When he beat Clinton, Saluda coach Jimmy Kinard said he needed other players to take on the attack to complement Zion Wright.
Kinard got exactly what he asked for through his son Lane when a senior eight-point quarter led the Tigers to victory over Laurens on Tuesday, 48-31. Despite the crooked score, Saluda struggled to get his offensive going and missed his first six shots.
The Tigers entered halftime, two behind, but a 3-pointer from Lane Kinard early in the third quarter started their offensive.
“The bottom line is that we’ve finally started putting down some shots,” said Jimmy Kinard. “We shot the same shots in the first half, but they just didn’t work for us. If you can’t put the ball in the basket, it’s hard to win, but our defense was solid and left us hanging around until the shots were fired. “
The 3-ball triggered a 12-point third quarter of the Tigers, which was crowned with a layup from Wright in the final seconds of the quarter. Keeping all the momentum, Saluda opened the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run thanks to duo Wright and Lane Kinard.
Wright broke the 20 point mark, leading the Tigers with 22 points, while Lane Kinard added 13.
“We needed that very much,” said Jimmy Kinard. “It’s the best ball Lane has shot this year, to be honest. He looks good, but you missed out. He has to be credited for starting to fall in the second half and I’m very happy for him. Zion (Wright) has been the constant player he is every night. “
Jimmy Kinard said that although the Tigers have nights when they struggle to score, if he can get Lane Kinard and Wright to compete against each other, he thinks they can be “pretty competitive”.
“Hopefully it will boost their confidence to throw a few shots tonight,” said Jimmy Kinard.
Contact sports journalist James Benedetto at 864-223-1814 or follow on Twitter @james_benedetto.
