Mount Pulaski comes from behind to top Clinton 58-49

[November 26, 2021] The Hilltoppers scored 26 points in the fourth quarter to dig themselves out of a hole and take down Clinton 58-49 in the Bill Rucks Varsity Boys Tournament on Wednesday night.

Clinton took a 13-9 lead over Mount Pulaski at the end of the first quarter. The Maroons lead was a slim 28-26 at the half. A pretty quiet third quarter kept the Hilltoppers down 40-32.

The fourth quarter saw the tide turn in Mount Pulaski’s favor. The Hilltoppers defense held the Maroons leading scorer, sophomore Dawson Graves, to just two fourth quarter points.

Meanwhile Mount Pulaski senior Aidan Schneider poured in 10 points, including two three-pointers that ignited the Hilltoppers offense. Lane Murphy was 7-for-8 from the free throw line down the stretch and added a field goal to go with his game-leading 27 points. The final score from the Ed Butkovich Gymnasium was 58-49.

Lane Murphy led all scorers with 27 points. Aidan Schneider tossed in 10 points for Mount Pulaski.

Mount Pulaski head coach Ryan Deibert spoke about the comeback, following the win. “We played out of control and out of sorts early on and Clinton pressured us pretty well and sped us up,” said Deibert. “They did a good job of doing that from their end. It took us a few quarters to really gain our composure. Then Clay Aylesworth went down with an injury in the second quarter and he’s a big energy guy for us, so that’s never a good thing.”

Late in the third quarter the Hilltoppers began to turn things around and then they put together a terrific fourth quarter over Clinton.

“We cranked up our pressure late in the third quarter and we were able to force a couple turnovers and get a couple easy baskets,” said Deibert. “I think that gave us a little confidence. We knocked down a couple perimeter shots and we were just able to do enough to get ahead and be able to stay ahead. We took care of the ball better in the fourth quarter. We still made a couple mistakes late but I guess we shouldn’t be perfect two games into the season.”

Mount Pulaski improves to 2-0 in the tournament.

The Hilltoppers will play Springfield Calvary tonight (Friday) at 8 p.m. as the Bill Rucks Tournament continues.

Scoring

Mount Pulaski 58

Murphy 27
Schneider 10
Aylesworth 7
Fricke 5
Tyson 4
Smith 2
Payne 2
Cooper 1

Clinton 49

Graves 22
C. Walker 11
M. Walker 7
Culver 7
Scott 2

[Teena Lowery]