Clear Lake Falconhoops

Clear Lake  72 -  Deer Park  50

Article by Brooks Kubena

The Falcons seem to have gotten back on track as they trounced Deer Park 72-50 in their Tuesday game. After a sloppy start that saw the Falcons down by three points, Lake went on a 7-0 run to take a 9-5 lead early in the first period. Deer Park would never lead again. Junior guard Paris Clayton would lead the Falcons with 16 points off of a 57% shot percentage.

“This was definitely a rebound game for us.” Head coach Tommy Penders said. “Deer Park is very hard to play against and we knew coming in they’ve beaten Clear Brook (Clear Brook’s only loss), so they have the capability to beat you if they hit shots. Our game plan was not to allow them to have open looks and we did a great job of taking those away. We didn’t press, which I wanted to prove to our kids not only can we win by pressing, but we can also win in the half court. We also went with our big lineup which I think that was good because it allowed our freshman, Jordan Davis, to get out there kind and feel more comfortable and to not worry like, Hey I’ve only got two minutes here or I have to hit a home run.”

In the freshman’s first start, he did not disappoint. With 11 points, Davis tied for the second leading point total on the team while grabbing some key rebounds. Penders was pleased with the progress Davis has been making. “I thought he was very good.” Penders said. “I think he’s making a few turnovers that in a few weeks I don’t think he’ll make. You know, putting the ball on the floor with the big guys and things like that, but he’s a very skilled player on both ends really. He rebounds and he can finish. He’s quite a player.”

During the CCISD tournament the previous weekend, Penders had discussed his concern for missed free throw shots that could have played an influential role in the loss against Brook. Against Deer Park, Lake was six of nine from the charity stripe; a better percentage than the 16-24 against the Wolverines.

“It looked like we had improved,” Penders said, “but I don’t know if we got to the line enough. The officials let a lot of stuff go because it was a kind of a padded game, a little lop-sided most of the time. But we work on it. It’s frustrating as a coach when you spend a lot of time on it and you have really good shooters. You shouldn’t miss.”

Although Lake seems to be improving from the line, another problem has risen in their three point percentage. Before the Brook game, Lake’s team average from beyond the arc hovered around 41%. The average is now at 35% with only two games having passed. In the loss to Brook, the Falcons fired up 29 three pointers, making only seven, and against Deer Park, Lake again couldn’t find a rhythm from the outside shooting 3-13. Although the percentage didn’t affect the outcome of Tuesday’s game, one can’t help but think of what the Falcons could have done with the 22 possessions wasted on missed three point shots. This team cannot afford to make such mistakes against tougher teams such as Brook.

Lake heads into the Lee College Classic second in non-district play in 24-5A at 6-2. The Falcons will open the next tournament this Thursday against Goose Creek Memorial (4-4) who is coming off an 80-43 win against New Caney (2-9). Since Brook is also in the tournament the Falcons look to finish what they started in last week’s tournament and win the championship.

Individual scoring:

Nick Collins 2

Alden Miles 11

Rob Lewis 10

Paris Clayton 16

Will West 5

Haris Kahn 3

Jordan Davis 11

Colton Krenek 11

Blake Blackmar 3

Matt Dancy 2

Action photos of this game should be posted by Friday night. To view game photos of this season's game, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/falconhoops. Use the Browser's "BACK" or "BACK Arrow" to return to this website.