Announcement
Clear Lake 67 – Clear Brook 44
February 15, 2006
History was made tonight in the Clear Lake gym. In what would have been a Tuesday night contest, the Falcons faced the Clear Brook Wolverines on a Wednesday night due to a postponement of Tuesday games in Districts 23 and 24 in honor of Coach Billy Carlisle who passed away last Friday one day before his 52nd birthday. Billy’s memorial service was held Tuesday night at the Deer Park High School Fine Arts Center Auditorium. Billy was the head coach at Deer Park for the last twenty years. A capacity crowd close to 2,000 was there to pay their respects to the man. Billy played in the first game in Clear Lake’s gym in 1972, was the school’s first basketball MVP, was all-district, and was in the first graduating class from Clear Lake High School. A college fund has been established at Wells Fargo Bank for the Carlisle’s three sons who have all been seen many times in area gyms since infancy. The legacy of Billy Carlisle will live on.
I first met Billy Carlisle when he was in the seventh grade. In a tournament game between Friendswood, the team I was there to support, and Seabrook Intermediate, Billy was a standout player. I had never seen a kid that good at that age. The fact that I remember that particular game so well indicates what a great player he was. He later became a fine man and a role model for helping our youth. I never knew Billy very well except in the gym around young people. Other than his intensity during the game, what stood out to me was how respectful he was to people of all ages.The world needs more Billy Carlisles.
In addition to playing a district game on Wednesday instead of Tuesday, this was the last varsity game to be played in the Clear Lake gym. The Falcons will play next year in the new Bill Krueger Field House which is scheduled to be completed prior to the start of next season. Hopefully, the days of a poorly lighted gym with one of the worst public address systems of any 5A school in the state are behind us.
The night was also Fan Appreciation Night and Seniors Night when the parents of the seniors are honored (pictures of the parents with their senior sons are posted in the Albums section).
Clear Lake was not supposed to make it to the playoffs this season for the first time in recent memory so the Falcons came in second in the district to quiet the doubtful. With one game remaining against Galveston Ball High on Friday night, Lake clinched a second place berth with the defeat over Clear Brook. Ball High will take the third spot in the district playoffs. Friday's game at Ball High should be a good one. With the start of Mardi Gras on the island, it would be wise to come early to the game because of the traffic.
After trailing briefly in the first quarter the Falcons took the lead and never relinquished it. Lake led by as much as 25 due in part to an 11 point first quarter by Kendrell Thompson and a 17 point second quarter by Justin Kurtz. Thompson had 21 for the night and Kurtz had 27 according to my stats.
The Falcons went out in style in the old gym as they shot 50% from the field and 72% from the free throw line. Justin Kurtz hit 6 of 8 from three point land on his way to scoring a game-high 27 points. Before the game was over the boys were having some fun with dunks, behind the back passes, uncontested fast breaks, and sparkling defense as they outshone their opponents from across the freeway. Impressive support off the bench by Fulton Brisco, Andy Leveque, Christian Enriquez, and especially Ross Maha made the Lake fans grin too (Ross blocked 3 shots).
It is always a good feeling to finish the last home game of the season with a win. Tonight the memory of Clear Lake’s first game in the gym, won in part due to the outstanding zeal and intensity of a bushy haired, red headed kid named Billy Carlisle, made tonight’s final win in the old gym just a little bit sweeter. Billy’s dad, George Carlisle, was the school’s principal and Billy’s coach was a fella named Bill Krueger. The gym may be dimly lit but the bright glow which emanates from it due to all the outstanding Clear Lake basketball players and coaches who have practiced and competed there will endure long after the lights in the new gym are extinguished.
Justin Kurtz 27 (6 of 8 from three point range), Kendrell Thompson 21,
RJ Turner 6, Andy Leveque 5, Armie Lewis 4, Ross Maha 2, Fulton Brisco 2, Jimmy Witten (7 rebounds, 4 assists)
Turnovers: 19
|
FALCON STATS |
FG made |
FG attempts |
% |
|
2's |
15 |
29 |
51.7% |
|
3's |
8 |
17 |
47% |
|
free throws |
13 |
18 |
72.2% |
|
SCORE BY QUARTER |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
Clear Lake |
13 |
34 |
50 |
67 |
|
Clear Brook |
8 |
23 |
29 |
44 |
|
LINESCORE |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Final |
|
Clear Lake |
13 |
21 |
16 |
17 |
67 |
|
Clear Brook |
8 |
15 |
6 |
15 |
44 |
|
REBOUNDS |
LAKE |
THEM |
|
Offensive |
6 |
12 |
|
Defensive |
21 |
7 |
