Colt kryptonite: Pleasant falls out of first place in the MOAC after loss to Clear Fork
MARION — Clear Fork has proven to be Pleasant's kryptonite this season in the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference.
The Spartans are 10-0 against the rest of the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference in girls basketball, but 0-2 against Clear Fork after the Colts took a 36-32 makeup game victory Tuesday night at Pleasant.
More photos: GALLERY: Marion Harding at Clear Fork Girls Basketball
Go vote: Who won last week's polls and who is nominated for this week's polls at the Marion Star?
"They are so good, and this is such a tough place to play," Clear Fork coach Scott Sellers said. "We’re really a mirror kind of team against Pleasant. They’re smaller like us, They play hard. They’re primarily a man defensive team. They’ve got skill 1 through 7, I mean really, really good, elite skill. We knew how good they were coming in."
The Spartans and five-time defending champion Shelby were tied atop the standings in the loss column before Tuesday night. After the loss to the Colts, Pleasant drops to 16-3 overall and 10-2 in the MOAC, while Shelby is 14-3, 12-1 after a 52-14 win over Highland. Clear Fork is now 13-5, 10-3.
"They’ve been hanging in there. They’re excellent on defense. They move the ball well. They hit shots," Pleasant coach Keriann Pratt said of the Colts.
How did Clear Fork do it?
On Dec. 8, the Colts rallied from a double-digit deficit to take a 51-42 victory on its home court over Pleasant. Tuesday night, no one led by more than two possessions all night during a back-and-forth contest.
Clear Fork led 25-20 inside the first minute of the second half, but Pleasant fought back to take a 29-28 lead by the end of the period. The problem for the Spartans is they went scoreless over the next 7:27 to again fall behind by five points 34-29.
"In the first half, they shot it really well. I think we lost some of their shooters. They are probably the best straight-shooting team that we’ll play this year. When you lose kids, they’re just going to knock them down," Sellers said. "I thought we did a good job on (Emerson) Williams. I think she’s fantastic. I thought we did a good job on (Avah) Steele in the second half, and she’s obviously an All-Ohioan. I think we just locked down and played really solid team defense in the second half."
The Spartans were 7 of 21 from the field in the first half and just 4 of 16 in the second half. Six of their seven baskets in the first two quarters were from the arc. PHS managed just four 2-pointers all night and was 3 of 7 from the foul line. Steele led them with nine points and Olivia Pratt with eight.
Clear Fork was just 2-for-2 on free throws, but it made 14 field goals with six from beyond the arc. Mel Blubaugh scored 15 points for the Colts, while teammate Brinley Barnett added nine.
What's next?
The Colts wrap up their league schedule hosting Highland Friday and River Valley on Feb. 8.
"We knew what a big game it was for us, not just with MOAC stuff but for the tournament draw coming up," Sellers said as the draw is Sunday.
For Pleasant, it still controls its own destiny despite falling a game behind the Whippets. The Spartans host Marion Harding Friday and Shelby on Feb. 8.
"There are some things that we obviously want to work on," Coach Pratt said. "This just gets us more and more prepared. We’ve got two more (league games). We’ve got to beat Harding and now we’ve got to beat Shelby.
"We’re still in control to some degree. Not where we want it to be, but we’re still in control. We have something to look forward to. The draw is on Sunday. We’re sitting at three (seed) in the draw right now. I think we’ll be okay."
rmccurdy@gannett.com
419-610-0998
X @McMotorsport
Instagram @rob_mccurdy_star
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Despite loss to Clear Fork, Pleasant still controls its MOAC destiny
