Wellington lose another heartbreaker at Clearwater; Chaparral Tournament is next

January 15, 2022 Cueball

R.J. Clift with the free throws in the third quarter.

by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — One thing you can say about this Wellington boys basketball team is they are entertaining. Games decided in the final seconds are the norm.

Wellington lost to Clearwater 45-44, losing on an Indian 3-pointer with five seconds left.

This one is tough to take for Crusader fans because Wellington had erased a 5-point deficit in less than 30 seconds and held a 44-42 lead with 10 seconds to play. But after a timeout, the Dukes needed to make an inbounds pass. Clearwater was able to get the tip-in and create a turnover. The Indians then proceeded to nail a 3-pointer on the right-wing perimeter. Wellington was unable to score thereafter.

“The kids are trying and playing their hearts out,” said Joe Newman, Wellington head boys basketball coach. “There is still plenty of the season ahead and these close games will pay off for us in the end.”

As far as the fateful inbounds play, Newman stated:

“We’ve practiced and run that play before. The goal was for Cope (Henry) to go get the basketball, get fouled, and go to the line. I’m sure nerves played a part in the play, but credit to the Clearwater defender for making the catch difficult. Nine out of ten times I believe we get that ball inbounds and seal the deal. It was just a tough break.”

It was a strange game where neither team could achieve any kind of consistency. Wellington shot 30 percent from the field while Clearwater was 38.6 percent.

“I’ve been coaching in Wellington for 16 years and can only think of two times where we shot the ball well,” Neman said. “I think there is a lid on those rims. We were getting good shots just nothing was going in.

Clearwater opened with a 5-0 lead but Wellington tied it. It was 9-5 at the end of the first quarter. Wellington had its best quarter of the game in the second taking a 15-10 lead and led by 0ne 20-19 at intermission. But the Indians outscored the Dukes 15-10 in the third and led 34-30 going to the fourth.

Korbin Jones scores 5 points for Wellington.

The Indians maintained the lead and were in front 41-36 with 50.9 seconds to play. Malichi Rogers hit a free throw to narrow the margin to four. Then Cope Henry nailed a three after a Clearwater turnover. He then hit the three for the second time and Wellington suddenly had a 43-41 lead. Clearwater lost the ball again and Wellington was hoping for a ball secure on the inbound and subsequent foul only to see the roof collapse in.

On the positive front, Henry led the team with 15 points. He had five 3-pointers. Banks Hinshaw had 12 points.