Announcement
Clear Lake Takes Bi-District Playoff With 77-67 Win Over Dulles
For the second time this season the Clear Lake Falcons faced the Dulles Vikings but this time it was not just to fill in an open date during district play. This time it was in the Bi-district round of the Region III playoffs. In the first round game exactly three weeks ago Clear Lake slightly dominated in the second half and won by 12. Perhaps that gave the Falcons a false sense of security and perhaps it motivated the Vikings to play even more aggressively when the chips were on the line. Whatever the reason, when the ball game started the Vikings came to play and the Falcons came to watch.
In the first quarter the Clear Lake crowd observed in stunned disbelief as Dulles scored basket after basket while Clear Lake seemed a bit befuddled on both ends of the court. Dulles was obviously well prepared and had made adjustments from the previous loss to avoid a repeat. Clear Lake was well prepared for Dulles but ineffective in preventing the same Dulles plays from scoring in close in the paint and inept in putting the ball through the hoop when they did get a shot off. The quick and aggressive guard play initially overwhelmed the Falcons.
Half way through the first quarter it was 2-11, Lake down by 9 but it would get worse. Dulles scored two more baskets to make it 2-15 so Lake was forced to call their second timeout. The Falcons would next score on a free throw by Kendrell Thompson with barely a minute remaining in the quarter. With 32 seconds remaining RJ Turner made two free throws to make it 5-17. Armie Lewis got fouled on a last second three point attempt as the quarter drew to a close. Lewis sank all three free throws to close the quarter 8-19. Six of seven from the charity stripe kept Clear Lake alive in the quarter. RJ had the only basket from the floor in the quarter as Lake went 1 of 8 from the field.
Dulles is a very quick team with outstanding junior guards but not much height on the team. They are excellent outside shooters. They are also one of the most physical teams in the region at the guard position. Their guards, but not just their guards, fouled a lot but were clever enough to not get called for many of the fouls they committed. This very aggressive guard play by Dulles’s identical twin brothers was more than a nuisance for Clear Lake throughout the game. It took awhile for Lake’s players to adjust to the quickness and the more assertive play.
Late in the first quarter and in the second quarter defensive speed and hustle were added to the Lake mix in the form of Anthony Bilcic as Lake started becoming more effective on defense in the second quarter. Two quick baskets by Lake forced a Dulles timeout. Dulles then countered with five unanswered points to bring it to 14-24, Lake down by 10. Foul trouble started looming for Armie Lewis in the second quarter but outstanding play by everyone kicked in as Lake finally went to work. Lewis would get called for the same fouls that the Dulles guards would commit but not get called for early in the game. Two free throws each by Fulton Brisco and Jimmy Witten brought the score to 20-26 with 4:06 remaining in the second quarter. Then Kendrell nailed his first three of the game to make it 23-26.
Reserve play from the bench was outstanding in this game. Anthony Bilcic, Christian Enriquez, Andrew Gorie, and Cody Kinsey each made a noticeable difference every time they were in the game. That kind of play off the bench makes the difference between a really good team and a great team.
On this squad any player can carry the load. When Armie or RJ or Kendrell are not hot, somebody else is. That is another differentiator between good and great, the variability and versatility of the offense. Reserve Post Andrew Gorie had two successive baskets, a rebound, and a steal in a span of 60 seconds to put Lake ahead 29-28 for our first lead of the contest with 1:56 left in the first half. After that, the lead changed for the third time when Kendrell Thompson nailed a timely, high arching three pointer. Thompson was 3 for 3 from three point land in the quarter. Fulton Brisco was also a perfect 3 for 3 from the field plus two free throws in the quarter as Clear Lake demonstrated the explosive, well rounded offense that explains why the Houston Chronicle projected a regional final between Clear Lake and Kingwood.
In the second quarter Clear Lake dazzled the crowd with a 30 point performance to put Lake ahead 38-33. 11 of 13 shooting from the field and a perfect 5 for 5 from the free throw line from a team that had scored only one basket from the field in the first quarter. Talk about a turnaround! WOW!
In the first 90 seconds of the third quarter two successive baskets by Fulton and two baskets by Jimmy Witten made it 46-38 and forced another Dulles time out. Kendrell nailed a trey and a free throw to make it 50-38 with 5:10 remaining in the quarter. Two free throws by RJ, who went 7 of 9 from the line, made it 52-40. With 90 seconds left in the third period Dulles closed the gap to 6, 56-50. A basket by RJ with a minute remaining made it 58-50. Two more free throws by RJ closed the quarter at 60-52.
In the third quarter the Falcons only scored 22 points as they continued to impress the crowd. Only 22 points! That’s 88 points a game. By the end of the third quarter Lake had made 16 free throws in a row.
Clear Lake scored 7 points in the final period before Dulles scored. Confident of their outside shooting, Dulles went into desperation three point shooting too early (at the beginning of the quarter) and very good defense by Lake stymied their strategy. Kendrell hit a three to make it 67-52, Lake’s largest lead in the game. After a Dulles trey Jimmy made a basket and a free throw to keep the lead at 15, 70-55 with 5:38 remaining in the game. Clear Lake played determined, purposeful offense and better defense after the first quarter but Dulles continued to hang in with Lake maintaining their lead. Lake did not go to their slow down offense until the last two minutes of the game and Dulles narrowed the gap from 15 to 10 but it was just too steep a hill for the Vikings to climb.
The officiating was not bad in the first half. It was noticeably bad in the second half.
In his tenth year as the head varsity coach, this team has just given Coach Lynn McDonald his first 30 win season as a varsity coach. Maybe that's why he has a coffee mug with their picture on it. When this year's team is sparkling like they often do, his perfect 36-0 JV season just over a decade ago might seem like a distant memory.
Despite the cloud of a sporadic, often ineffective Lake defense looming over some of the Lake players more than others, we know this team is special. We just don’t know yet how special they are. When you combine some masterful coaching with talented boys doing what they are trained to do, it is a spectacle worth driving to Austin to watch.
Photos for this Clear Lake game can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/falconhoops after noon Friday.
Individual Scoring:
Kendrell Thompson 22 (6 of 9), Fulton Brisco 16, RJ Turner 15 (7 assists), Jimmy Witten 11 (4 for 4, 9 rebounds),
Andrew Gorie 6, Armie Lewis 4, Cody Kinsey 3 (6 assists)
|
FALCON STATS |
FG made |
FG attempts |
% |
|
2's |
20 |
33 |
60.6% |
|
3's |
5 |
10 |
50.0% |
|
free throws |
22 |
27 |
81.5% |
|
SCORE BY QUARTER |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
Clear Lake |
8 |
38 |
60 |
77 |
|
Dulles |
19 |
33 |
52 |
67 |
|
LINESCORE |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Final |
|
Clear Lake |
8 |
30 |
22 |
17 |
77 |
|
Dulles |
19 |
14 |
19 |
15 |
67 |
|
REBOUNDS |
LAKE |
THEM |
|
Offensive |
5 |
8 |
|
Defensive |
22 |
18 |
