Boys basketball: Freshman Carson Lima's clutch 3-pointer sparks Firelands past Cloverleaf

HENRIETTA TWP. — Carson Lima delivered a clutch shot when Firelands needed it most. The freshman gave the Falcons a boost throughout the game with 14 points off the bench and a huge 3-pointer with two minutes left in the fourth quarter that helped close out Cloverleaf for a 57-50 non-conference win Friday night. "I honestly didn't think I was going to make it," Lima said of the 3-pointer. "That just changed the whole game from there. Everything started going fast and we just made shots. We just finally started to hit and they started to miss." Firelands (8-2) took a 12-5 lead, but Cloverleaf (6-4) finished the first half strong. The Falcons ultimately pushed their lead to 21-15, but the Colts limited them to just one field goal for the next 5:45, closing the half on a 12-2 run that gave them a 27-23 lead. Martin Moran scored six straight points for the Colts at one point, including a steal that tied the game at 21. Carter Whitehair scored five down the stretch. The two led the Colts in scoring as Moran finished with 19, adding seven rebounds, and Whitehair added 10. "I didn't think we played the best first half," Firelands coach Colin Myers said. "Give them credit, they came and punched us in the mouth early and got up and down the floor. They did a lot of things well and we struggled early." Firelands came out hot in the third quarter with Ayden Fortner scoring five of the team's first seven points, cutting the lead to 31-30. Firelands eventually took the lead with 4:20 left, but the teams exchanged leads on three of the next four possessions with one tie in between. Fortner, who had to go up against Cloverleaf 6-foot-7 center Zackary Brownson, led the Falcons with 18 points and 10 rebounds. "I was struggling around the rim in the first half and the coaches got on me," Fortner said. "They told me I had to finish, I had to go through guys bigger than me and assert my dominance. I did my best. The biggest thing was to just use pump fakes and whatever little tricks I could to get little edges." While Cloverleaf entered the fourth with a 40-38 lead, Firelands scored the first eight points with Lima capping the run with a jumper and a layup. The freshman was just getting warmed up. Cloverleaf got the lead down to one possession twice — at 48-46 and 50-47. Firelands milked 50 seconds off the clock up three with 3:10 to play when Lima drained a corner three that gave the Falcons a 53-47 lead. Lima followed that with a layup, ultimately scoring nine points in the fourth quarter, as Firelands closed the game on a 7-0 run to go up 57-47 and held on for the win. "When it was time to win the game, we stepped up," Myers said. "We executed extremely well in that fourth quarter. Give the kids all the credit. They're the ones that executed and took care of the basketball, made the shots, made it look easy. We're so proud of the way our kids played tonight." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X. Firelands 57, Cloverleaf 50 CLOVERLEAF (50): Tyberius Kovach 2-0-5, Zackary Brownson 5-1-11, Martin Moran 8-2-19, Carter Whitehair 3-2-10, Isaac Smith 2-0-5, Joseph Cesareo 0-0-0, Kellen Price 0-0-0, Gavin Forbes 0-0-0. Totals 20-5-50. FIRELANDS (57): Elijah Zidar 2-0-4, Rylan Copen 3-0-7, Jackson Lima 1-0-2, Max Stinson 3-0-7, Ayden Fortner 8-2-18, Carson Lima 6-1-14, Evan Gargasz 1-0-2, Logan Holt 1-0-3, Cameron Mulica 0-0-0. Totals 25-3-57. Cloverleaf&emsp;15&emsp;12&emsp;13&emsp;10&emsp;—&emsp;50Firelands&emsp; 16 &emsp;7&emsp;15&emsp;19&emsp;—&emsp;57 Three-point goals: Cloverleaf 5-16 (Whitehair 2, Kovach, Moran, Smith), Firelands 4-15(Copen, Holt, Lima, Stinson). Field goals: Cloverleaf 20-47 (43 percent), Firelands 25-54 (46 percent). Free throws: Cloverleaf 5-9 (56 percent), Firelands 3-7 (43 percent). Rebounds: Cloverleaf 19 (Brownson 8), Firelands 27 (Fortner 10). Total fouls: Cloverleaf 5, Firelands 8. Turnovers: Cloverleaf 15, Firelands 10. Junior varsity: Cloverleaf, 62-58