Kival Clarke (above) led Penn Wood to an important Del-Val League win. (Photo: Joseph Santoliquito/CoBL)
By Joseph Santoliquito
Kival Clarke could barely get up, let alone walk across the tiles of the Penn Wood locker room Thursday night. It seemed every tendon and joint in the 5-foot-9 senior guard’s body ached. His knees were swollen, as he shuffled along, and none of that was about to deter the smile on his face.
Penn Wood needed this. Clarke needed this.
The Patriots have had problems closing games early this season, but head coach Matt Lindeman got a nice boost from Clarke and his team Thursday night, as they pulled away from a late Chichester charge to win their first Del-Val League game this season, 47-41.
Penn Wood (6-6 overall, 1-1 Del-Val) had yielded fourth-quarter leads in four of its six losses. Clarke prevented that from happening by scoring seven of the Pat’s final nine points in erasing a 41-36 deficit in a game where every point came at a premium.