The McLennan Highlanders fell to the Clarendon Bulldogs 82-61 on the opening evening of the Western Texas Classic in Snyder.
Clarendon jumped out to an early five-point lead but McLennan fought back to tie the game at 9. The two teams then traded the lead for the majority of the first half. Clarendon made a run late in the half to take a double-digit lead at 37-27. A Lorenzo Anderson 3-pointer cut the lead to seven and McLennan trailed 39-32 at the half.
The Highlanders' shooting went cold early in the second half, allowing the Bulldogs to break the game open with a 13-4 run.
Akili Vining and Lorenzo Anderson led the Highlanders with 15 points each.
McLennan will face host Western Texas at 6 p.m. tomorrow.
Clarendon: Darreus Brown 0 0-0 0; Michael Underwood 3 3-3 12; Da'Vantre Vitor 2 0-0 4; Elijah Gonzales 3 1-3 7; Russell Harrison 7 0-1 16; Donchevell Nugent 4 0-2 9; Dimitar Pandev 1 2-2 4; Emmanuel Gatkek 6 0-0 12; Jharon Whitfield 2 0-0 5; Mark-Anthony McReed 1 1-3 3; Kobi Johnson 1 1-1 3; Esahia Nywie 3 1-2 7; Totals: 33 9-17 82.
McLennan: Akili Vining 6 0-0 15; Lorenzo Anderson 6 3-4 15; Rodrique Massenat 3 0-0 7; Cameron Copeland 3 0-0 6; Chris Pryor 0 1-2 1; Rayquan Brown 2 0-0 4; Tre Thomas 0 1-2 1; Claven Wilson 2 0-0 6; Asare Otchere 1 0-1 2; Isaiah Wyatt 0 0-0 0; Tyrese Taylor 0 0-0 0; Scott Ator 0 4-4 4; Totals: 23 9-13 61.
3-pointers: Clarendon 7 (Underwood 3, Harrison 2, Nugent 1, Whitfield 1), McLennan 6 (Vining 3, Wilson 2, Massenat 1); Total fouls: Clarendon 18, McLennan 16; Halftime score: Clarendon 39, McLennan 32; Record: McLennan 4-4.
