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CLOVER The Clover Blue Eagle boys’ basketball team opened the 2012-13 season with a 47-44 win against Charlotte Country Day.
It was the Clover debut for coach Bailey Jackson, a Clover native and former Fort Mill High School coach.
The Blue Eagles bolted to a 15-3 first-quarter lead and held off a late Charlotte Country Day rally.
Balanced scoring contributed to the win, with junior forward Alex Thompson scoring 11 points against the Charlotte team.
Senior Taylor Hoover finished with 10 points; Ladarius Adams, 8; Arnaldo Toro and Jevon Blake, 7 each; and Austin Stone and Bryce Allen, 2 each.
But, the Blue Eagles fell to a fast-paced, hot shooting Hunter Huss team 70-51 in a home game Friday.
Arnaldo Toro, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, made his presence felt in a closely-contested first quarter.
Toro scored the first basket for the Blue Eagles and later had a mammoth shot rejection before knotting the score at 7 midway through the first quarter.
After Hunter Huss spurted to a 15-7 lead, R.J. Moore scored and sophomore Bryce Allen nailed a 3-pointer, slicing the Huss lead to 15-12.
Toro had a productive second quarter with help from Moore and Hoover and the Blue Eagles stayed within striking distance, trailing 35-25 at the half.
But the visiting Huss team went on a tear in the second half, expanding the lead and closing strong for the win.
Though disappointed with the home loss, Jackson remained upbeat after the game.
“There were times when we played as well as they did,” he said . “We played a good team tonight.”
The Blue Eagles play at Hunter Huss on Friday. The action begins at 8 p.m. following the girls’ game.
