Palacios plenty for Warren

The #5 Clark Cougars exploded for a 12 point lead in the third quarter against the #9 Warren Warriors and survived the final quarter frenzy to remain undefeated in District 27-5A.  Clark defeated Warren 67-59.

The Warriors started the game with a 3-pointer and stepped out to a quick 7-0 lead.  Down by 8 points with 5:35 left in the quarter, the Cougars went on a  12-5 run to make it a one point game on a Jacob Palacios bucket plus one with two minutes left in the quarter.  Ansley Benjamin finished the quarter with a sweet move to the basket with 22 seconds left to give the Cougars a 18-17 lead at the end of the 1st quarter.

Both teams attacked the basket in the 2nd quarter, including back to back 3-pointers from Warren.  A Sean Cason jumper ended the quarter and the Cougars trailed by one, 33-34 going into the half.

The third quarter was all Cougars.  A stingy defense by Clark frustrated Warren, resulting in a technical foul with Adam Perez sinking one of two and giving Clark a 42-38 lead.  Immediately afterward, the Warrior’s subbed in a player, which would have been ok if another player left the court but 6 against 5 is frowned upon and Jacob Palacios made the Warriors pay by sinking two more free throws.  When the Cougars gained possession of the ball, Niko Maxwell sunk a trey and the wheels began to fall off for the Warriors.  With :08 seconds left in the quarter, John Chapman hit his jumper from  8 ft. out and the Cougars led 51-40 with one quarter to go.

A 12 out of 18 free throw performance in the final quarter sealed the victory for the Cougars. Jacob Palacios led all scorers with 18, followed by Niko Maxwell and Ansley Benjamin with 9 each.  The Cougars are off until next Tuesday when they take on a good Stevens team at noon at Paul Taylor.