By Gaylen Duskey
realfang@citlink.net
Clay grabbed an early lead and slowly pulled away to spoils Senior Night for the Calhoun Red Devils Thursday, 64-50.
Calhoun's four seniors - Luke Moore, Trent Phillips, Ricky Hall and Derek Dawson - were honored before the game. But once the game got under way Clay put an end to the feeling of fellowship.
The Panthers, 8-7, took 16-8 first quarter lead and extended it to 34-21 at halftime. The Panthers continued to control things in the third with a an 18-12 advantage for a 52-33 lead heading into the fourth period.
It was only in the fourth that the Red Devils mounted a rally, outscoring Clay 17-12 to cut the final margin to 14.
Clay was not fancy or splashy in its victory with three guys sharing the scoring load.
Michael Shamblin led the way with 17. He was backed by Jarrod Woodyard with 13 and Chris Cole with 11.
Sophomore Stephen Cole, the Panthers' leading scorer who had torched the Red Devils earlier in the year for 16 first half points, was pretty well held in check by the Calhoun defense as he finished with seven.
Other scorers for the Panthers included Alex Burkhammer and Storm Carver with six each, Noah Taylor with three and Josh Shamblin with one.
Gavin Nichols, Dakota Keener, Austin Cole and Dillon Cole all played but did not score.
Ryan Slider led Calhoun with 16 points, 11 rebounds, four steals, four assists and two blocks.
He was backed by Tyler Gerwig with 14 points. Gerwig also had eight rebounds. Hall had 10, including a 3-pointer by the 6-5, 325-pound center, while grabbing five rebounds.
Phillips added six while Moore and Lucas Wilson chipped in with two apiece.
Dawson, Luke Sheldon, Sam Brady and Ethyn Miller all played but did not score for the 2-16 Red Devils.
Clay will entertain Roane County tonight while Calhoun is off until Monday when it plays South Harrison at home.
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