6 p.m. and Walton-Verona vs. Mayfield at 7:30 p.m. The winners will meet in the championship game at 2 p.m. Sunday.

The Walton-Verona and Holy Cross girls’ teams were eliminated in Friday’s quarterfinal round along with the Beechwood boys’ team that was making its first-ever appearance in a state basketball tournament.

CLINTON COUNTY 8 5 9 11 – 33

WALTON-VERONA 15 12 18 12 – 57

CLINTON COUNTY (15-8): Harlan 5-9 3-4 13, Stockton 3-12 0-0 6, Guffey 1-1 1-2 3, Brown 1-3 0-0 3, Hadley 1-1 0-0 3, Hill 0-1 2-2 2, Stines 0-2 2-2 2, Eli Baker 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 11-34 9-12 33.

WALTON-VERONA (17-4): Lay 6-10 2-2 14, Grubbs 4-8 0-1 10, Pardee 2-4 4-6 8, Bonne 4-6 0-2 8, Clinkenbeard 3-4 0-0 7, Jones 1-4 0-0 3, Watson 1-1 0-0 3, Stanley 1-3 0-0 2, Shazier 1-4 0-0 2. Totals: 23-45 6-11 57.

3-point goals: CC — Brown, Hadley. WV — Grubbs 2, Clinkenbeard, Watson, Jones.

**keepinitreal** · January 27, 2018

Great effort by the Bearcats.

Rez · January 27, 2018

Walton-Verona plays very strong defense and gets good looks on almost every offensive possession. I really enjoyed the way Grubbs played. Good effort, seems like a very smart player. Overall, they just appear to be very well coached.

You can see Harlan is a very good offensive player for Clinton Co. He just didn't have much support.