By — Ronan Heykoop
The Tuscarora Huskies bested the Dominion Titans (46-45) in electric fashion! Senior Guard Jack Clark put the team on his back in a dominant performance that climaxed with a buzzer beater from the right elbow sealing the win for the Huskies.
I spoke to Jack Clark after his game winner and I got a sense of what led up to the shot and what work he put in during these uncertain times.“My off-season looked totally different this year. I started working with a performance trainer called Quantum Movement and they really transformed my athleticism. I also put a lot of focus into ball handling and getting comfortable off the dribble” said Clark. “Being in the program for 5 years now starting in 8th grade I’ve sort of always looked forward to being a senior and being able to lead a team. While it’s a lot sometimes being a lone senior I’m really grateful to have a group of guys who respect me and want to get better.”
Without a doubt Clark is the leader of this team he currently averages over 20 ppg shooting around 40%. I asked him what he wanted to accomplish as a team this season as well as his personal goals. “As a team I want to win our district and region. No Tuscarora men’s team has won a regional game before so I’m hoping to change that. Personally being my senior year I just want to go out with no regrets and be able to look back at the season knowing I gave it everything.”
There was a mere 4.3 seconds left on the clock when Coach Nuekirk called a timeout to draw up a play. I asked Jack what went on in that huddle and he said, “He [Neukirk] just drew up a simple play to get me open for the ball. He and I have a really strong relationship so he just trusted me to make the right decision after the ball was in play and told me to go do my thing. To be honest I wasn’t even thinking about the situation I was just locked into the moment. I couldn’t tell you what was going through my head.”
Beating the Titans leaves Tuscarora 1-2 as they prepare for the Heritage Pride in their Home opener of the 2020-2021 season. This contest is sure to be a great game as it will be the first installment of the Battle of the Burg.
