Clear Lake Falconhoops

 Clear Lake 60 - Houston Memorial 56

 Nine days ago it snowed in the Clear Lake area. Today at 3:30 p.m., game time for the Clear Lake at Houston Memorial game, it was 76 degrees and threatening rain walking into the old Memorial gym. 

Once the game started it wasn’t snowing but it was raining….raining 3’s that is, as the smokin hot Memorial Mustangs unleashed an onslaught of 3 point attempts that would make even the most casual observer notice. With no two point attempts in the initial period, the Mustangs nailed 6 of 10 treys in the first quarter to take the lead 22-10. For the Falcons, with only 4 of 10 shooting from the field in the first quarter, our squad could not hope to stay in the game unless something changed.  

That something came in the second quarter in the form of Nick Arrington, who sparked his teammates with a steal, two assists and by draining three successive treys to set the stage for a valiant comeback. Treys from Matt McCollum and Jacob Horton added to the tally to enable 53% shooting from the field (8 of 15) in the second quarter. Stout defense and, dare I say it, better rebounding helped as well, as the Falcons held Memorial to 2 of 12 shooting from the field in the second period. At the half it was 31-30, Lake by 1 . (10 rebounds in the first half, 18 rebs in the second half) 

Memorial’s all-district post man, 6’8” Matt Staff (signed with New Mexico) had not really been a factor in the game as he was underutilized in the first half and held to one basket and two free throws. So it was clear what the strategy for the Mustangs should be in the second half.  

And that is exactly what happened. Staff tried to take control of the game but Clear Lake, with discipline and by playing together, controlled the tempo of the game. Staff scored 8 of his team’s 11 points in the third quarter. The game was tied three times in the first four minutes of the second half. Timely baskets by Brick Pomeroy and Jake McKnight added to two treys by Jacob for 11 points by Lake in the quarter. So at the end of three it was still a one point Lake lead, 42-41. 

In the final period Lake increased the lead to 6 and then to 7 when Jacob hit his final trey to bring the score to 52-45. Lake could not pull away or put it on ice as they missed the front end of three successive 1-and-1’s so Memorial’s hopes stayed alive as they slowly pawed their way back. Mark McCollum had missed the front end of the first two 1-and-1’s so Memorial must have concluded he was the guy to foul as the clock wore down in the last four minutes of the game. WRONG! McCollum hit eight straight free throws and went 10 of 12 from the stripe in the final quarter to assure a Clear Lake victory. Mark had a game high 17 points to lead all scorers (and five rebounds in the fourth quarter). When desperation sets in you can never come from behind to win a close game if you chose the wrong guy to foul and boy did Memorial pick the wrong guy. 

The game should not have been this close. Heady play on Memorial’s big man by Jared Miller as well as some by Jacob Horton and Mark McCollum gave Lake the W. 

(10 rebounds in the first half, 18 rebs in the second half) 

No action photos for this game were taken.

Individual Scoring:

Mark 17 (7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 charge drawn, 11 of 13 free throws), Jacob 15 (four rebounds),

Nick 9 (4 assists, 3 steals), Jared 6 (5 rebs, 1 block, 1 charge drawn), Brick 4, Matt 3, Blake 3, Jake 3