Mustangs gain 2 wins over weekend; defeat Ripley and Westfall

The Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs gained two much-needed wins over this past weekend, as they won Friday night on the road at Ripley, then followed that with a Saturday evening road win against the Westfall Mustangs. 

Starting with Friday night (Jan. 16), Lynchburg-Clay defeated Ripley, 64-43 at Ripley High School for the Southern Hills Athletic Conference win over the Blue Jays. 

The Mustangs started with a fury of scoring, netting 22 points in the opening quarter, while allowing just nine points for a 22-9 advantage. 

Taking a 13-point lead into the second quarter, LCHS won the second frame at 17-8 for a halftime advantage of 39-17, giving themselves a 22-point lead. 

The second half for Lynchburg-Clay included a 12-8 third quarter, and Ripley outscored the Mustangs in the fourth — as LCHS had the game well in hand — at 18-13. 

Denver Clinton led the Mustangs in scoring with 19 points, as the senior 1,000-plus-point scorer totaled eight two pointers, one 3-pointer, and he added six rebounds, one assist and two steals. 

Tanner Roberts finished with 12 points for the Mustangs, sinking six two-point baskets, while also collecting six rebounds, two assists, two steals and four blocks. 

Harley Lewis and Trevor Niehaus each scored eight points, as Lewis made four two-pointers and had one rebound, one assist and one steal. Niehaus sank two 3-pointers, plus he made a two-point basket, while also adding five rebounds, three assists and a steal to his final game totals. 

Quin Wells finished the game with six points off three made baskets, and he ended the game with three rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Linkin Barnett ended the game against RHS with five points by making a two-pointer and a 3-pointer, then he collected one rebound. Scoring four points was Elam Faust as he made two baskets from the field. Faust also had seven rebounds, two assists and four steals. Rhalstan Greene ended with two points and one assist. Caden Boone totaled three rebounds and one assist. 

“We challenged our kids to come out strong in the first quarter and play to our standard. We were far from perfect, but were able to set the pace well enough early to maintain control throughout the game,” Lynchburg-Clay head coach Kyle Pertuset said.

The Mustangs’ team totals were 26 two-point baskets, four 3-pointers, and they were 0-of-1 from the free-throw line. They also finished with 32 rebounds (nine offensive), 13 assists, 11 steals and four blocks with just six turnovers in the contest. 

BOX SCORE
LCHS    22 17 12 13 — 64
RHS      09 08 08 18 — 43

The following night (Saturday, Jan. 17), the Mustangs went back on the bus, traveled to Ross County and defeated the Westfall Mustangs in non-conference play by a 52-47 score at Westfall High School. 

The LC Mustangs led by two points after the first quarter at 14-12, and then they won the second frame at 12-8 for a halftime lead of six points at 26-20. 

Lynchburg-Clay continued to add to their advantage with an 11-8 third quarter but were outscored in the fourth frame at 19-15. 

“I’m proud of our kids' resilience to hold on to a lead and finish the job on the road,” LCHS head coach Kyle Pertuset said. “In the fourth quarter, we were 13-of-16 from the free-throw line. Westfall has a very unique approach, and anytime you can get a win like that on less than 24 hours of preparation, it speaks volumes on the kids’ mental focus and attention to details and scouting report.”

Lynchburg-Clay had three players reach double figures in the scoring column, with Quin Wells being the leading scorer with 13 points. The sophomore made four two-point baskets and was 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. He also had three rebounds, one assist and one steal. 

Tanner Roberts totaled 12 points for the game as the sophomore made four buckets from the field and went 4-of-6 in his free-throw attempts. Roberts also had five rebounds, one assist and four blocks, giving him 60 blocks thus far for the 2025-26 season. 

Denver Clinton ended with 11 points off three two-pointers and he was 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. Clinton added eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and four blocks. 

Elam Faust finished the non-conference win with eight points, making two 3-pointers and a two-point field goal. He also had seven rebounds, one assist and two steals. 

Trevor Niehaus finished with eight points by making one two-pointer and going 6-of-8 in his free-throw attempts. Niehaus also had nine rebounds, two assists and two steals. Harley Lewis made one assist. 

For the game, team totals by the LCHS Mustangs were 13 two-point baskets, two 3-pointers, and they were 20-of-26 from the free-throw line. LCHS also had 32 rebounds (10 offensive) with eight assists, seven steals and eight blocks with nine turnovers. 

The Mustangs are now 6-8 overall with a SHAC mark of 3-5. 

Next for Lynchburg-Clay is a SHAC away game against the Eastern Warriors at EHS on Tuesday, Jan. 20. 

BOX SCORE
LCHS    14 12 11 15 — 52
WHS     12 08 08 19 — 47