By JON REITER
SELLERSBURG — After only three games, the Silver Creek Dragons boys’ basketball squad may have gained the advantage in the race to capture the Mid-Southern Conference championship.
Their latest win, a 70-45 victory last night over visiting Clarksville, put Silver Creek at 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the conference.
“I think we have good chemistry,” Dragons coach John Bradley said. “Sometimes we tend to get a little trigger happy and that’s a battle we have to fight — to remain under control and take good shots.’
The lead gun for Silver Creek once again was senior guard Spencer Robinson, who finished with 31 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. Robinson, who nailed 5-of-9 from beyond the 3-point arc, also added six rebounds and four assists, one of which came on an alley-oop dunk by 6-foot-7 center Nick Townsend early in the second quarter.
"I think this was one of his better all-around efforts,” Bradley said. “He’s a great scorer but he always gives us a little extra.”
Clarksville (1-1, 0-1) trailed 15-14 at the end of the first quarter and 36-25 at the half. Generals coach Scott Matthews said his squad squandered two opportunities to keep themselves in the ball game.
With 16 seconds left in the first half, Clarksville forward Robert Noe was fouled during a three-point attempt but could convert only 1-of-3 free-throw chances. On the other end, Robinson was fouled from beyond the arc but made all three of his with less than four seconds left.
Clarksville trailed 36-30 with six minutes left in the third quarter, but four consecutive points by Silver Creek — a put-back by Will McCall and two Jack Eckert free-throws following an offensive rebound and miss, gave the Dragons a double-digit lead they never again relinquished.
“We had a chance to really make a game of it,” Matthews said. “They had a bunch of consecutive offensive rebounds and that killed us.”
Matthews said he felt his squad can and will play with Silver Creek, should they meet again — perhaps in the annual Silver Creek Holiday Tournament Dec. 29-30. The game versus Silver Creek was the first of three consecutive MSC matchups for the Generals, who face Charlestown and Pekin Eastern next Friday and Saturday night.
“We’re a team that improves as the season goes on, and we play better in January and February,” Matthews said.
He credited Robinson and Townsend, who he said “were two of the best players in southern Indiana, if not the best.”
Townsend finished with only six points and five rebounds but altered several shots and was on the receiving end of the alley-oop pass from Robinson, which energized the crowd in the second quarter.
“I know Robinson had 31 points, but what Townsend did tonight was just as good,” Matthews said.
Bradley was complimentary of Clarksville’s 6-4 pivotman Stephen Reeves — who scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
“Our interior defense wasn’t that good tonight on Reeves,” he said. “The ball got to him too easily and we didn’t double down like we should have.”
Silver Creek travels to Floyd Central tonight.
CLARKSVILLE 14 11 9 11—45
SILVER CREEK 15 21 13 21—70
Clarksville (1-1, 0-1) — Noe 13, Reeves 12, Bowens 8, Merchant 6, Combs 3, Masters 2, Bramer 1, McNew 0.
Silver Creek (3-0, 2-0) — Robinson 31, McCall 11, Eckert 7, Townsend 6, Meyer 7, Bradley 6, Bonniville 2, Everage 0.
Three-point goals: Clarksville 2 (Noe 2); Silver Creek 7 (Robinson 5, Bradley 2).
Turnovers: Clarksville 15, Silver Creek 13.
Rebounds: Clarksville 22 (Reeves 8); Silver Creek 21 (McCall 7)
Junior Varsity
Clarksville 19 (3-6-5-5): Edelman 6, Jenkins 5, McNew 2, Harrison 4, St. Clair 2. Silver Creek 53 (15-12-15-11): Sprigler 18, Hoke 12, White 6, Meyer 4, Hawn 5, Brooks 3, Ricketts 3, Schroeder 2.
