Martin, obviously showing the effects of a long holiday break, claimed its seventh victory of the season without a loss Wednesday night in a 60-39 triumph over West Michigan Aviation.
Coach Bradley Moelker said, “It was nice to get back on the court after a long break, but it didn’t start well. That first quarter we were just one step behind where we needed to be. We missed a few easy shots. but once we got settled down and back into the flow, we turned it around.”
Indeed, the Clippers were down 11-5 at the end of the first quarter, but exploded for a 20-3 advantage in the second period to grab a 25-14 lead at intermission. They never looked back the rest of the evening.
“Our defense rotated and really controlled the game,” explained Moelker. “We kept that same intensity going in the second half. We have a very skilled set of offensive players, but they are starting to embrace a defense first mentality.
“Overall, our entire team did a lot of nice stuff today. Michael Morey, Alex Hardy and Collin Coburn all had good games. All three had at least seven rebounds and there were a few possessions where we pulled down four straight offensive rebounds.”
Carter Hilton stepped up his game in the fourth quarter to secure the win. Aviation had gotten some momentum going, but he countered with three straight layups to push Martin’slead back to 20.
Hilton led the Clippers with 13 points, Clayton Geerlings added 12 and Coburn had 11.
“Clayton hit some big shots for us tonight,” the coach said. “It was great to see our shooting percentage increase a little tonight as we started taking better shots.
“The next two weeks will be huge in showing what kind of team we truly are, but I am very pleased with how we are continuing to grow as a team.”
Martin this week was rated No. 8 in the Associated Press ratings for Class D teams statewide.