Last Friday, Jan. 14, the Vikings met a tough Mitchell team that had defeated Hendersonville, a team that handed Avery its lone conference defeat. Inside the Viking Octagon, however, the home team came away with a 71-66 victory.
The two teams battled tooth-and-nail throughout the contest, with neither team able to build a comfortable lead. AHS took a 16-14 lead after one period, and both squads heated up from beyond the three-point arc during the second quarter. The teams traded baskets from long distance on multiple occasions with Avery coming out on top 36-32 at halftime, due in large part to a pair of three-pointers from senior Kody Hughes as part of a 10-point effort for the half.
The second half in many ways proved to be a duel between a pair of talented players in Mitchell’s Corey Greene and Avery’s Dustin Clarke. Greene came alive for the Mountaineers in the third period with nine points to help propel the visitors to a narrow 47-46 lead entering the final period.
During the fourth quarter both offenses heated up, and so did the play of the duo of Clarke and Greene. Clarke raised his game to match that of Greene, with the pair matching one another at times basket for basket. A Greene three-pointer at the top of the key gave the Mountaineers a 66-65 lead with 43 seconds left in the game, but Clarke used his ball-handling ability to cut to the basket, draw a foul and hit free throws to give the lead back to Avery at 67-66 with 35 seconds remaining.
Following a Mitchell offensive miss, the Vikings rebounded and Clarke was able to seal the game with two additional free throws to up the advantage to 69-66. The AHS defense held Mitchell scoreless on a final pivotal possession, Clarke went to the foul line and hit two more free throws which provided for the final margin of victory.
Greene finished the game with 31 points to lead all scorers, but the Mountaineers went cold from three-point range, shooting just 1-for-12 from behind the arc in the second half.
Hughes (17 points) and Timmy Stewart (10 points) registered double figures in the scoring column to further aid the AHS cause, while Troy Self was the only other Mitchell player who scored double figures with 10 points.
The next day the Vikings ventured to Marshall to tangle with the Madison Patriots. In a battle of two athletic clubs, the game hung in the balance until the final ticks of the clock, when a jumper just inside the free throw line from Clarke with less than five seconds remaining proved to be the difference in a 72-70 Big Red victory.
The Vikings came out strong in the opening quarter, picking up where it left off offensively the previous evening to take an 18-12 lead after eight minutes. Clarke netted three three-pointers in the stanza while teammate Joey Potter scored two field goals in the frame and Timmy Stewart added five rebounds on the glass.
Madison rallied in the second quarter to outscore the Big Red by a 22-17 margin. Benji Stewart scored nine points in the period to spark the Viking attack, with a three-point basket each from Clarke and Timmy Stewart. Madison was picked up by eight points in the quarter from Dale Bailey as the Vikings took a slim 35-34 lead into the locker room at halftime.
As the second half ensued, Clarke continued to bear the brunt of the offensive burden for the Vikings. The senior guard scored 10 points in the quarter, while Potter and Benji Stewart each scored four points to help keep pace. The Patriots would not go away on its home floor, however, as the clubs were knotted at 57 going to the fourth quarter.
With less than 90 seconds left in the game, AHS opted to milk the clock on offense as it held a 70-68 lead. Clarke eventually took a shot which misfired and the Patriots grabbed the rebound, went to its offensive end and made a basket to tie the contest at 70-70 with 53 seconds left in the contest.
Avery head coach Bo Manis instructed his team to hold the basketball to take the final shot, and with five seconds Clarke hit a pull-up jumper from just inside the free throw line to score the game’s final points and give the Big Red the dramatic victory.
“The game was so close throughout that we thought it would be decided by which team had the ball last,” Viking assistant coach Reggie Oakes said after the win.
“Coach Manis set up a play at the end that honestly didn’t materialize, but Dustin was able to create something and get a good look. It was a great team win for us. Kody played great and Benji made some great passes to cutting teammates. Potter really stepped up in the second half and ran the floor for us. He and Alex [Villanueva], along with Timmy were all big on the boards. Madison shot the ball well tonight, but to persevere and to get a win on the road in this gym and in this conference is always a big deal.”
Clarke ended the night with 28 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Benji Stewart chipped in with 13 points as the only other Viking in double figures. Potter scored nine, while Villanueva added eight points and eight rebounds and Timmy Stewart and Hughes tallied seven points apiece.
