Avery varsity men’s basketball continued its best season under head coach Bo Manis by picking three wins in Western Highlands Conference play last week, while Avery junior guard Dustin Clarke accomplished a milestone by scoring his thousandth point in the dismantling of Thomas Jefferson Academy Monday night.Last Tuesday, January 17th, Avery came from behind to defeat Owen in Viking Gym by a 58-54 final score. The Vikings then won both games in a home-and-home series with Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy last Friday and this past Monday evening.
In the matchup with the Warhorses, Owen took advantage of its height advantage early and often. Owen’s 6’5” center Tony Halvorson netted four baskets in the first quarter, while 6’7” junior Ben Marett scored 13 points in the first half.
Avery offset the Owen height by running the basketball and scoring in transition. Junior Joey Potter scored eight points in the opening period to help lead the Vikings to a 15-12 lead. Dustin Clarke chipped in with ten first-half points and the Vikings as a team shot over 57 percent from the field. Avery and Owen went to halftime tied at 25-25.
Throughout a majority of the second half, the Vikings utilized a 2-1-2 zone defense to force Owen to hit perimeter shots. The plan worked to perfection as the Warhorses made only 2 of 17 shots from beyond the three-point arc for the game. The zone also made scoring inside more difficult for the Owen frontcourt. Owen held a lead after three periods, but only by a single point at 40-39.
The Warhorses threatened to clinch the win early in the final stanza as a 7-2 run over the first three minutes of the quarter gave Owen a 47-41 lead. Avery failed to panic and chipped away at the lead. Dustin Clarke scored seven points, while teammates Kody Hughes and Dylan Eppley each scored baskets to bring Avery back to within a point at 54-53.
In the final minute Avery looked to take the lead, but Owen made a defensive stop. Looking to seal the game in style, Owen guard Bruce Wallace attempted a behind-the-back pass in transition. Eppley stepped in front of the pass to steal the ball and looped a pass ahead as Joey Potter converted a layup to give Avery the lead at 55-54 with 44 seconds left.
Trailing by three, Owen had one final shot with four seconds left, but JD Chaplain’s three-point shot was off target. An Avery rebound and subsequent Timmy Stewart free throw sealed the 58-54 home victory.
Dustin Clarke finished the game with a team-high 24 points, eight assists, and six rebounds. Potter scored 14 points and three rebounds, with eight points and three rebounds by Dylan Eppley.
“We told the players that they had to play a disciplined game and they did a great job. With their size we had to play the zone,” Avery varsity boys head coach Bo Manis said after the win.
On Friday evening the Vikings hit the road to take on Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy. Avery raced to the early lead and cruised to an easy 79-38 win.
The Vikings started the game on an 11-1 run and led 24-9 after one quarter. The lead stretched to 42-15 by halftime as Avery shot 53 percent from the field in the first half while the defense held the Gryphons to just 6 of 22 shooting for the half.
Dustin Clarke and Joey Potter each netted 12 points in the half, with six points from Kody Hughes.
Avery’s defense flew around the floor, committing a season-high 27 steals as a team and causing a large number of TJCA turnovers throughout the game. The Vikings led 59-26 after three quarters as 11 of the 12 players on the roster scored during the game.
During the final period Coach Bo Manis inserted three players called up for the evening off the junior varsity roster into the contest. The players, freshman Shea Buchanan, sophomore Austin Lyons, and sophomore Dustin Clark, provided instant contributions with 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists as a unit in the final four minutes of the game.Dustin Clarke paced the Vikings with 16 points, eight steals, four rebounds, and four assists in the win while playing only three quarters. Joey Potter had 14 points, with six rebounds. Dylan Eppley was the third and final Viking scoring double-figures with 13 points, in addition to six rebounds and three assists. Kody Hughes scored seven points with eight rebounds and four steals. Hayden Blice led TJCA with 17 points and nine rebounds.
On Monday night Avery evened its mark at 7-7 for the season and moved to 5-2 in conference play by repeating its impressive victory over Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy, this time by a 90-31 final score inside the friendly confines of Viking Gym.
Avery leapt out to a 10-0 run in the first four minutes of the game and led 23-7 after one quarter. In its best performance of the season, the Avery defense proved unstoppable as it forced 16 turnovers from the Gryphons in the first two quarters, which were converted into several easy run-outs and layups. The Vikings then used a 20-3 point differential in the second quarter to take a commanding 43-10 lead at halftime and a 20-4 spurt in the first four minutes of the second half to dash to victory.
As the second half unfolded, the only remaining drama left in the evening was whether Avery junior guard Dustin Clarke would reach the remarkable feat of 1,000 points in his prep career. On a signature slash to the basket in the third quarter, Clarke, unaware of his proximity to the mark, scored his 21st and final point of the night to reach the magical mark.
Every player, including a total of five junior varsity players who were added to the roster prior to the game, saw multiple minutes of playing time and contributed to the Avery cause as the Vikings utterly dominated the overmatched Gryphons.
Clarke’s 21 points was grouped with seven steals and three assists. Joey Potter matched Clarke’s point total, adding in six rebounds and four assists. Kody Hughes scored 11 points, with eight points from Dylan Eppley, seven points from sophomore Austin Lyons and seven points with seven rebounds from sophomore Dustin Clark. Daniel Moss led Thomas Jefferson Academy with ten points.
“Games like this you’ve got to stay patient and work on weaknesses and limit turnovers. I felt like we worked on getting more steals and taking better care of the basketball,” head coach Bo Manis said after the win. “I thought we played well defensively, even in our zone, and made it hard for them to get shots. We made a few mistakes here and there, but overall we did the little things well, like getting higher percentage shots and making them in this game that we missed in our last game.”
Avery has won four straight games (all in conference) and
five of its last six games to sit at 7-7 overall and 5-2 in Western Highlands Conference contests.“A lot of our success has been due to the time that our players and this team has put into the game. When we played our last game last season, I told the team this isn’t an ending but only the beginning. I challenged them to work hard in order to change the team’s fortunes,” Coach Manis explained. “Starting in March, the players came in with open gym and worked through June. They had camp in June and were helped by having to teach fundamentals to younger players and played through the summer. The players then stayed active and in shape with a sport in the fall leading into this season. I think the guys finally understand that improving isn’t easy and that it might take a while, but in the end it is worth the effort.”
Clarke’s milestone night is a credit to his work ethic and, according to his coaches, could not happen to a better individual.
“I don’t want to speak for Dustin, but I guarantee he’s the first to credit his teammates, because he’s the type of kid he is. He works hard at his game. When he finishes sprints, he’ll run them with teammates. He’s a hard worker with a great work ethic, and on top of that, he’s a super kid and a good person,” Coach Manis said of Clarke. “He is a special talent that doesn’t come around very often, but he does anything asked of him. To me it doesn’t matter as much to me how great a player he is as how good a kid he is. He has manners and does anything you ask of him with a “yes sir, no sir” attitude.”
Avery played at Hendersonville this past Tuesday, and will host Polk County on Thursday night, a change from the previously scheduled date of Friday.
