Clear Lake Falconhoops

Clear Lake 67, Angleton 50 (non-district game)

Despite Angleton’s somewhat spotty record this season (14-10), the Wildcats were believed to represent a formidable obstacle in the path of the Clear Lake Falcons in their quest to go undefeated for the remainder of the season. Even though it was a non-district game and only the bragging rights were at stake, both teams played hard and wanted the win badly. 

In the initial quarter the main thing that kept Clear Lake in the game was good defense and poor shooting from Angleton. Their shooting was almost as bad as the 3 of 12 from the field that Lake demonstrated. With 3:33 remaining in the quarter Angleton scored their first field goal to make it 3-2 over Lake after numerous misses on both ends of the court. Isaac Reid, Angleton’s 6’5” man child, destined for Loyola University (Baltimore) to play for Coach Jim Patsos’s Greyhounds, asserted himself early and Fulton Brisco, whose job it was to guard Reid, got two quick fouls. Reid scored the Wildcats first 6 points before Kendrell Thompson, who had previously drained a three, passed to Armie Lewis on the right wing to nail a three. That put it at 6-10, Lake up by 4. Despite only making three baskets in the quarter, Lake would never relinquish the lead from this point.

Lake played well in the first half and was up 21-31 at the half. The outcome at this point was still very uncertain. The foul count was very lopsided in Angleton’s favor. Six of Lake’s eight steals came in the first half. One of the Galveston Chapter based officials repeatedly redefined what traveling meant which put an interesting twist in the game. It seemed to mean if Christian Enriquez had the ball but was not bouncing it.

In the third quarter Angleton really stepped up the intensity. Angleton’s coach, Tommy Penders, son of current U of H Head Coach Tom Penders, knew that the game could easily get away from them. He had ample cause for concern. Midway through the quarter, the Cats narrowed the gap to three 33-36 before Lake started to pull away. A three by Cody Kinsey and three baskets by Jimmy Witten increased Lake’s lead to 10 again. In this quarter, with the exception of Isaac Reid, the Wildcats were noticeably outclassed by the more talented Clear Lake squad. It began to really show from this point as the game progressed. Without Reid, it would have been a runaway. Jimmy Witten expected to be challenged by Reid who was last year’s District 24-4A Defensive Player of the Year. Witten dug down deep and had a standout performance with seven rebounds and nine assists in the game. Jimmy scored 7 points in each of the 2^nd and 3^rd quarters as he played his usual unselfish basketball. Some  of Jimmy’s assists in the second half  were from fast breaks. With Lake’s main outside ace, Kendrell Thompson adding 7 in both the 2^nd and 3^rd quarters as well, as the end of the third quarter approached, Clear Lake appeared to have things under control. With a cross court pass from Kendrell, Anthony Bilcic nailed one of his characteristic three’s to close the quarter with a score of 37-52. Lake was playing loose and under control.

Anyone who really appreciates high school basketball would agree that the latter part of the third quarter and the fourth quarter were the kind of Lake basketball that make an ardent Lake fan’s face light up. Good defense, hard work, moving the ball back down the court quickly and with proficiency, unselfish team basketball at its best with almost everything going right were the prevalent attributes of the contest. Spreading the floor and having the patience to wait for the easy basket paid off as well.

With 2:40 remaining in the game and the score at 45-61, a fast break with Jimmy in the paint making a behind-the-back pass to Kendrell for a score on the left side of the basket would make most highlight reels. That made it 45-63, the largest lead of the game. With Andrew Gorie going strong to the hoop and Kendrell weaving through traffic to make a great layup, this team basketball was great fun to watch.

Season record 19-5

Individual Scoring:
Kendrell Thompson 26, Jimmy Witten 16 (7 rebounds, 9 assists),
Andrew Gorie 8, Armie Lewis 6, Cody Kinsey 6, Anthony Bilcic 3 (4 rebounds), Fulton Brisco 2

Did not play due to injury: Steven Hartman, RJ Turner (RJ was suited up)

FALCON STATS	FG made	FG attempts	%
2's	20	29	68.9%
3's	7	22	31.8%
free throws	6	11	54.5%

SCORE BY QUARTER	1	2	3	4
Clear Lake	10	31	52	67
Angleton	7	21	37	50

LINESCORE	1	2	3	4	Final
Clear Lake	10	21	21	15	67
Angleton	7	14	16	13	50

REBOUNDS	LAKE	THEM
Offensive	5
Defensive	21