Two big efforts, same ol’ champs

GARNER -- cbest@newsobserver.com

Clayton had an answer for Garner’s standard second-half push Friday night. The Comets, who led by as many as seven first half, fell behind the mighty Trojans by six in the third quarter.

That’s typically when Garner becomes Garner – the Garner that’s owned the championship hardware in the Greater Neuse River 4A Conference boys basketball race for so long, putting teams away with a flurry of offense.

On this night, however, Clayton wasn’t going to be that team. The Comets, who finished second in the regular-season league standings, came back at Garner with a streak of their own.

Clayton raced ahead 60-53 with 5:15 to play. The Trojans spent the next five minutes trying to just pull back even. They finally did on a three-point play by senior center Dominique Reed with just 26.6 seconds to play.

Enter junior guard Demarcus Sanford into the fray. With the Comets eyeing a potential game-winning possession, the Garner guard eyed his chance for a game-changing play.

“I just saw a chance to get the ball near the 3-point line,” Sanford said. “I just felt like I could get it and give us a chance at the last possession.”

Sanford knocked the ball away from a Comet, leading to a Garner chance for a breakaway. Clayton got back and knocked the shot down and out of bounds under the Trojans’ basket with just 3.6 seconds to play.

After seeing the Comets’ defensive approach on the final possession, Trojan coach Eddie Gray called a time out.

“We were going to run the alley hoop, but they came out in a zone,” Gray said. “I couldn’t believe they let us throw the ball into the corner.”

Sanford keyed the inbound pass, getting it to senior Larry Richardson in the corner. Richardson drove to near the free throw elbow.

“Larry was smart enough to change up the play,” Sanford said of the game-winning possession. “He went to the corner, got the ball, then drove to the lane. It helped get Dominique open a bit and then Dominique just put it home to win it.”

Richardson dished the ball to Reed a couple of feet away from the lane. With the clock nearing a second, Reed swooped in, laying the ball in off the glass for a thrilling 70-68 victory and the tournament championship to go along with the Trojans’ regular season crown.

“We wanted them to have to throw the ball out on the perimeter,” said Clayton coach Denny Medlin. “And have to make a shot over us. They threw the ball out, we had a guy slip a little bit and we had to give some help on defense, which allowed them the chance to dump it down.”

The result didn’t change the state playoff routes of either team.

Both will reap the benefits of a great regular season with high seeds.

Still, the Friday win was something both teams really wanted. It showed in Garner’s post-game celebration with its fans and in the looks of despair on the Comets’ faces in the corridors of the locker rooms after the game.

The Trojans were just relieved to survive the week and hoist another championship trophy.

“It’s a tough week to get through,” Gray said of the conference tournament grind. “You get everybody’s best shot as the regular-season champion. We’ve played Knightdale, Southeast back-to-back in the last two weeks and it’s tough to beat anybody three times.”

And three was the number that kept the Comets around for most of the night, as in the 3-point shot. Sure, there was the usual inside performance of note from sophomore Gary Clark in the paint (18 points), but the real damage came from long range – really long range sometimes.

“We survived a barrage of 3-pointers,” Gray said. “And those guys were making them from everywhere, just NBA-range shots. Clayton had a heck of a shooting night.

“You add that to having to deal with Clark inside and it’s a very tough team to find a way to beat.”

Anthony Gaskins provided plenty of those booming shots, finishing with a game-high 25 points. He hit 3-point shots from 24 feet or deeper twice — in each half. The second-half pair of those came just when Garner was trying to pull their usual going away party.

“We were trying to work inside out for 3-pointers,” Medlin said. “Early on, we were coming down and just shooting 3s. I called a time out to remind us to get the ball inside to Gary, draw some people down there and kick the ball back out.

“We just wanted to make sure we were moving the ball and using our weapons.”

The Trojans countered with a key 3 of their own late in the third quarter, from Gavin Wilson to push the lead back to 49-43 temporarily.

Clayton tied the game just before the end of the quarter, setting up the wild fourth quarter.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Rodney Moore helped Clayton pull ahead early in the fourth. Gary Clark added a dunk after a Garner turnover one play after Moore’s second 3-ball and the Comets looked like they were on the way to a win.

The Trojans plugged along, however, getting timely stops on Clayton’s end and scoring just enough to set up Reed’s big finish.

The center finished with a team-high 20 points for the Trojans, while Richardson added 14, Wilson contributed 11 and McClain totaled 11.

Moore had 13 for the Comets, who instead of leaving with a big win, just left knowing they’d played one of their best games of the season.

“We played at a high level,” Medlin said. “And we wanted it real, real bad. It’s something that can build our confidence for the playoffs. We played very well.

“The key thing now is we have to move forward.”

Garner’s in the same thought process — eyeing the state playoffs this week with full intentions of getting over the sectional final hurdle it’s been unable to clear the past two seasons.

“This was something you hope will help the kids in the playoffs,” Gray said. “This was a great, playoff atmosphere. Playing here’s been that way the entire season.”