WILMINGTON — Led by Bryson Platt, Wilmington ended its 12-game losing streak Saturday night with a 62-49 win over East Clinton at Fred Summers Court.
Platt led all scorers with 22 points. Wilmington was 11 for 19 at the free throw line for the game, with Platt hitting seven of eight, including all four in the fourth quarter.
The Hurricane is 4-13 on the year. East Clinton drops to 0-17.
“I’m happy to come away with the win,” WHS head coach Jermaine Isaac said. “East Clinton came out with great energy and competed their tails off.”
Dakota Collom led the Astros with 17 points. Peyton Lilly scored 12 and Xander Lake had 11.
“Tough one again,” EC head coach Clyde Snow said. “Having three guys in double figures is huge for us. Lilly really stepped up for us, especially on defense. He has multiple steals and a few more deflections that lead to steals.”
Collom opened the scoring then the teams traded turnovers. Eventually, Wilmington settled down and went on a 7-0 run. Alex Lazic played well in the post and Stevie Rickman cut to the lane for a bucket for WHS.
“We came out tough. We played with a bunch of energy and enthusiasm,” said Snow.
Toby Huff hit a deep three to end the streak then Lilly followed with a pair of layups to put the Astros on top 9-7.
A Maddix Crowe bucket opened the second then Collom drained a three as East Clinton built a seven-point lead. The Hurricane regrouped and erased the deficit.
“Early on we were very sloppy and out of control,” Isaac said. “We missed a lot of easy shots and had a lot of bad turnovers.”
Collom fed Lake to put the Astros back on top. But East Clinton wasn’t done and ultimately scored seven straight points.
“It’s a shame we don’t have one more year with Dakota,” Snow added. “With saying that, I think he’s made a legacy for himself and proved all the doubters before the season wrong.”
The streaky contest continued, though, and it was Wilmington’s turn. The Hurricane scored nine of the final 11 points of the first half to get within a point at 23-22 at the intermission.
“The second half, they (Wilmington) came out with the same energy (as we did at the start),” said Snow. “They made a little run before half and gave them some momentum going in to the third.”
Platt hit a three and forced a turnover as the Hurricane intensity reached a higher level in the first 30 seconds of the third. Collom would respond with a pull-up mid-range shot and a blown kiss to his bench, sparking a reaction from the crowd.
The teams would go back and forth for a bit before back-to-back buckets and a Chase Fickert three gave Wilmington a 36-29 lead. This time it would hold. The Hurricane led 44-35 going into the fourth.
“I was pleased with how our guys came out of the lockerroom after halftime and turned things around,” said Isaac. “We finally settled down and took care of the ball and made some shots.”
A steal turned into a Jose Morales bucket. A Bryson Platt three-pointer would open up a 7-1 run from Wilmington.
“Bryson played a heck of a game for us,” the Hurryin’ Hurricane mentor said. “It was great to see him come alive and hit some big baskets for us.”
East Clinton fought back with Lake leading the way with seven in the fourth but the Astros couldn’t get on top.
SUMMARY
Jan 28, 2023
@Fred Summers Court
Wilmington 62, East Clinton 49
W^7^15^22^18^^62
EC^9^14^12^14^^49
(49) EAST CLINTON (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Huff 1-1-0-3 Collom 7-1-2-17 Maddix Crowe 3-0-0-6 Lilly 4-0-4-12 Lake 5-0-1-11 Arnold 0-0-0-0 Terrell 0-0-0-0 TOTALS 20-2-7/10-49
(62) WILMINGTON (fg-3fg-ft-tp) Brown 1-0-0-2 Rickman 2-0-0-4 Camp 2-0-0-4 Platt 6-3-7-22 Lazic 5-0-1-11 Patel 0-0-0-0 Morales 4-0-3-11 Fickert 3-2-0-8 TOTALS 23-5-11/19-62
