Clymer provided its coach with a special gift two days later.

Blake Kopta drilled six 3-pointers on his way to 21 points and Micah Willink added 20 to lead the Pirates to a 57-35 victory over Sherman in a Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 2 West basketball game at Clymer Central School on Saturday afternoon.

The win improved the Pirates’ record to 12-1 overall and 6-1 in the division.

King was certainly pleased.

Sherman’s Kegan Ayers drives to the basket while being guarded by Clymer’s Owen White during Saturday’s Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 2 West basketball game at Clymer Central School. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

“This was nice,” he said. “The guys played really well today. It took us a little while to get going in the first quarter. We were getting good looks, they just weren’t falling, but the defense was great. Eventually, we got there.”

After that sluggish first quarter — Clymer shot just 3 of 17 from the floor and trailed 8-7 — the hosts locked down defensively in the second quarter, and Kopta and Willink took care of the rest. In the period, the tandem combined for 14 points and the Pirates took a 24-12 lead at the half.

“They just help each other,” King said. “I’ve got enough shooters around that it’s hard to guard.”

Meanwhile, Sherman, which shot just 4 of 18 from the floor and committed 11 turnovers before the break, were limited further when senior Gerald Carris, who surpassed the 1,000-point career scoring mark last week, was whistled for his third foul midway through the second quarter, forcing him to the bench. Carris finished with 11 points, all in the second half.

“We were trying to make them send the offense through somebody else,” King said. “I really felt like we communicated great. I didn’t think there was a time all night where we didn’t know where Gerald was on the floor.”

Two treys by Kopta and one by Dylan Michael, along with 5 points from Willink, highlighted Clymer’s third quarter that swelled its lead to 42-24. Nine points by Kopta in the fourth quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers, left little doubt about the outcome.

“We’ve got a big stretch,” King said. “Tuesday (against Westfield), Sherman next Friday and then we catch Panama in Panama. We know we have the meat of our league season coming right there, and this is a great way to start.”

For Sherman coach Cory Emory, the explanation for Saturday’s loss was simple.

“They came to play,” he said of his neighboring rival. “They played great and shot the ball great. We just weren’t here to play today. It was a good learning experience for my guys.”

NOTES: Kopta shot 6 of 10 from the arc go along with five rebounds, three steals and two assists. … As a team, the Pirates connected on11 of 28 attempts from the arc. … Willink collected six boards, three steals, two assists and one block. … Weston Hepler brought down seven rebounds. … Kegan Ayers and Elijah Kioko each had 8 points for the Wildcats (4-2, 6-5).

SHERMAN (35)

Swabik 0 2 2, Carris 4 2 11, Kopta 0 0 0, Ayers 4 0 8, Kioko 3 2 8, Hayes 2 1 6, Smith 0 0 0. Totals 13 7 35.

CLYMER (57)

Michael 1 0 3, AWhite 2 0 5, Hepler 1 0 2, Kopta 7 1 21, Shampoe 0 0 0, Battaglia 0 0 0, Willink 8 3 20, OWhite 1 0 3, Ramos 1 0 3. Totals 21 4 57.

3-point goals — Carris, Hayes, Michael, AWhite, Kopta 6, Willink, OWhite, Ramos.

Sherman 8 4 12 11 — 35

Clymer 7 17 18 15 — 57