by Austin Marsman

Watervliet brought some talent to the Martin basketball’ court Friday night and posted a 59 to 46 victory.

The Clippers trailed early in the opening period and never quite recovered. They faced a 20-point deficit at the half, 35-15.

Junior Carter Hilton led the Clippers in scoring at the half with a total of 9 points, all of which were three-pointers. Hilton would go on to score 10 in the second half to top Martin with 19 total points. Sophomore Cayden Curry dropped in 11 points and had some great assists.

The Clippers outscored Watervliet in the second half 31 to 24, but couldn’t recover enough from the slow start to take the lead.

The balanced Panthers’ attack  was led in scoring by Sheldon Tobar, who put up 12 points. Jacob Aldrich added 11 and Bryant Kieft 10.

First-year Martin head Coach Brad Moelker said he was proud of the effort, but sees room for improvement.

“I was very proud of how we competed and responded to adversity,” the coach observed. “There were many times that we looked great out there. The ball really moved well, we had spacing and we got great looks. Now we just have to put it together for a whole game.”

The Clippers will be host Zion Christian on Tuesday and will bear a 0-2 record.

COVER: Carter Hilton (51) goes in for a layup to score two his 19 points for Martin.

(Photos by Austin Marsman)