The Clarkton Reindeer struggled to hold on after a second half rally and defensive adjustments by Crowley's Ridge Academy during the hosts' homecoming night on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. After a first quarter lead and an incredibly tight margin at halftime, Clarkton fell to the Falcons, from Paragould Ark., with a final score of 49-65.

In spite of a quickly apparent size disadvantage to CRA, Clarkton launched to a 17-11 advantage after the first quarter, which ended as Reindeer Amauri Gorman – who'd go on to be the game's high-scorer with 24 points in total – cut inside for a layup and put in another off a steal in the final scoring play of the period.

“In the first half I thought we really got out and got some steals,” Clarkton coach Cole McBroom said. “We typically don't play too fast, but we knew we needed to play more up-tempo against this team. We were getting up and down, getting aggressive, and then they calmed down and got into the game.”

Clarkton nearly extended the lead to ten early in the second as Kaleb Guyton made a quick two-point play and Alex Juarez layed in another. CRA's Luke Murray put in a three-pointer in between to halt progress, and after a timeout was called, the Falcons went on a seven-point run to tie the ballgame 23-all.

Another flipflop of the lead ultimately saw the visitors up by two points, 29-27, entering the break.

Clarkton's James Johnson shoots a free throw during a game against Crowley's Ridge Academy Friday, Jan. 26, 2024.Photo by Christian Johnson

Already with an advantage in size, Crowley's Ridge moved into a 1-3-1 zone defense that all but shut down Clarkton's hope for a comeback. Meanwhile on offense, CRA's Doss Clayton pushed inside the paint for four buckets, and with the help of three others with at least four apiece, CRA outscored Clarkton by six in the third quarter to lead 50-42.

“Amauri could getting to the lane in the first half and we were doing an abundance of things well in the first quarter, and some in the second quarter,” McBroom said. “But that's a good team we played. I'm very impressed with their ball movement and their length, especially defensively, caused us some problems. And they have a lot of depth where we don't.”

Crowley's Ridge opened scoring in the fourth quarter with a steal and layup combo that kicked off a quick five-point run and pulled away by 11 to lead 58-47 at a timeout midway through the last period. CRA's Clayton added six in the fourth quarter, while Talan McMillon put in a layup and went four-for-four at the free throw line to close out the game.

Amauri Gorman paced Clarkton with 24 points, James Johnson scored seven, Kaleb Guyton scored six, and both Alex Juarez and Clayton Godsey added five apiece. Eight players for CRA made it into the scoring column with Talan McMillon on top with 21 points. Doss Clayton followed with 18 and Teddy Jo-Spillman added 12.

Clarkton (6-11) next hosts conference foe Delta C-7 Tuesday, Jan. 30, at 6 p.m.

“We've got two more conference games in Delta C-7 and Cooter,” McBroom said. “We're looking forward to those games, and maybe we can flip the script and get a close win. We've had some close wins, but I'd like another one.”