The Martin boys’ varsity basketball team defeated Lawrence 56-40 Tuesday evening to clinch a share of its first conference title since 1996.

The victory moved the Clippers’ record to 8-0 in the North Division of the Southwest Athletic Conference. Overall, they are now 13-5.  With only two games remaining, they have a two-game lead over nearest rival, Decatur, which is 6-2.

Eleven Clippers scored in Tuesday night’s ballgame. Garrett Dill led the way with 16 points, followed by Carter Hilton with nine. Tanner Curry and Matt MacVean each contributed 7. Curry had 10 rebounds and MacVean 5.

Martin ran out to an early lead, 13-4 at the end of the first quarter and led 32-11 at the half.

“Tonight we got off to a good start right out of the gate and we never let up throughout the night,” Curry said. “Our defense was nearly flawless and our offense was firing on all cylinders. Holding them to 11 points in the first half is an achievement these kids should be proud of. We gave up 24 the first time around so there was definitely improvement.

“We also were able to shave 17 off their point total from last time we played them.

“Lawrence is a young team who is very good at dribble driving and we were able to shut that down this time around,” Curry said. “The best part of the entire game is that we were able to get the kids, who don’t get in the game every night, in the game early and often. Those kids work their tails off day in and day out and they definitely make our starters better every day in practice. I’m very proud of the way they came in the game and were able to do the same things our first five were doing from the start. They did a great job of running the offense and being patient.

“As an added bonus most all of them were able to score. We pulled the reins back on them a little and Lawrence was able to claw their way back a little, but that’s my fault for slowing them down.

“All in all it was a great night for us. The win secured us at least a share of the league title. With a win in one of our last two league contests we will wrap up the championship.”

One of the biggest highlights of the night came about three minutes into the third quarter when Dill knocked down his 14th point of the game. That bucket got him to 1,000 career points.

“It’s a great achievement for a great young man.” Curry said.

The Clippers will travel to Bloomingdale Friday seeking to wrap up that championship.