CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville Wildcats took on the Battle of Warfield Boulevard rivalry at Rossview High School Friday night. Rossview scored early and often, inside and out, and despite Clarksville’s best attempts to match it, the Hawks ran away with a 76-53 win to start district play with a win on their home floor.

On Monday against Northwest Israel, Dillard waited till the second half to get going, but he didn’t want to wait on Friday night, scoring 12 first-half points. He ended the night with 27 points, along with 12 rebounds for a double-double, which has become routine for him. 

To complement the prolific offense, the Hawks played well defensively, holding the Wildcats to 13 points or fewer in each of the first three quarters. Clarksville guard Lawson Phillips was the bright spot, leading his team with 18 points, including four threes.

“Defensively, we played really well, pressured the ball and cut off lanes all night,” said Hawks head coach Johnny Jackson. “Offensively, we took a lot of high-quality shots and executed well. Dillard was such a solid player, especially on the boards, and for a sophomore, he makes big-time shots.

The third quarter proved to be the main separator, as the Wildcats were outscored 25-9. Hawks guard Jiyair did a lot of that damage, finishing the night with 22 points, including some thunderous dunks, and 10 assists, the second Hawk with a double-double on the night. The Wildcats cut into the lead in the fourth, but the damage was already done, and Rossview defended its home floor.

Coaches’ corner

“Credit to Rossview, they hit shots when they needed to,” said Wildcats head coach Ted Young. “We made some errant passes that led to easy baskets, and we always want to have to make you play us five on five defensively. We’ve had a lot of really good practices, so right now, for us, individual player development is key for our team going forward. This team will bounce back from this and keep playing basketball.”

It wasn’t anything flashy; it wasn’t reinventing the wheel, but the formula Rossview has to win games is a simple one. Clean up the glass, find the open man, make the open shot. They did all that and more in a statement win over their cross-town rival Friday night.

“Rose was very good off the dribble, but in the second half, he was a great playmaker and made some great passes,” said Jackson. “We’ve done a good job of focusing on defense more than we have in the past, and that turns into easy buckets offensively. We can’t be satisfied with this, and we want to keep building on momentum moving forward.”

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