Martin bounced back from its two lo
sses to Class B teams in a holiday tournament last month by defeating Lawrence Friday evening, 74-39.
The Clippers, with the victory, moved to 4-2 on the season overall.
They started the game with a 7-0 run and stretched the lead, but host Lawrence battled to cut its shortfall to eight points at the end of the first quarter.
“We played selfish at the end of the first and in the second quarter and Lawrence did a good job of taking advantage of our mistakes,” coach David Curry said. “As a result, they were able to hang with us and we only outscored them 21-18 in the quarter to give us a 41-30 lead at the break.
“We gave our kids a pep talk and reminded them of the things we worked on all week in preparation. As a result, we came out with a fire lit, and were able to shut their offense down in the second half.”
Martin gave up just 7 points in the third period and didn’t allow the Tigers to score in the fourth.
“The kids responded well and fixed the things we asked them to,” curry said. “I’m very proud of the team for the way they played in the second half. We obviously played great defense and it created a lot of great offensive opportunities for us. It’s tough to hold a team scoreless in a quarter so our kids should take some pride in the way they shut Lawrence down in the final quarter.
“It was a good team win for us. Everybody got a lot of minutes tonight and they all were able to contribute offensively.”
Tanner Curry again led the Clippers with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Carter Hilton added 17 points and freshman Cayden Curry hit double figures for the first time with 14. Cayden also pulled down eight rebounds.
Connor Walters-McDonald scored 15 points for Lawrence.
Martin, now 2-0 in SAC divisional play, will be host Decatur on Friday, Jan. 13.
PHOTO: Tanner Curry looks for someone to pass the ball to against Saugatuck.
