Near-perfect shooting at line lifts Sundevils over Las Vegas boys
Mitrell Clark believes successful free-throw shooting in a hostile environment can be contagious.
And the Eldorado senior guard was plenty sick Wednesday night.
Clark was 17-for-17 from the foul line as the visiting Sundevils rallied from 17 points down at halftime for an 83-75 Northeast League win over Las Vegas.
Eldorado shot 31-for-33 at the line, including Bobby Webb’s 9-for-10 showing.
“It’s very contagious,” Clark said. “Once you’re at the free-throw line a couple times, the crowd tries to get to you, but you’ve just got to be focused.”
Clark paced the Sundevils (17-6, 6-1) with 28 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals.
“He’s a big-time player,” Eldorado coach Michael Uzan said. “He plays well under pressure. He likes that, and he steps up to challenges. That’s the kind of kid he is.”
Clark hit all eight of his free-throw attempts in the final 50 seconds.
“It was a little disheartening to watch,” Las Vegas coach Jason Wilson said. “But to their credit, they stepped up and hit those shots. What can you do?”
Webb scored 15 points and Charles White 14 for Eldorado. Marcus Moreland and Ariel Baggett had 10 apiece.
The Wildcats (12-9, 4-3) jumped to a 26-8 lead early in the second quarter. But Las Vegas was outscored 62-37 in the second half.
“In the second half, I thought (Eldorado) had some other guys besides Clark get some outside shots,” Wilson said. “And when they missed, they got some second-chance opportunities.”
Tony Eackles scored 27 points for Las Vegas, which was 15-for-19 from the foul line. Aahmad Franklin added 15 points and George Sanico 14 for the Wildcats.
Eldorado never got closer than three points in the third quarter despite scoring 35 in the period.
But the Sundevils owned the fourth, as White scored twice in the final 2:30 to put Eldorado up by five.
A 3-pointer from the wing by Franklin narrowed the Sundevils’ lead to 76-75 in the final minute, but Eldorado was 9-for-10 at the line afterward.
“We’re very disciplined, and we’re very experienced,” Clark said. “So in situations like that, we don’t panic. That’s one thing we don’t do; we don’t panic.”