By Dan Stillwell
Coaches love balance, and Steve Clark is a happy man.
His Shady Spring Tigers scored from all over the floor and put three players in double figures in a 67-51 victory Thursday night over Summers County.
“The kids aren’t selfish. It was a good effort,” Clark said after Kevin Goodson and Chase Conner scored 14 points apiece and Erik Davis 13. “We’re hoping to see this balance most of the year.”
Conner, a highly touted freshman, also had five rebounds and three steals for Shady (2-1).
He often played the point, freeing Davis to move to the wing opposite Corey Lilly.
“We feel very confident with Chase,” Clark said. “He handles the ball well and has some nice moves.
“We have three good guards and we can trade them up. It takes pressure off Eric. The more people can handle the ball, the better off you are.”
The Tigers jumped to leads of 9-0 and 13-2 before Summers (2-1) finally found its game.
The Bobcats trailed 17-9 after one period, but exchanged six leads with Shady in the second period before trailing 33-32 at the half.
Center Taran McKinney dominated the boards and scored 11 of his 15 points before the break.
“We have to find five who want to play when we get off the bus,” Summers coach James “Pistol” Payne said.
Shady opened the third quarter with a 10-2 run to pull away.
Centers Kevin Goodson and Matt Severt rose to the occasion, battling McKinney for rebounds and getting him into foul trouble.
Goodson, at 6-foot-6 around 3 inches taller than he was last season, finished with eight boards in addition to his 13 points.
“Kevin has improved. He’s gotten bigger and stronger,” Clark said. “He’s working hard and it’s paying off.”
Severt added nine points and four steals. Lilly scored eight points.
Another freshman, forward Adam Weeks, came off the bench to contribute six points and five rebounds.
“We let (Summers) back into the game, but we came out the second half and started to play again,” Clark said.
Reserve guard Jon Luc McCrae matched McKinney with 15 points. He also had five steals.
Ryne Nahodil chipped in seven points.
The Bobcats were plagued by turnovers all game.
“We contributed to our own defeat. I’m very disappointed,” Payne said. “We have a young team, but I expect them to hold up better than this.
“We’ll get better.”
Shady plays Liberty at 6 p.m. Monday in a holiday tournament at Sherman.
Summers will host Oak Hill Tuesday.
— E-mail: dstillwell@
register-herald.com
Shady Spring 67,
Summers County 51
Summers County (2-1)
Russell Scott 2 0-0 5, Kyle Newcom 0 0-2 0, Ryne Nahodil 2 1-2 7, Taran McKinney 7 0-0 15, Scott Hannah 1 0-0 2, Jon Luc McCrae 5 5-8 15, Austin Hartwell 0 0-0 0, Tre Ford 0 1-2 1, Parker Wheby 1 0-0 2. Totals: 22 7-13 51.
Shady Spring (2-1)
Chase Connor 6 1-4 14, Corey Lilly 1 6-8 8, Kevin Goodson 5 3-4 14, Erik Davis 5 0-0 13, Matt Severt 3 3-6 9, Nick Kilgore 0 0-0 0, Will Ort 0 0-0 0, Adam Weeks 3 0-0 6, Derrick Tacado 2 0-2 4, Josh Richmond 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25 15-24 67.
SC 9 23 11 8 — 51
SS 17 16 18 16 — 67
Three-point goals: SC: 4 (Nahodil 2, McKinney, Scott); SS: 4 (Conner, Davis 3; Fouled out: SC: McKinney.
