Published: Friday, Feb. 17, 2012 / Updated: Friday, Feb. 17, 2012 09:35 AM
Clover boys conclude season with loss to Lancaster
CLOVER --
The Clover High School boys basketball team ended the 2011-12 season with a 75-53 loss to the surging Lancaster Bruins.
The Blue Eagles remained in the playoff mix until the Bruins' win on their home court last Friday.
Lancaster eliminated Clover from playoff contention, using its dept to place 10 Bruins in the scoring column.
The Bruins used the 3-point shot in building a 20-11 first-quarter lead and expanding the margin to 37-23 at the half.
The Blue Eagles' senior scoring leaders, Cody Bauer and Ashleyn Thomason, paced the offensive output with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Bauer nailed all three of the team's 3-pointers as he closed out a stellar career with the Blue Eagles.
Rounding out the scoring, Devin Adams finished with 7 points; Jevon Blake, 5; Ladarius Adams and Aaron Felder, 4 each; and Dreki Williams, Ryan Stollar and Drew Collins, 2 each.
Earlier in the week, the Blue Eagles fell to Spartanburg 65-52 on Senior Night in the newly-lighted CHS gym.
Clover opened the game with balanced scoring in the first quarter, building a 14-9 lead by the end of the quarter.
Williams and Stollar led the offensive output, with Stollar scoring moments before the quarter ended, pushing the lead to five.
Bauer scored from 3-point range in the early moments of the second quarter, staking the Blue Eagles to a 17-13 lead.
But it was at this point that the visiting Vikings went on a 20-0 run until Bauer's 3-pointer halted the scoring spree moments before the half.
The Bruins expanded the lead to 18 (49-31) in the latter stages of the third quarter.
But the Blue Eagles weren't through, staging a furious rally and slicing the lead to eight points midway through the fourth quarter.
Thomason was more than the Vikings could handle, scoring nine points during the surge.
It was a basket by Devin Adams that left Spartanburg clinging to a 57-49 lead, but the Vikings spurted the final two minutes to win by double figures.
Thomason led the scoring with 16 points and Bauer had 15. Stollar had a solid floor game with 10 points. Williams scored 6 points; Taylor Hoover, 3; and Adams, 2.
“We had too many live ball turnovers against Spartanburg's pressure defense,” head coach Dudley Lybrand said after the game. “We weren't able to handle what they gave us.”
Added Lybrand, “Their strength is our weakness. They answered what we did.”
Commenting after the game, Thomason said Spartanburg jumped out to an early lead with a quick pace.
“We slowed the pace and cut into the lead but it wasn't enough,” he said.
Thomason's parting message to returning players from middle school to the varsity level, “Work hard and play hard to prepare for the challenges and situations you will face next season.”
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