Big quarter carries Comets

CLAYTON -- With just 24 points to their credit and locked in a tie with rival Smithfield-Selma Friday, Clayton coach Denny Medlin harped on two things in the locker room at halftime: ball movement and hustle.

Behind a big second half, Clayton pulled away for a comfortable 71-54 Greater Neuse River 4A Conference win, but it didn’t come easy.

The Comets managed just two field goals over the opening 11 minutes of the game and trailed the Spartans 29-26 early in the third quarter.

“Moving the ball quickly, moving the ball better,” Medlin said of his thoughts for his team at halftime. “We started moving the ball a little better and a little quicker and started making some shots.”

With the help of 6-foot-7 sophomore center Gary Clark, the Comets got their inside-out game going in the second half and erupted for 47 points.

“We couldn’t get the ball moving in the first (half),” Clayton guard Anthony Gaskins said. “Coach told us to move the ball around and attack the gaps.”

Clayton pulled away with a 22-7 run that flipped a three-point lead late in the third quarter to an 18-point cushion midway through the fourth.

“He’s a very unselfish player and he drew a lot of attention and some of the other guys benefited from that,” Medlin said of Clark, who scored 15 points himself and set up numerous outside shots with kick-outs.

“We try to get him the ball and when they collapse he kicks it out and we get open 3’s,” said Gaskins, who scored 15 of his game-high 21 points after halftime.

Medlin also addressed his team’s effort at the intermission. “I felt like we got out-hustled to some loose balls in the first half,” h3 said. “We wanted to push the tempo a little more.”

Kyle Bryant joined Gaskins and Clark in double figures with 10 points.

“Coach just said go out there and play harder and do what we’ve got to do to get the win. We came out and played hard. We stepped it up,” said Gaskins, who scored three buckets from the outside, three in the paint and went 8-for-10 at the foul line.

“Throughout the year we’ve talked with him about taking tougher shots,” Medlin said. “But tonight he stayed within his realm and he shot the ball when he needed to and passed it when he needed to and he took care of the ball.”

Quantez Leach scored 11 points to lead SSS, while Seth Turner chipped in 10. Clayton ran its record to 15-5 over and 9-3 in conference play while Smithfield dropped to 7-12 and 2-10 in the conference.