By Sara Page, Midlothian Exchange
spage@midlothianexchange.com

The Clover Hill boys’ varsity basketball team put up big numbers in the second and third quarters of last Friday’s game against Midlothian.

The Cavs outscored their opponents 34-17 in the two periods combined and led by as much as 17.

Midlothian’s outside shooting came to life in the fourth quarter, allowing the team to claw its way back into the game and setting up an exciting finish that boosted the team to 2-0 in the Dominion District behind a 53-52 win.

Down 52-49 with 38 seconds remaining, Midlothian forward Alex Simon converted a pair of free throws to pull the Trojans within one.

Simon tipped away a ball on the other end, which was called out of bounds off Clover Hill and gave Midlothian the ball with 31.3 seconds left. The team swung the ball around the perimeter looking for the inside shot to open up but the Clover Hill defense held tight and guard Brandon Williams came up with a steal. Midlothian guard Will Johnston fouled Williams immediately to set up the one-and-one bonus.

Williams missed the front end and Midlothian center Danny Klein pulled down the defensive board with 7.7 seconds remaining on the clock.

Klein sent an outlet pass ahead to Johnston, who pulled up for a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer. Johnston caught nothing but net and sent the Trojan crowd into a frenzy.

“We just got the rebound and I was getting the outlet. Coach [Chip McCoull] told me to go all the way and pull up for my jump shot, so that’s what I did,” Johnston said, still out of breath from the final seconds. “It was just a lucky shot. It went in. I was happy about it.”

The Trojans played smart basketball in the second half. Though they were outscored in the third period 15-9, the team kept fouls to a minimum and entered the fourth quarter with just three team fouls, which allowed them to stop the clock without penalty and play more aggressive defense until the last minute of the game.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers found themselves in foul trouble. With eight team fouls at the six-minute mark, Clover Hill gave up eight points in the fourth quarter from the free-throw line. Midlothian was perfect from the stripe in bonus situations.

Down 18-12 early in the second quarter, Clover Hill poured on their brand of scrappy, hurry-up offense. Guard Chris Taylor hit two consecutive 3-pointers to give the Cavaliers their first lead of the night.

The teams traded leads until just before halftime when Clover Hill went on a 5-0 scoring run to take the lead for the foreseeable future.

Clover Hill went on a 9-0 scoring run early in the third quarter to open up the biggest lead of the night, and another three by Taylor at the end of the quarter put the Cavaliers ahead by 11 heading into the final quarter.

Mo Gross kept Clover Hill in the driver’s seat in the early going of the final quarter. He drew a foul and hit the front end of a pair of shots, then forced a turnover to set up a shot by Devonte Strother. A 3-pointer by Herb Byrd gave Clover Hill a 17-point lead and forced a Midlothian timeout.

“Coach wanted us to spread it out, so we were just trying to get it to Wes [Justis],” Johnston said.

The strategy worked immediately. While Klein drew fouls in the paint and hit four bonus shots, Justis banged in two 3-pointers to start a 16-point scoring run for the Trojans, which set up the last-minute heroics.

Midlothian ended with three players in double digits. Justis led the way with 16 points including three 3-pointers; Klein added 14 points and 13 rebounds; and Johnston added 13 points. The Trojans improve to 3-2 overall.

Clover Hill spread its offense around evenly. Taylor and Kyle Queen each finished with nine points followed by Tim Thaniel and Strother with seven each. Strother led the team in rebounds with 10. The Cavaliers move to 2-2 in the district and 2-2 overall.