Men's Basketball | 11/15/2024 9:35:00 AM

The Clinton Men's Basketball team trailed by six points with less than a minute remaining in its non-district game against the Canton Tigers on Tuesday night.

Despite the deficit, the Arrows' Head Men's Basketball Coach Joshua Luckett continued to push his team to not quit.

Indeed, the Arrows did not quit and pulled out a victory.

Jakobe Cavett hit two 3-pointers and a pair of free throws in the last 30 seconds, helping Clinton complete the comeback and knock off Canton 52-51 at Arrow Gym. The win improved the Arrows record to 3-1 on the season.

"It wasn't looking good for us," Luckett said. "We had a bunch of turnovers down the stretch, but we stayed focused. The guys got the message, and we continued to make plays. We continued to fight and battle."

Cavett paced the Arrows with his 21 points. Jamari Young cashed in eight points, and Logan Garner chipped in seven points.

Trailing 48-42, Young sparked the comeback with his lay-up at the 1:35 mark. Canton answered with a floater that extended its lead back to six points.

However, the Tigers became turnover victims when Cavett intercepted a pass and knocked down a contested, fade-away 3-pointer with 30 seconds remaining, cutting the visitors' lead to 50-47.

After Canton made one of two shots at the charity stripe, Cavett hit a 3-pointer with under 10 seconds left and, on the ensuing inbound pass, intercepted the pass and drove to the lane. He was fouled during his lay-up attempt.

At the foul line, Cavett knocked down the first attempt and, then, added the second attempt, sending the Clinton faithful into a frenzy. Canton got the inbound pass into the front court but was unable to get up its game-winning attempt as the Arrows swarmed defensively as time expired.

"We actually were trying to get the jump ball because we knew we had the possession arrow in our favor," Luckett said about the final sequence the culminated the win. "(Canton) threw it too high, and we ended up getting the steal. Jakobe went to the line and made two crucial free throws. It was big in this kind of environment. That was big time.

It was not only Cavett's heroics that lifted the Arrows, but several players off the bench that helped Clinton achieve a successful night. For example, Xavier Babbitt played critical minutes as the Arrows got into foul trouble. Though he did not provide a massive stat line, Babbitt's effort was a highlight for Luckett.

"(Babbitt) had not been on the team in the last couple of years," Luckett said. "He emailed over the break. He wanted to come in and try out. We tried him out for about a week, looked okay, and we needed the body. If we didn't have him tonight, we wouldn't have won this game.

"It is not so much the stat line for our guys off the bench, but it is so much more," Luckett added. "We talked about after the game, it is not always about scoring. He's the prime example of a guy who is going to give us everything he's got on the defensive side."

Canton opened the game with a 5-0 run, but the Arrows answered the bell, trailing 12-10 by the end of the first quarter. 

In the second, Clinton went on a 15-2 run in the quarter's opening minutes. Shiloh Freeman knocked down a 3-pointer, sparking the point swing. Then, Garner added an offensive put-back, Young chipped in a transition lay-up, and Javarius Tyler knocked down a 3-pointer, giving the Arrows a 22-14 advantage at the 4:36 mark.

Young added a rim-rocking dunk off a steal, and Cavett punctuated the run with his second 3-pointer of the night. However, Canton outscored the hosts 6-3 in the first half's final two minutes, 20 seconds. Clinton carried a 28-25 advantage into the intermission.

UP NEXT

Clinton continues its non-district slate with a Saturday match-up. The Arrows host the Forest Hill Patriots at 4:30 p.m. at Arrow Gym on the campus of Clinton High School.