BLACKSVILLE — The Clay-Battelle boys basketballers began this year’s Ohio Valley Athletic Conference tournament Tuesday with a consolation game at home against a young, diminutive Oak Glen team that had earned just a single win on the season. So it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that just about everyone in the Cee-Bee gym was expecting a routine victory from the home team.
And while that’s often a set-up for an unexpectedly close contest, or perhaps even an upset, Tuesday’s contest ran exactly to form, as the Cee-Bees’ length and experience overpowered the Golden Bears, leading to a dominating, businesslike 66-34 win.
“We did a good job in the first half running our offense and staying on task,” CB coach Josh Kisner explained. “We were happy to give some of the underclassmen some varsity minutes, giving them a chance to adjust to the speed of the game, and getting them accustomed to running things the way we need them to.
The Cee-Bees (11-6) encountered little resistance in the paint at either end of the court from the opening tip as they opened up a 21-8 first quarter lead. Forward Colby Barr (who would lead all scorers with 25 points) was especially effective down low, and guard Carson Shriver attacked the rim to earn a pair of ‘and-one’ three-point plays.
Oak Glen (1-18) was unable to generate much offense and struggled with open jumpers, leading to a miniscule three-point second quarter as the Cee-Bees stretched their advantage to 36-11 at the break.
Oak Glen finally found their shooting touch in the third quarter, hitting a trio of three-pointers, but the tall triple threat of Barr, Preston Luzader (who scored 17 points), and Matthew Gadd combined for 15 points in the quarter. The result? A 30-point CB lead, and a final quarter cruise to the win.
After the game, Cee-Bees coach Josh Kisner was fairly pleased with his team’s performance, with a few coachable moments to build on as well.
“I thought Colby had a real strong game for us as well,” Kisner said. “He’s a big part of our offense, and when he asserts himself, we tend to be successful. We can always do a little bit better job finishing at the rim, and we can definitely take that and work on it in practice.”
For his part, Barr was drawing contact and giving himself chances for three-point plays, but barely missed some chippies down low.
“Those are always big plays, getting fouled and making the shot,” Barr smiled. “It seemed like I had chances all night, but I just couldn’t get them to fall. Still, we did a nice job running our offense, and I got the ball in great spots all night. When we can get good looks like that, we know we’re executing the offense the right way.”
In the JV game, a spirited home team comeback attempt fell short, as the Golden Bears hung on for a 40-36 win. Tyler Evans of Oak Glen and CB’s Cooper Payton both scored 13, and Braden Ponceroff netted 12 for the Cee-Bees.
Clay-Battelle hosts Harmon today, with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
BY MARK SCHRAF
Clay-Battelle 66, Oak Glen34
Oak Glen 8 3 15 8 – 34
Clay-Battelle 21 15 20 10 – 66
OAK GLEN (1-18)
Tyler Evans 2 0-0 6 Will Weekley 1 0-0 2 Preston Cole 3 0-0 8 AJ Ramgeet 3 3-4 9 Jared Hissam 0 1-2 1 Xavier Howard 1 0-0 2 Alex Dennis 2 2-2 6 Totals 12 6-8 34
CLAY-BATTELLE (11-6)
Carson Shriver 2 2-2 6 Kohlton St. Clair 3 1-2 8 Braden Ponceroff 1 1-1 3 Colby Barr 9 7-11 25 Preston Luzader 8 0-1 17 Matthew Gadd 3 1-1 7 Totals 26 12-18 66
Three-pointers – OG 4 (Cole 2, Evans 2), CB 2 (St. Clair, Luzader)
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