Free throws doom Railroaders in nail-bitter loss

By Dan King

The Whitehall boys’ basketball team concluded its regular season with a barnburner of a cross-over Evan St. Claire is guarded by Brandon Drollette, as he drives the lanegame against the Corinth Tomahawks.

The Tomahawks were able to top the Railroaders 63-60 in a back and forth affair.

Whitehall jumped out to a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Tomahawks narrowed the margin to three at the half.

The third quarter would ultimately be the downfall for the Railroaders, who were outscored 21-6 that quarter; free throws were another determining factor in the Railroaders’ loss.

“Free throws, you’ve got to make them,” Head Coach Keith Redmond said. “Games are won and lost on the free throw line and that’s a game we win on the free throw line if we even make 60 percent of them.”

Despite the rough third quarter and the struggles from the charity stripe, Whitehall would claw back into the game in the fourth to make a thrilling finish.

Whitehall would outscore Corinth 26-17 in the final stanza.

The Railroaders used pressure and traps defensively to force a slew of Corinth turnovers in the fourth.

“At halftime we talked about coming out and trapping them and the kids thought we could,” Redmond added. “We noticed their ball handling wasn’t great. We got down ten, but then we trapped and got back to down one.”

As is nearly always the case for Whitehall’s offense, the trifecta would keep the team in the game. Evan St. Claire and Justin McDonald each hit three shots from beyond the arc; St. Claire would have a game high 20 points, while McDonald added 11.

“All around tonight (St. Claire) was super,” Redmond said. “Defensively, shooting the ball, driving to the lane and he was perfect from the free throw line. That’s a performance from a freshman that is unheard of. It was nice, tonight was his first start and he really earned it.”

Brian McLaughlin and Justin Hoagland would add 11 and 10 points, respectively for the Railroaders.

St. Claire would hit a pull-up three from well beyond NBA range at one point, late in the fourth, to tie the game, but Corinth would get enough out of its post players to seal the victory.

The undersized Railroaders struggled to contain the Tomahawks in the post, when Corinth was able to get through the traps and get the ball down low.

Robert Shippee led the way for Corinth with 18 points, nearly all of which came within two feet of the rim.

Brandon Drollette scored 16 and Chantz Baudoux added 11 for the Tomahawks.

Whitehall (6-12) found out its sectional opponent on Wednesday afternoon, after this edition had already gone to press.