Both of the Warren Central teams trailed big and then made second-half charges against Clinton Tuesday night.

The Lady Vikes’ comeback proved successful while the boys came up short.

Warren Central’s Michelle Jones hit a 4-foot runner with 10 seconds left to cap a rally from a 15-point deficit and give the Lady Vikes a 50-48 win over Clinton. It was the third straight victory for WC (5-11, 1-1 Division 4-6A).

The Lady Vikes trailed 28-13 late in the first half after Jones, who led WC with 14 points, was held scoreless.

“I just made some mistakes in the first half,” Jones said. “I started playing right in the second half. We had Shagreda Shorter stepped up and help us in the post area. We were able to execute better in the second half.”

Clinton helped out by melting down in the fourth quarter. The Lady Arrows had 10 turnovers in the final stanza and managed just six shots.

Clinton led 42-30 going into the fourth, but Jones and her teammates caught fire. Two free throws and and a basket by Jones capped a 10-3 run to make it 45-40 with 5:09 left. With 1:10 remaining, Elayne Robinson and Kiera Ross scored to tie the contest at 48 all.

Clinton made the ninth of 10 turnovers in the quarter when a pass was thrown out of bounds at midcourt with 29.5 seconds left. Jones turned the mistake into a runner for a 50-48 lead.

“It’s a play where I roll to the goal,” Jones said. “Sh’Qulla Neal made a good pass and I was just glad to make the shot.”

Clinton had one last chance with 2.9 seconds left, but the 6-foot-5 Shorter stole the pass to seal the win.

“I thought Shagreda Shorter was the difference,” WC coach Jackie Martin said. “They couldn’t match up with her size and she was more aggressive than anybody else we put in there. I thought this team might gel at some point. Maybe it’s the time. Even when weren’t playing well, we continued to play hard.”

Shorter finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Robinson had 10 points and Ross had nine.

Clinton was led by Cortni Cooper with 16 and Aliva Hughes had 13.

(B) Clinton 53,

Warren Central 52

An off-balance bank shot by Kourey Davis from 12 feet glanced off the rim at the horn and Clinton escaped with a win in its division opener.

The Arrows (13-5, 1-0) led by 18, 29-11, in the first half but the Vikings (8-8, 0-2) mounted a comeback as Clinton committed 19 second-half turnovers. The Arrows, up 34-19 at the half, went six minutes without a score in the third quarter. WC went on a 15-0 run to tie the game at 34.

Clinton went back up eight at 48-40 with 3:32 left after a basket by Dominic Davis. WC answered with a 3-point play by Jeremy Harper with 1:36 left to make it 49-47.

The Vikings tied the game for the final time at 51 following a basket by Gerald Glass off a feed from Davis with 37.5 seconds left. Two free throws by Dominic Davis put Clinton up 53-51.

With 4.3 seconds left, WC’s Devin Johnson was fouled and had two shots for the tie. He made the first but was short on the second. The miss was bounced out of bounds but the Vikings got the possession. On the final inbounds play, Kourey Davis got a shot from the corner, but was long.

WC coach Jesse Johnson said his team continues to be hindered by mistakes.

“Too many unforced errors,” Johnson said. “We have a bad habit of beating ourselves.”

Johnson said the Vikings were also hurt by a schedule change.

“Today was the first time in 21⁄2 weeks they had to get up by 6 in the morning,” Johnson said. “They had been sleeping and it caught up to us today. We dragged in the first half and just settled for jump shots.”

Kavonte Younger led Clinton with 16 points. Davis and Octavious Harper had 12 each.

WC was paced by Kourey Davis with 13 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. Jeremy Harper had 13 points and six assists while Devin Johnson had 13 points and six steals.