The Martin boys
‘ varsity basketball team absorbed its first loss this season in Southwestern Athletic Conference divisional play, dropping a 41-40 heartbreaker to Bloomingdale.
The Clippers were hampered at the free throw line, making only three of nine attempts. Bloomingdale, meanwhile, cashed in on 10 of 15 at the charity stripe.
The two teams battled evenly throughout the contest, but Martin led 19-18 at the half and 29-28 at the end of three quarters.
Neither team was able to score in the opening minutes of the game. The Clippers finally broke the ice with a bucket from Tanner Curry. Bloomingdale responded on its next possession to knot it at 2, Martin then scored five straight to take a 7-2 lead. The Cardinals then went on a 13-0 run, including the first four points of the second quarter before Martin was able to score and it put them up 15-9.
“We continued to battle and were able to take the lead back about midway through the second quarter,” Martin coach David Curry said.
Interestingly, the Cardinals during a foul shot, made an illegal substitution and ended up with six players on the floor. This resulted in a technical foul and Tanner Curry made both free throws to give the Clippers to give us a two-point lead at half.
Both teams took turns at taking leads with their own respective runs. The Clippers started with a 7-2 run and Bloomingdale finished the quarter with a 8-3 burst to give Martin a two point lead (29-27) going into the final quarter.
It took several minutes before either team would score and Bloomingdale hit a three to take a one-point lead. It was back and forth from there with neither team leading by more than two the rest of the way. Bloomingdale was the last to score and ended up winning by one.
“We definitely had our chances to win the game,” coach Curry said. “We left a lot of points on the floor tonight that were easy shots. We were 3 of 9 from the free-throw line and that was a definite factor in the game. We are typically a 70% free-throw shooting team and shooting 33% tonight is definitely disappointing.
“A lot of games are won and lost at the free-throw line and tonight it cost us the game. It wasn’t just one or two guys, it was our team as a whole.
“The other thing that killed us was our inability to make the bunnies,” the coach continued. “I’m not sure if the kids were afraid of getting their shot blocked, but we were rushing everything and it showed. Bloomingdale is a long and athletic team. They played better than we did tonight and deserved to win.
“I’m proud of the way our kids battled all night long. One thing that is for certain, they are never going to lay down, no matter what the score is. That says a lot about the character of our team.
Carter Hilton netted 15 points to pace the Clippers’ attack and Tanner Curry was held to 13, below is average. Andrew Boss swished a couple of three-point goals and finished with eight points. The Cardinals were led by William Mills’ 12 points, including three treys.
Tanner Curry collected 16 rebounds and Andrew Boss had 10.
Martin now is 5-4 on the season overall and Bloomingdale is 4-4. The Clippers will play Lawton Tuesday and Marcellus Friday.
