Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

The St. Joseph Flyers cut to the Chase and utilized a long-range Mac Attack.
Chase Walters had a game-high 22 points and Joey McDavid drained five 3-pointers as he scored 19 points to lead the Flyers to a 53-36 win over the Portsmouth Clay Panthers on Saturday.
“Joey has been working really hard. We know what kind of a scorer he is, but he does other things, too. Chase gives you everything he has and he passes the ball well,” said Flyers’ coach Rex Cooksey whose team is now 9-2.
“But we’re really a balanced team. Clay Willis contributed. Zach Roach hit a couple of shots and played good defense. Whaley does things that don’t show up in the boxscore. They’re a very unselfish bunch that’s just wants to win.”
Clay (1-12) tried to use its own 3-point shooting by making eight bombs in the game — six in the first half.
Garrett Beegan hit three 3-pointers and scored 11 points while Gage Moore hit three more 3-pointers for the Panthers.
McDavid hit three trifectas and Walters scored six points as the Flyers took an 18-9 first quarter lead. Beegan had five points with a 3-pointer for Clay.
Moore made all his 3-pointers and Reece Whitley added another as Clay cut the lead to 26-21 at the half.
“We got in some foul trouble in the first half and couldn’t get up and guard them like we wanted,” said Cooksey.
“We played pretty good. Their 3-pointers kept them in the game. We took care of the ball and executed. The shot selection was really good and we showed a lot of patience.”
But Walters scored eight points and McDavid had seven points including a pair of 3-pointers as St. Joseph went up 42-31 after three quarters.
Zach Roach hit a shot from beyond the arc and Walters scored four points in the fourth quarter while the defense limited Clay to a mere five points.
The Flyers led by as many as 21 points.
St. Joseph will host Symmes Valley this Saturday.
Ports. Clay    9    12    10    5    =    36
St. Joseph    18    8    16    11    =    53
PORTSMOUTH CLAY (1-12): Jason Newton 2 0 1-3 5, Chase Hudson 0 0 0-0 0, Caleb Cline 2 0 0-2 4, Hunter Mathias 1 0 0-0 2, Reece Whitley 0 2 0-0 6, Teddy McCall 0 0 0-0 0, Garrett Beegan 1 3 0-1 11, Gage Moore 0 3 0-0 9, Jacob Wellman 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 6 8 1-6 36. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None.
ST. JOSEPH (9-2): Isaac Whaley 0 0 0-0 0, Zach Roach 0 2 0-0 6, Clay Willis 3 0 0-0 6, Joey McDavid 2 5 0-0 19, Chase Walters 10 0 2-3 22, Jimmy Mahlmeister 0 0 0-0 0, Jackson Rowe 0 0 0-0 0, Max Weber 0 0 0-0 0, Bryson Canter 0 0 0-0 0, Ethan Clark 0 0 0-0 0, Jared Johnson 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22-58 2-3 53. 3-pt goals: 7-17. Rebounds: 20 (Walters 7, Willis 6, Roach 4). Assists: 12 (Whaley 4, Walters 3). Turnovers: 8. Fouls: 9. Fouled out: None.