by Jon M. Gambee, Martin Bureau Chief

Martin took a giant first step toward the 2016 Class D district basketball championship Monday by running over, around and through a highly ranked Climax Scotts team 70-54 in the Martin gym.

“They are a good team,” Clipper Coach David Curry said after the victory. “I think that at one time they were ranked sixth in the state in Class D.”

Climax brought a 15-5 record into the contest against the 14-5 Clippers and were still in the “honorable mention” list of Class D teams throughout the state.

But Martin jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, thanks to two quick buckets by freshman Carter Hilton, and led wire to wire.

Hilton led Martin in scoring with 20 points on the night, his best outing of his early career.

“Carter has been playing very well,” Curry said. “He has gotten better and better as the season has progressed and he has gained experience.”

Tanner Curry had another double-double, finishing with 18 points and 16 rebounds. Garrett Dill finished with 16 points and his uncanny ability to find the open man led to many points by his teammates, Hilton and Curry included.

Panther senior Dallas Froberg led all scorers with 30 points, more than half his team’s output.

“We let them come back a little in the third quarter,” Curry said, “but we regrouped and got back on track.”

Martin had a 37-18 lead at halftime and at one point in the third quarter led by 20 (45-25). But Climax scored 11 straight points to make things interesting. The closest the Panthers could get was nine points, 45-36 before Hilton closed out the quarter by being fouled on a three-point shot and connecting on two of the charity tosses.

Martin went back to work in the fourth, again building a solid lead. The Clippers led by 22 at one point, 64-42, with 2:22 left in the game.

“We feel we can play with anybody, especially here at home,” Curry said. “When things began to go their way for a time, we just told them to keep doing what they had done to get there. Don’t change anything, just keep playing. The kids responded very well and we got back on track. I am very proud of the way we were able to pull together and stay focused.”

Wednesday, Kalamazoo Lakeside, with a record of only 2-4, will play Kalamazoo Heritage Christian (16-3) at 5:30. Martin (16-5) will play Kalamazoo Phoenix (6-6) at 7:15.

Climax-Scotts finished the season with a record of 15-6.

PHOTO: Freshman Carter Hilton (51) and teammate Andrew Keyzer (11). Hilton had a career-high 20 points against Climax-Scotts in the district opener.