LAGRANGE — Give up a 23-0 run and you’ve got problems, Bunky. And nine straight minutes without scoring? Not at all helpful.
Somehow Keystone’s boys managed to suffer both disasters on Tuesday night. Clearview was into it. The Clippers, who trailed by a dozen points after a quarter, took advantage for a
60-49 Patriot Athletic Conference crossover victory as sophomore Anthony Hitchens turned in a big second half.
What happened?
“Not to say I don’t know what to tell you, but we wouldn’t have been in anything different offensively,” coach Greg Morgan said of the Wildcats’ second-half train wreck. “We just have to be able to play pass and catch against an extended zone. There were gaps, but when we did get through, we didn’t make our shots.”
For one thing, the Clippers (8-6, 7-2 PAC) started getting into passing lanes and diving all over the floor defensively in the second half. This was responsible for many of the 12 turnovers Keystone committed during Clearview’s run.
Another result was Keystone, which shot better than 45 percent from the floor (10-of-22) the first half, had trouble finding the hoop in the second half (7-of-28). The Wildcats made 4 of 7 3-point attempts the first half. They were 0-10 the second.
“I don’t know if it was us or them. It seemed like every pass we made got deflected,” Morgan said of the long dry spell.
Keystone (7-7, 5-4 PAC) took a 40-29 lead on Matt Herb’s two foul shots with 3:17 left in the third quarter. The Wildcats didn’t score again until Kyle Shaw’s putback with 2:24 left in the game.
“I knew we had a run, but I didn’t realize it was 23-0,” said Clearview coach John Szalay. “I knew they were on 40 for a long time (8:53, to be exact). We had a nice second quarter, whereas we started really slow.
“But once we got in the open court and dove on the floor a few times, our kids just got their adrenaline and played better at both ends of the floor. We made all the hustle plays in the second half. Our kids dove on the floor and gave it everything they have, and it’s nice to see them rewarded for it.”
The 6-foot Hitchens scored all 12 of his points in the second half, 10 in the fourth quarter, including the Clippers’ only 3-point basket.
“Our team just wanted it a little more,” Hitchens said. “Coach screamed at us a little bit (at halftime), so we went out there and did what we had to do. (Szalay) said our shots weren’t falling, but he told us to keep shooting. So we just kept shooting.”
Another sophomore, Kyle Baughman, scored 11 points and was one of four Clippers to score in double figures. When Baughman scored in the paint with 5:42 left in the game, it gave the Clippers a 41-40 lead and they never trailed again. Clearview junior James Washington scored a game-high 14 points and junior Ricki Perkins 10.
Shaw led the Wildcats with 12 points. Kyle Smith added 11.

Clearview 60, Keystone 49

CLEARVIEW (60): Anthony Hitchens 4-3-12, Anthony Henson 1-0-2, Jordan Celestino 0-3-3, James Washington 6-2-14, Lucas Wright 0-0-0, Ricki Perkins 4-2-10, E.J. Neely 0-0-0, Michael Mealing 0-0-0, Kyle Baughman 4-3-11, Tony Washington 3-2-8. Totals 22-15-60.
KEYSTONE (49): Corey Smith 3-2-9, Jimmy Reid 2-1-6, Kyle Shaw 4-4-12, Nick Wilmoth 0-0-0, Kyle Smith 4-1-11, Matt Osborne 0-0-0, Matt Herbe 3-2-8, Jeff Knepper 1-1-3. Totals 17-11-49.
Clearview        10    15    11    24 —    60
Keystone        22    8    10    9 —    49
3-point goals: Clearview 1-8 (Hitchens); Keystone 4-17 (K. Smith 2, Reid, C. Smith). Field goals: Clearview 22-55 (40 percent); Keystone 17-50 (34 percent). Free throws: Clearview 15-25; Keystone 11-18. Rebounds: Clearview 39; Keystone 32. Turnovers: Clearview 16; Keystone 24. Fouled out: K. Smith. Technical fouls: Reid, K. Smith.
Junior varsity: Keystone, 39-36.

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