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Brocton unable to slow Clymer’s Overton in 43-29 loss at home

Slow start dooms Bulldogs

Clymer’s Alex Dunnewold (21) boxes out Brocton’s Connor Dispense as they battle for a rebound in Clymer’s 43-29 win over Brocton, Thursday night. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen.

BROCTON — Any coach will tell you that basketball is a game of runs and momentum swings. On Thursday night, the Clymer Pirates put together quite a first quarter run, and by the end of it, the Brocton Bulldogs were unable to recover. The Pirates scored the final 11 points of the first quarter and the first nine points of the second quarter to turn a 4-3 deficit into a 23-4 lead with under five minutes to go in the first half. The Pirates coasted the rest of the way to a 43-29 victory over the Bulldogs in a CCAA Division 2 West boys basketball game at Brocton High School on Thursday night.

Brocton came into Thursday night’s contest with the same record as Clymer through three nonleague games apiece, sitting at 2-1. The Bulldogs scored the first basket of the game, had four of the first seven points on the night, and had a 7-0 stretch of nearly three minutes in the second quarter. In fact, outside of a 9-minute stretch, the Bulldogs actually outscored Clymer 29-23. Just with those things considered, it would’ve been hard to imagine a double-digit deficit at the half and as a final score, but that’s the position the Bulldogs were in, down 25-12 at the break, and eventually down 43-29 at the final buzzer. The answer as to why was simple: Brocton had a 9-minute stretch in the first half where they just didn’t make their shots.

“We were getting good looks inside. We were making the right passes, but we just couldn’t finish,” said Brocton coach Collin Mulcahy. “It just comes down to making those shots. If we made just half those shots (in that stretch) it’s a whole different ballgame.”

“I thought we were defending really well,” said Clymer coach Irv King. “We got some turnovers, we got some easy runouts, and we started out shooting pretty good.”

Brocton (2-2, 0-1) got its early 4-3 lead within the first two minutes, but Clymer (3-1, 1-0) immediately responded with a 3-pointer by Zavon Overton. As the game went on, Overton continued to find the basket over and over again. He finished with a game-high 27 points, including five 3-pointers. Only two of his 27 points came from the free throw line.

Brocton’s Ryan Laurito looks to make a pass during Thursday’s CCAA Division 2 West basketball game at Brocton High School. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen.

“Credit to Zavon. He came up big for his team tonight,” said Mulcahy. “We’ve got to apply better ball pressure and have the awareness of where their shooters are at.”

Overton went on an 8-0 run by himself in the first quarter to turn the 4-3 deficit into an 11-4 lead, including a pair of 3-pointers. He had 11 of his 27 points in the first quarter.

“He came out really hot,” said King. “He shoots it well, and he was shooting it very well tonight. … He’s beginning to get back in the groove. With football season, he hasn’t been on the court too long yet. This was a good outing for him.”

At the 4:20 mark in the second quarter, Brocton’s Seth McFadden ended the scoreless stretch for the Bulldogs. Then a Gabe Morello 3-pointer and a layup by Tim Mead-Colegrove gave the Bulldogs seven straight points over less than three minutes of action.

Morello led Brocton with 10 points, while McFadden had seven points, as did Clymer’s second-leading scorer Bishop Kopta.

Clymer’s Zavon Overton brings the ball up-court in the Pirates’ 43-29 victory over the Brocton Bulldogs, Thursday, at Brocton High School. Overton had 27 points in the first league win of the year for Clymer. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen.

After the 13-point halftime deficit, Brocton cut the lead down to 11 points at 31-20, but Clymer ended with the final six points of the third quarter for a 37-20 lead after three periods of play. Brocton went on a 9-1 run to start the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to nine points, but that was the closest it would get. Clymer immediately answered with a bucket on its next possession and led by double digits the rest of the way.

“It’s a learning process. … We just have to settle down and run our sets, but that will come with practice,” said Mulcahy.

Brocton now looks ahead to its next game, at Pine Valley, on Monday. Brocton won the first meeting with Pine Valley 58-55 in Brocton on Dec. 3.

“It’s only Game 4. … There are a lot of good things to draw upon for Monday against Pine Valley,” said Mulcahy. “I’m really proud of our defense. We’ve worked hard on our defense … and to hold them to 43 points, I’m really happy with our guys tonight.”

Clymer travels to league rival Sherman next Friday, Dec. 20.

“This was a good night. This is not an easy place to play,” said King. “I’m happy to walk out of here with a ‘W’.”

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