Clear Lake Falconhoops

Pearland 44 - Clear Lake 41

On Friday night, January 12, 2007, two excellent basketball teams met to do battle in the new Krueger Field house on the campus of Clear Lake High School. With Clear Lake as the fourth most prolific scoring team in the region and Pearland's defensive prowess (second in the region), everyone in the large crowd expected a great basketball game between the two regionally ranked teams. Pearland is ranked 6th while Lake is in the #7 spot. At stake was the lead in District 24-5A and possibly the district championship which is expected to be a close race between Pearland and Clear Lake.

What the crowd saw in the Lake/Pearland match was not a great basketball game but it was a very good game between two worthy opponents. Pearland, with its 19-5 record (4-0 in district) started its twin towers, 6’ 8”  Justin Reynolds and 6’8” Anthony Gatlin. The shorter Clear Lake squad (20-5, 3-0 in district) knew it would be a long night if their outside shooting percentage from three point land wavered even a little.

Pearland had done their typically good job of scouting Clear Lake and knew they must shut down Lake’s ace, Kendrell Thompson (17.8 ppg), if they hoped to prevail. Their answer to the rest of Clear Lake’s team, who are also solid outside shooters, was pressure defense. Since Pearland is perennially a defensive powerhouse (currently ranked second in the region in team defense), they knew they had a good chance against the Falcons.

To the surprise of many, Pearland started the game in a zone defense even though they believed they outmanned the Falcons. Clear Lake hit their opening shot when RJ Turner passed over to Fulton Brisco for what looked to be a three pointer but was only a two before the start-of-the-game jitters took hold. Clear Lake missed their next five shots. At the 4:11 mark remaining in the first quarter when Lake called time out it was 2-10 (on Pearland’s first possession they got two offensive rebounds which did not bode well for Clear Lake. See the rebounding stats below). On the next possession a Lake miss and an Oiler trey made it 2-13 in the next 15 seconds. Another Clear Lake timeout was necessary. A basket by Armie Lewis and the second of two free throws by RJ made it 5-15, Lake down by 10, at the 2:12 remaining point. Then Cody Kinsey, who really made a difference when he was in the game, passed to Christian Enriquez on the right wing for one of Christian’s signature treys to make it 8-15. Then Christian fed Andrew Gorie on the left side of the basket for a ten foot jump shot to make it 10-15. Lake’s increased defensive pressure worked as Pearland committed multiple turnovers without a shot at the basket during this series. Two more Lake misses closed out the quarter at 10-15. In the quarter Clear Lake shot a puny 4 of 16 from the field and 1 of 5 free throws. Despite a really bad offensive quarter, Lake’s defense and good rebounding against the taller Pearland bunch held Lake together.

The second quarter was Lake’s best of the game. A basket by RJ, two by Armie, two by Kendrell, and two by Cody made it an exciting game. Kendrell’s rebounding in the quarter showed the scouts what he can do when the adrenalin is flowing. Multiple Lake steals were offset with bad passes. At the 5:35 mark Lake trailed 17-19 due to the Falcons' excellent defense. With three minutes left in the second quarter it was 18-21. Neither team was scorching the net with baskets. At the 2 minute mark Kendrell made his first basket of the game when he came up with a defensive rebound, drove the length of the court, and made an off-balance seventeen foot jumper from the left side to put Lake ahead 22-21 for the first time since the opening basket of the game. His free throw after the shot added another point. A Pearland basket tied the game at 23 with 1:39 remaining in the quarter. A driving layup on the right side by RJ made it 25-23 Lake. At 1:02 Pearland’s Justin Reynolds made the second of two free throws to make it 25-24. A classic Kendrell Thompson trey on Lake’s next possession made it 28-24 with 42 seconds left in the half. This would be his only trey of the game and his last field goal of the contest. Pearland’s shooting in the first quarter was impressive. Their shooting in the second quarter was not. They went 5 of 14 from the field and their rebounding was not as dominant as some expected. Clear Lake went 7 of 16 from the field. The first half closed with Lake up by 2, 28-26.

In the third quarter Pearland tied the game at 28 at the 6:39 mark and retook the lead at the 6 minute mark Lake scored only 5 points in the quarter on 2 of 10 shooting from the field. Pearland went 3 for 10. Hard work on defense from both squads and excellent officiating up to this point. Perhaps the best officiating we have seen all year in the Lake gym (up to this point in the game, that is ).With 3:21 remaining Pearland was up 28-33 since Clear Lake had still not scored. With 2:50 remaining in the third quarter, Lake’s first score of the quarter came when Cody made a basket and a free throw to put it at 31-33. A clever substitution with Jimmy coming back in the game when Justin Reynolds went out of the game allowed a hard earned basket by Jimmy Witten (tied it at 33 with 1:27 remaining). Pearland did not score in the last 3:21 of the quarter and the quarter closed knotted at 33.

In the first minute of the final quarter it was tied again at 35 when the Oilers matched a basket by Fulton Brisco. It was tied again at 37 with 5:11 remaining when Armie Lewis made a basket. At 4:59 Jimmy Witten got his third foul called and Pearland went ahead by one on a free throw. At 4:12 a free throw put Pearland up 37-41 (Pearland went 5 of 7 from the charity stripe in the final quarter while Clear Lake went 1 of 2). One of two free throws by Kendrell made it 38-41. Moments of brilliant defense by the Falcons highlighted the quarter. In this quarter it seemed as if one official was determined to call Kendrell for charging. With 1:58 remaining Jimmy got his fourth foul called. Justin Reynolds missed both free throws and Jimmy got the rebound. A turnover by Lake gave Pearland the ball and a goal. Then Cody brought the ball across the top of the key from the left side and passed over to Christian. Christian nailed a three from the right wing to make it 41-43 with 1:31 remaining. Those who enjoy good close games were certainly getting their money’s worth. A blocked shot by Kendrell saved an Oiler goal. A Pearland free throw made it 41-44 before Clear Lake got the ball back on a missed free throw with 44 seconds remaining. A costly turnover under their basket gave Pearland the ball. Another missed free throw and a Lake rebound gave Lake another chance. With 27.7 seconds left Lake called timeout. With 8 seconds showing on the impressive field house scoreboard, a three point attempt by Kendrell rimmed out and Pearland got the rebound. Armie stole the ball off a long pass down the floor by Pearland. As he was falling to the floor he passed across the floor to RJ but Pearland intercepted the ball as time expired. 41-44, Pearland holds on to win.

Neither team played well offensively. Both teams showed some great defense but not consistently. Clear Lake's defensive pressure helped keep the Oilers off balance. Clear Lake’s dismal shooting from the field (30%) was only partly due to good Pearland defense. Clear Lake averages almost 69 points per game and was held to 41. Barring any more injuries, the Falcons will shoot better when the rematch occurs on February 6 in the Pearland gym. Pearland will have to play much better basketball if they hope to beat Lake again. Clear Lake had two players out with injuries (Anthony Bilcic has tendonitis in his ankle) and one out with grades.