LaPorte squeaked out a sectional victory against South Bend Clay on Wednesday night thanks to rebounding and free throw shooting.

LaPorte has been a solid offensive rebounding team, especially for its size, all season. The Slicers took things to the next level with their effort on the glass against South Bend Clay. LaPorte came down with 16 offensive rebounds compared to Clay’s five. On a night that LaPorte didn’t shoot well, it was a major key to the victory.

To begin the game, it looked like LaPorte was going to blow Clay out of the water. Freshman Garrott Ott-Large buried a couple three-pointers to start the scoring for LaPorte. The Slicers jumped out to a 10-3 lead before Clay’s Tysean Sheppard took over.

Sheppard knocked down two three-pointers to get the scoring started for Clay. He began to attack off the dribble after demonstrating his outside shooting prowess. The senior guard scored 15 points in the first quarter to keep Clay in the game.

It was an up and down game for both offenses. Clay and LaPorte lit up the scoreboard in the first quarter. LaPorte followed up a 25-point period with five points in the second quarter. Clay’s offense stalled in the third quarter in the way of a three-point period. It’s rare for both teams to have those extremes in a game.

Dylan Underwood and Michael Payne were huge for Clay in the fourth quarter. Payne was Clay’s best rebounder, especially in the fourth period. He did a good job of converting putbacks as well. Underwood provided most of the scoring for Clay down the stretch. He scored 10 points in the fourth quarter.

LaPorte’s defense came up with a couple key stops late in the game then converted free throws to seal the game. Clay added a two-point shot at the buzzer to make the final 61-58 in LaPorte’s advantage.

LaPorte- Andrew Samuelson 14 points (3-13 FG, 0-6 3FG, 8-11 FT), 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 2 blocks, 1 steal; Owen Strieter 11 points (1-3 FG, 0-1 3FG, 9-12 FT), 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 turnovers; Garrott Ott-Large 15 points (5-12 FG, 5-11 3FG); Nikolaus Ormsby 9 points (2-2 FG, 5-10 FT), 7 rebounds, 1 turnover, 2 steals; Scott Cooper 9 points (4-11 FG, 1-2 3FG), 6 rebounds, 2 assists; Austin Haferkamp 3 points (1-2 3FG), 1 rebound; Jerry Fulton 1 rebound; Tommy Moore 1 assist

Clay – Tysean Sheppard 24 points (9-20 FG, 4-11 3FG, 2-3 FT), 7 rebounds, 1 turnover, 1 steal; Michael Payne 8 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal; David Allen 4 points, 1 rebound, 2 turnover; Nick Coleman 8 points, 3 rebounds; Dylan Underwood 14 points (5-7 FG, 2-3 3FG, 2-2 FT), 1 rebound, 3 assist, 1 turnover, 1 steal; Anthony Neal 1 rebound, 1 block; Andrew Graham 5 assists, 2 turnovers