Columbiana’s Avery Young passes against United’s Gavin Coffee during the Clippers’ win Tuesday. (Morning Journal/Michael Burich)

HANOVERTON — Columbiana boys basketball team knows it’s going need all hands on deck if it’s going to defend its Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference crown.

The Clippers are down two key players due to injuries but still maintain a share of the league lead.

On Tuesday, the Clippers sidestepped periods of sloppy, uneven play to fend off United 48-33.

Columbiana moved to 10-2 and 7-1 in the EOAC. The team shares the league lead with Lisbon.

Clipper head coach Todd Johnson said it’s been next man up for a while with the loss of Carter Johnson and Brayden Clancy. Starting point guard Carter Johnson has been out with a broken wrist and is hoping to get cleared to return to practice on Monday when he goes for x-rays. Clancy tore an ACL in the first United game on Dec. 9 and is out for the season.

“Other guys have to step up,” Todd Johnson said. “Unfortunately it’s the next man up. We’ve had some younger kids grow into some roles and others who weren’t seeing minutes, grow into some minutes.”

The Clippers came into Tuesday’s game knowing United could punch with the best of them in the EOAC. Columbiana had to go to overtime to beat the Golden Eagles by a point in the first game. The Clippers also were aware of the win the Golden Eagles got against Lisbon earlier this season.

“I wouldn’t say they’ve been lucky,” Columbiana forward Cooper Brown said. “They’re a good team. They gave us a run for our money at our place and we knew what we had to do coming in here. We gave them a lot of offensive rebounds the last time. We corrected the things we needed to and came out with the win.”

Brown had 17 points and nine rebounds and paired nicely with Senator Johnson, who had 19 points and six rebounds.

“We’re close and we hang out all the time and that’s a big part of it,” Brown said. “We’re back and forth, but it’s not just us two. I’m looking to get everyone involved.”

Johnson and Brown combined for 15 of Columbiana’s 22 first half points. In the second half the duo scored all but five of the Clippers’ points.

“We’re at our best when we can get it and go,” Todd Johnson said. “United’s a big team and physical — long and athletic — so to let them set up in that 1-2-2 zone was not going to be good for us. We had to get it and go. Cooper and Senator, that’s where they really shine.”

Columbiana shot 34 percent from the field in the game including 13 percent from beyond the arc.

“It’s going through the second round now and it’s going to be just as tough as what we went through in the first round,” Todd Johnson said.

United went into the fourth quarter down three, but Columbiana went on a 6-0 run to start the final period and from there the Eagles struggled to catch up as Columbiana went to the line 17 times in the final eight minutes.

“We’ve hit a stretch where we’re struggling to score,” United coach Jason Thompson said. “We’re still moving it and that carries over to our defensive side. I thought overall we played well on defense. We held them to what we wanted to before the foul situation and all that stuff took place. Offensively we have to figure some things out.”

Jason Pratt led the Eagles with 10 points. United fell to 6-5 and 4-4 in the conference, but may have a say in the final EOAC standings.

“I’ve had multiple conversations with many people that correlation scores don’t make sense,” Thompson said. “On any given night anybody can beat anybody. You have to be ready every night to go play.”

Columbiana won the jayvee game, 36-29. Carter Griffith had 12 points for Columbiana. Liam McElwain had 12 points for United.

Game notes

• It was Star Wars night at the game. One student dressed up as Darth Vader and “knighted” the Golden Eagles players with his light sabre to start the game. Star Wars music was also played over the speaker system.

• Columbiana hosts Leetonia Friday. The next four Clipper opponents have a combined total of five wins. Columbiana’s last three league games are road games against Lisbon and Wellsville and a home game against Valley Christian.

CO: 9-13-5-21–48

UN: 6-11-7- 9–33

COLUMBIANA SCORING: Cooper Brown 5-6-17, Senator Johnson 7-4-19, Liam McElwain 0-0-0, Zander Oliver 0-1-1, Trey Snyder 0-0-0, Deron Winnale 0-0-0, Avery Young 1-2-4, Hunter Davanzo 2-3-7. TEAM TOTALS: 15, 16-25: 48.

UNITED SCORING: M’Kyan Haynes 2-0-5, Gavin Coffee 0-0-0, Abram Ceresna 2-1-6, Kadin Schonauer 0-0-0, Jason Pratt 2-4-10, Kota Shasteen 2-1-5, Wyatt Blevins 1-0-2, Lance Rycraft 0-0-0, Matthew Hoopes 2-0-5. TEAM TOTALS: 11, 6-13: 33.

Three-point goals: Columbiana 2 (S. Johnson, Brown), United 5 (Pratt 2, Haynes, Ceresna).